| dc.description.abstract | The telecommunication industry in Kenya has been characterized by declining voice revenues, increased regulations, technological advancements and changing consumer needs. This has led to industry players formulating sound innovations strategies to ensure they create a competitive advantage over their competitors in order to survive and grow in the ever competitive market. However, in spite of the crucial role played by innovative strategies to ensure competitive advantage, some companies with innovative strategies have not translated them to competitive advantage. Therefore the study was to establish how have innovations strategies enhanced, if at all, the competitive advantage of the different players in the Kenyan telecommunication industry in Kenya In order to satisfy the objective of the study, a descriptive survey research design was adopted and data was collected from top management and senior managers of the four telecommunication companies in Kenya. The findings revealed that most innovation strategies were formulated to meet customer needs. In order for a company to have a competitive advantage, technological innovation and research was most important. Moreover, external environment was monitored to determine the innovation strategies to be formulated. This study established that understanding customer needs was the major reason for success levels of products in the market and this can be attributed to lead to a superior competitive advantage. The study therefore recommends that top management in the telecommunication industry should realign their innovation strategies to understand customer needs in order to acquire competitive advantage. The success of their innovative strategies heavily depends on how well they were being implemented. | en |
