| dc.description.abstract | The single most important goal for any firm is achieving competitive advantage. Managers have
overtime pondered why some organizations have been able to have a competitive advantage,
while others have not. Without proper strategies in place firms may never live to secure a
competitive edge over their rivals. Although in many organizations especially in Kenya
identification of the sources of competitive advantage has become an increasing priority, the
areas of strategy formulation and marketing in the credit card industry have made considerable
step towards a comprehensive development of competitive strategies that can indeed provide
advantage over competitors. This study was guided by two objectives; to establish the
competitive strategies being employed by credit card industry in Kenya and to determine the
challenges facing the implementation of strategies within the Finn and in the industry.
Descriptive study was employed in this study where both qualitative and quantitative methods of
data collection were used. It targeted 9 commercial banks dealing in credit cards with 9
respondents one from each bank being interviewed. A self-administered open and closed ended
questionnaire was employed in collecting primary data from the field. Tn addition, in depth
interviews and desk research were used for confirmation and verification. Data collected from
the field was analyzed mainly using descriptive analysis method, and information presented in
charts, frequency distribution tables and figures.
This research documented that both generic and- grand strategies are being employed by
commercial banks as they strive to outdo each other in this competitive market. However, a
number of challenges also hinder the success of the credit card industry in Kenya; these
challenges are both within the banks and [he industry as a whole. Challenges such as lack of staff
training, huge capital requirement, distribution cost and the inability of commercial banks 10
market their products are specific to commercial banks.
The challenges facing the industry are; lack of credit card culture in Kenya, poor communication
and restrictive policies. This study recommends further research in future to be carried out to
determine the dimension of competition in the industry and establish if there are other strategies
at play other than generic and grand strategies. It also suggests an investigation to be done on
what other factors may determine the success and failures of competitive strategies in the
banking industry as a whole. Lastly a more detailed analysis of competitive strategies in other
industries is also necessary in order to determine their contribution to competitive advantage. | en |
