| dc.description.abstract | The private security industry in Kenya is slightly in excess of forty years old. Securicor,
one of the member firms of the Kenya Security Industry Association was the pioneer
firm followed closely by others to develop the young Kenya Security Industry to become
what it is today, With about 2000 firms in operation. Competition in the industry has
increased considerably and in such a crowded market, firms need to stand out and draw
customer attention to themselves and create repeat buying patterns leading to loyal
customers. Differentiation strategies are essential for firms to be able to distinguish
themselves from their competitors services. As the security industry becomes more
sophisticated, with technology also taking a center stage in its progress, firms need to
offer differentatiated security products which will enable them retain their market share
and growth. This study was to determine the extent to which differentiation strategies
are used by the formal private security industry in Kenya to develop and sustain
competitive advantage. To establish whether there are differences in strategies used by
small, medium and large firms and finally to determine the factors that influence the
choice of differentiation used.
There was a census survey targeting the 20 firms which form the Kenya Security
Industry Association. Survey data was collected with the aid of semi structured
questionnaires. The questionnaires were dropped and picked later from the
respondents. To assist in the tabulation of the large amount of data, computer software
was used to collate percentages, frequencies mean, variances, standard deviation and
coefficient of variation,. The findings of the study were that all the thirty five
differentiation strategies are used to a very large extent. While there are relatively
minor differences between large, medium and small firms, large and medium firms on
average had a higher extent of usage of the differentiation strategies than small firms.
This was on account of resource limitation experienced by small firms. As is generally
known, firms undergo higher costs in an effort to differentiate themselves.
Factors including the choice of strategies used included the need for professionalism,
retention and growth of market stance, business growth, customer satisfaction, brand
differentiation, legal and legislative compliance, technology and risk minimization.
The limitations of this research were that the research applied to the 20 firms who are
members of the Kenya Security Industry Association while the industry is estimated to
have about 2000 registered and unreported firms. The study did not make
consideration for factors influencing the use of individual strategies. Account of these
two factors would have yielded a more conclusive result.
It is suggested that a research to determine the extent of differentiation strategies used
by all security firms in Kenya be done. It would also be valuable to determine the
factors that influence the choice of each individual strategy | en |
