Response strategies adopted by mobile phone companies in kenya to changes in the telecommunication industry

Abstract

The business environment has become extremely competitive and complex. Organizations must be flexible in order to adapt to changes, to compete effectively and thus prosper and grow. A good corporate strategy should therefore integrate an organization‟s goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole, and must be based on business realities. This is because one of the challenges facing business entities is choosing and implementing a good response strategy. It therefore means that effective response strategies are a major determinant of the organizational performance and therefore the leadership of the organization should consider it a key duty to set. The objective of the study was to determine the response strategies adopted by mobile phone companies in Kenya to changes in the telecommunication industry. The research design adopted by the study was cross sectional survey design. The population of the study consisted of all the four mobile phone companies operating in Kenya. The study used primary data which was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and presented using tables and figures. The study established that the there are changes that have taken place n the telecommunication industry and these changes included technological, customer preference, decrease in the interconnectivity charges, changes in socio-cultural dynamics, tax regime changes, financial regulations, increased cost of network infrastructure and consumer protection laws. The companies responded to the changes through information technology, marketing, change management, leadership and culture and restructuring. The response by the companies resulted in development of new products, services, processes and capabilities that give a business a strategic advantage over the competitive forces, improve productivity and reduce costs, communicating with its clients and staff, responding to competition pressures without delays, nurturing key themes or dominant values that reinforce the competitive advantages, and shaping the culture to fit with opportunities and challenges. In conclusion, an effective response by an organization to competition is founded on continuous response by the organization to the changing environment and the adopted strategies should be multifaceted to include both internal and external factors to the organization. The study though successful had some limitations such as suspicion on the part of the respondents. Despite this the research found that an organization should implement appropriate process of identifying and harnessing strategies in order to face the challenges from the uncertain business environment. Constant monitoring of the industry is essential to avoid surprises. Further, as part of the organization strategy, assessment of competitors should form an important exercise and the targets set should bear in mind the capacity of the organization to achieve the targets with the available structures.