Strategy, technology and innovation in low cost housing by Elsek and Elsek (Kenya) limited

Abstract

Housing is one of the basic needs of human beings. People’s lives are greatly affected by the availability and quality of the type of houses they dwell in. For ages, housing shortage has been one of the major challenges faced by many countries. This has led to players in the housing industry initiating alternative building technologies which they hope can help reduce the wide gap between demand and supply of housing stocks. However, despite these efforts, housing still remains a daily nightmare especially in the developing countries. Kenya is an example of one of the developing countries that has since independence struggled with the acute housing shortage for its growing population. Since today’s environment is turbulent, it is important for firms to integrate strategy, technology and innovations so as to survive in the dynamic global environment. This study set out to establish the relationship strategy technology and innovation in low cost housing by Elsek & Elsek (Kenya) Ltd. To achieve this objective, both primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed using content analysis. Primary data was collected through structured interview guides whereby the researcher held a face-to-face interview with the Chief Executive Officer and senior managers of Elsek & Elsek (Kenya) Ltd. Secondary data on the other hand was collected from the company’s catalogues, in-house publications, company website and internal reports. The study was necessitated by the increasing housing shortage in most countries hence the need to find out how the relationship between strategy, technology and innovation assists in offering low cost houses. The results indicated that there is a close link between strategy technology and innovation and that Elsek & Elsek (Kenya) Ltd responded to environmental changes by continually changing its technology and innovation so as to meet market demands. The major success of the company was as a result of investing heavily in internal resources which enabled it to efficiently and effectively execute its strategic plans. The study suggested that in order to reduce the gap between housing supply and demand, the investors in the housing sector should employ modern building technologies which are not only cheaper but offer faster delivery of housing stock to the increasing population