Response Strategies and Competitive Advantage of UAP Insurance Limited in South Sudan
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Date
2023
Authors
Muiruri, Eric Gathiru
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
It is imperative that organizations compete for clients, revenue, and market share
today by coming up with products that meet the requirements of their customers in a
constantly evolving economic and commercial environment. The insurance industry
in South Sudan is currently facing the challenge of rising cost, which leads to shrunk
bottom lines. The stiff competition existing amongst insurance firms in the country is
because majority of the firms in the insurance sector sell similar products and offer
similar services meaning that the firms are competing for a limited market share. The
broad objective was to assess the impact of response strategies on UAPSS’
competitive advantage in South Sudan. Specific objectives studied were to assess the
impact of product development, market development, information technology and the
management of knowledge on UAPSS’ competitive advantage. This research was
anchored to the Competitive Advantage Theory by Porter, Disruptive Innovation
Theory, and Technology Acceptance Model. Descriptive research design served as
the study's primary research framework. All 60 UAPSS personnel were the
demographic for this census research. Primary data was gathered through Semistructured questionnaires, while financial records, archival library materials, and
South Sudan Insurance publications were used to get secondary data on revenues,
expenses, and market share. To verify the questionnaire's dependability, a reliability
test utilizing Cronbach Alpha’s index threshold, the response strategies had reliability
coefficients for Product development, Market development, Information technology
and Knowledge management respectively, therefore deemed reliable. Descriptive
statistics were used to analyze quantitative data, frequency distribution tables,
percentages and frequencies were used. To conduct inferential statistics, the use of
multiple regression analysis was utilized to check impacts of independent factors on
dependent ones. The study's results showed that product development, market
development, information technology, and knowledge management all significantly
impacted UAPSS’ competitive advantage. According to the study's findings, UAPSS’
competitive advantage is positively impacted by its response strategies of product
development, market development, information technology, and knowledge
management. Consequently, the study proposes the following recommendations for
UAPSS management moving forward, as they have all been proven to enhance
competitive advantage. The management should prioritize the utilization of market
development, information technology, and product development, as these three
strategies have shown significant potential in predicting competitive advantage.
Moreover, it is advisable for the management to assess how other response strategies
not examined in this study, such as organizational structure, new processes, new
services, restructuring, marketing, leadership, and culture change, could complement
the four studied response strategies and contribute to an improved competitive
advantage for the company. To establish a more comprehensive understanding, it is
recommended to conduct a broader study incorporating additional response strategies
and involving other insurance companies. This will allow for greater generalizability
of the findings, considering that the current study only focused on UAPSS, as well as
on market development, information technology, product development, and
knowledge management response strategies.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics, and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment for the Requirement of the Award of a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Strategic Management Option) from Kenyatta University, June 2023.
Keywords
Response Strategies, Competitive Advantage, UAP Insurance Limited, South Sudan