Competitive Strategies and Competitive Advantage of Cocacola Company Ltd., Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the competitive strategies and competitive advantage of Coca Cola Company Ltd. The study was grounded using the open systems theory, the game theory and the resource based view theory. The study adopted a case study research design. This type of research design was chosen because it would allow the researcher to execute an in-depth examination about the object being studied. An interview guide was used to collect data. Data was collected by interviewing ten (10) employees in the operations management level of Coca-Cola Company. This category of interviewees was believed to be conversant with matters that are related to competitive strategies and the firm‟s competitive advantage. This study used content analysis. The respondents indicated that the company is heavily guided by differentiation followed by focus and cost leadership in that order. When the researcher noted that the respondents were comfortably reciting the strategies, it was thought necessary to probe further to determine the source of this knowledge. The respondents argued that Coca Cola differentiates its product offer at nearly all levels: at the core product level, the respondents noted that the company has always taken pride in the fact that it has heavily patented its products so copying of the formulation is never a possibility. At the promotional level, the respondents noted that the company‟s promotional campaigns were not comparable to any other globally. The reason for this is that for example advertisements by the company have a global appeal.It was argued that the company applies segmentation of markets, effectively indicating that they produce products with specific segments in mind. The respondents were very clear in their minds that mass marketing or the best one for all kind of marketing would not work. Segmentation, they noted, is observed even developing the distribution strategy and channel management. They were all in agreement that the company chooses which segments to involve itself in. This is targeting. The respondents noted that in the beverage industry in Kenya, cost leadership may not be a dependable strategy. The reason for this, they noted was that the industry is rigid such that relying on price manipulations and the price advantage may not yield much by way of competitive advantage. It is recommended that before the management embarks on the choice of a competitive strategy, it must first consider the resource base of the company, the objectives and its position in the market. The choice of a strategy communicates the intentions of the company to the shareholders, the competitors and so on.It is recommended that future research efforts be focused on a census study. A census study comprises all members of the population. In this case all counties in Kenya would be studied. The advantage with such studies is that they provide results that are not only fairly stable in terms of sampling error but also the findings provide enhanced generalizability. This study was a case study and as such only one county was studied. Case studies do have limitations in terms of generazability of findings