The Competitive Strategies Adopted by Events Management Companies in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Competitive strategy specifies the distinctive approach which the firm intends to use in order to succeed in each of the strategic business areas. Competitive strategy gives a company an advantage over its rivals in attracting customers and defending against competitive forces. There are many roots to competitive advantage, but the most basic is to provide buyers with what they perceive to be of superior value a good or service at a low price, a superior service that is worth paying more for, or a best value offering that represents an attractive combination of prices, features, quality, service, and other attributes that buyers find attractive. Competitive strategy is thus the search for a favorable competitive position, in an industry, the fundamental arena in which competition occurs. Competitive strategy aims to establish a profitable and sustainable position against the forces that determine industry competition. This study was designed to achieve two specific objectives: to determine the competitive strategies adopted by event management companies in Nairobi and to establish the factors influencing the competitive strategies adopted. In this study, Cross-sectional survey was adopted. The target population of interest in this study was the events management companies that are members of the Public Relations Society of Kenya. There are currently forty registered members. The researcher employed simple random sampling during the data collection. A sample size of 30 was targeted based on the table of random sampling. Data was collected using a questionnaire that allowed for uniformity of responses to questions. Data collected was processed through computer software packages that include: SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies) and presented in the report in the form of tables, and graphs. The study found out that the competitive strategies used by event management companies were cost reduction and product differentiation. The study also found out that the factors affecting the choice of competitive strategies were threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers and intensity of rivalry.