Strategic Capabilities for Competitive Advantage in British Broadcasting Corporation-global News, Africa
Abstract
The study aimed at establishing strategic capabilities as a source of competitive
advantage at BBC Global News, Africa. Strategic capabilities of a company form an
important strategic role to create value and improve business performance. The
competitive advantage of companies in today's economy stems not from market position,
but from difficulty to replicate strategic capabilities and the manner in which they are
deployed.
In attempting to get the objectives, a case study research design was adopted. An
interview guide was used to collect data on strategic capabilities used by the organization
in gaining competitive advantage. The data obtained from the interview guide was
analyzed qualitatively. The qualitative analysis was done using content analysis.
The study established that BBC Global News, Africa had several internal strategic
capabilities that gave it a competitive advantage over the other international media
players. These strategic capabilities range from a strong human resource pool that is well
trained, strong brand, credibility, technologically advanced equipment, wide audience
coverage due to the presence of BBC Global News broadcasting in regional language.
The study also established that strategic capabilities have kept on changing depending on
various factors .Respondents identified these factors to include technology, changes in
the media sector in Africa, changing demands of the audience, declining finances and
also changing stakeholder requirements.
It was also concluded that for the organization to achieve desired performance results, the
firm’s capabilities and the resources available to it; must interact positively with the
requirements of the firm’s markets and their requirements must be defined clearly and
explicitly. As a result of the constant change in the world, it was also found out that the
organizations strategic capabilities must continuously adapt to the changing operating
environment and the human resources plays an important role to achieve this objective.
Citation
MBA ThesisSponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
University of Nairobi, School of Business, University of Nairobi