Strategies Adopted by Carrefour Limited to Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Abstract

Organizations operate in a turbulent and dynamic environment that bring about various challenges and increased competition. As a result of intense competition and increased challenges, organizations need to adopt new strategies to stay competitive. The purpose of the study was to explore strategies adopted by Carrefour Limited to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in Kenya. This research was guided by Porter's theory of competitive advantage and the resource-based view. The research made use of a qualitative research design. A Case study was utilized since the study’s focus was a single organization. Data was collected using interview guides with open ended questions that facilitated collection of more information. The collected data was subjected to an analysis using content analysis. This enabled the researcher draw realistic comparisons and make inferences. The study established that Carrefour had adopted the following cost cutting measures: elimination of non-critical company undertakings by merging various departments, leveraging on their personnel to be effective and industrious, reduced the number of staffed employees, capitalizing on merchandisers and reduced the number of outsourced parties. The retail store has participated in immense research and design because it operates in different geographical areas with different cultures, tastes and preferences. The study concluded that cost leadership was the primary strategy being implemented while differentiation and focus were implemented as their secondary strategies. The research also concluded that cost leadership influenced competitive advantage to a greater degree. It is of importance for Carrefour to invest in growth competencies, resources, research and technology because so as to keep evolving in order to guarantee sustainable advantage. The study concluded from the findings that the company had attained economies of scale and its service design is tailored to meet customer needs. The retail store undertook research and design in order to understand customer needs in terms of quality and preference. The study’s limitations were due to the scope of the study which was limited since other industry players were not included in the study. There were other challenges like misunderstanding of the interview questions and delayed responsiveness from the respondents. The respondents could not share some information in depth due to the company’s stringent policies and fear that information will be shared to their rivals. The study recommends that Carrefour should deploy a variety of competitive advantage strategies that complement each other in the quest to attain competitive advantage besides the generic strategies The researcher also recommends Carrefour to considers both its internal and external environmental factors as they are critical in determining strategic choices since this will dictate the capabilities and the potential of a firm. By focusing excessively on external factors, a company becomes reactive rather than proactive.