Strategic Positioning and Competitive Advantage at G4S Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Simiyu, Antony John
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Over the years, achievement of a better performance by a firm has been primarily
entrenched in gaining competitive position over the average players of the industry. More
attention is being directed to how to create and retain a competitive advantage in the face
of intensifying rivalry. Competitive advantage results in improvement in performance
through increased customer loyalty; superior customer satisfaction; enhanced financial
performance and larger market share. Based on this, firms have more and more been
working towards positioning themselves strategically in the industries that they operate in
in an aim to gain competitive advantage over their rivals. Based on this, various
organisations have sought to position themselves strategically to improve their
competitive advantage. However, despite employing several strategic changes to sustain
a competitive edge, firms in the security industry are still grappling with cut-throat
competition pressures from new entrants. G4S being one of the oldest subsidiary security
companies in Kenya is no exception to the increasing rivalry from established and new
competitors in the industry. The company continues to face fierce rivalry from other
security firms aggravated by entry of other competing providers for the same services,
especially the smaller local and regional companies. A combination of a dearth in local
empirical studies on the influence of strategic positioning on competitive advantage and
mixed results from the studies provided the impetus to carry out this study to establish the
effect of strategic positioning on competitive advantage at G4S, Kenya. The specific
research objectives were; to examine the effect of continuous improvement, strategic
leadership, strategic assets and product differentiation on competitive advantage at G4S,
Kenya. The study was anchored on competitive advantage theory, resource-based view
theory, market-based view theory and capability-based view theory. The study used
descriptive research design and the target population comprised of the five hundred and
forty management staff working at G4s in Nairobi Kenya. The study purposively focused
on G4S whereby stratified random sampling was used to select the sample subgroups.
Simple random sampling was then used for each stratum to pick a sample size of one
hundred and sixty-two respondents. The study used primary data which was collected
using research questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics methods
were used in data processing and analysis. Ethical standards and principles were observed
in this research. The study results were presented using charts and tables. The
conclusions from the findings indicate that employing continuous improvement has a
favorable and significant impact on competitive advantage in G4S, employing strategic
leadership has positive and significant influence on competitive advantage in G4S,
employing strategic assets has positive and significant influence on competitive
advantage in G4S, employing product differentiation has positive and significant
influence on competitive advantage in G4S. The study recommended G4S to consider
enhancing strategic leadership in key positions in the range of managers to the top leaders
in order to make them aware of their roles in promoting and sustaining competitive
advantage over the long term.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management Option) of Kenyatta University, February, 2021
Keywords
Strategic Positioning, Competitive Advantage, G4S Kenya