Strategic Responses To Changes In The External Environment Of Mombasa Island Cargo Terminal Limited

Abstract

Organizations are dependent on their external environment for their survival and existence. Organizations affect or are affected by what happens in the external environment which is beyond the control of the organization. Changes in the external environment creates pressure for change in organization and this means they have to respond to changes for their survival. The CFS industry has been under a lot of pressure since the launch of the Standard Gauge Railway in October 2016. Additionally, the various government directives that have been issued on several occasions have troubled CFSs and the industry has to deal with perceptible changing regulations. The study sought to determine the strategic responses to changes in the external environment of Mombasa Island Cargo Terminal, Kenya. This research adopted a qualitative analysis on the strategic responses to environmental changes at MICT, Kenya. The respondents composed of the top management of MICT mainly the General Manager, Operations Manager, Finance Manager and Marketing Manager. An interview guide was used to gather primary data from the management of MICT. Data collected was then analyzed through content analysis and findings were presented in form of brief discussions on the changes in the external environment and the strategic responses used. It was clear that MICT faces challenges in the external environment that range from political, economic, legal and technological factors. It was deduced that MICT was pursuing some strategies to cope with the changing environment. This includes product differentiation, marketing, product diversification, downsizing and cost control. The study therefore concluded that challenges posed by the turbulent external environment have led MICT to come up with strategic plan in order to cope. The limitations encountered in the study include challenges of sharing detailed information, time constraint and scale of research. The study suggests further research to be carried out to determine strategic responses by other container freight stations companies in Kenya and determine factors that influence adoption of strategic responses by organizations to changes in the external environment.