dc.description.abstract | For organizations to achieve their goals and objectives, they have to constantly adjust to
their environment. This environment is constantly changing and so it makes it imperative
for organizations to continuously adapt their activities in order to assure survival (Aosa,
1997). Different forces take on prominence in shaping competition in each industry. Each
industry has an underlying structure or set of fundamental economic and technical
characteristics, that gives rise to these competitive forces. Funeral sector in Kenya has
both publicly and privately owned morgues, the following are some of the funeral homes
that provide an inclusive package of morgue, coffins, lowering gears, viewing area, a
religious services room or area, public address systems, video\ cameras seats and hearse
in Nairobi county namely; Lee Funeral Home, Montezuma & Monalisa Funeral home,
Umash Funeral home, Kenyatta funeral home and Chiromo Mortuary. Studies done
(Waithaka 2001 and Muriithi 2009) indicate that privately owned funeral homes have a
competitive edge compared to the public managed. This study sought to determine
factors which influence the choice of innovation strategies adopted by funeral homes in
Kenya? The research was conducted through a census. The population for the study
consisted of all privately and public owned morgues in Nairobi county, funeral homes
offering services. There are 24 funeral homes in Nairobi County and all were under
study. The study used both primary and secondary data. The target respondents were
morgue directors/ superintendents, marketing managers and administrators. The data
collected from the respondents was analyzed using simple statistical tools and presented
in frequencies percentages, mean and standard deviation. This study therefore
recommends that these firms should incorporate several innovative strategies especially
on the marketing area. They should adopt channels including print, direct mail, websites,
social media and email marketing to reach a larger market niche. The study further
recommends that these funeral homes should partnered with other institutions giving
similar services like the insurance companies which helps them reach a large clientele
and makes the business more viable. This would bring clients more closely to their
services. | en |