Perception of employees on acquisition strategy at liquid telecom Kenya

Abstract

Organizations operate in a very competitive environment and therefore there is need to change the way they operate to be able to fit in the current environment. Acquisition strategy is one of the key factors companies are considering in order to survive in the market, therefore they need to understand key issues like perception of employees on the strategy before its implementation to ensure it succeeds. This study sought to explore the influence of perception on acquisition strategy at liquid Telecom Kenya. The basic question that the study sought to address was: what is the employee perception of acquisition strategy at Liquid Telecom Kenya? The objective of the study was to determine perception of employees on acquisition strategy and to establish factors affecting perception of employees on acquisition at Liquid Telecom. The study was guided by Industrial Organization Economic theory. The study adopted an exploratory research design. Data was collected using questionnaire and it was delivered and responded through e mail. The study found out that employee’s perception was positive this is because factors like motives caused by either internal or external factors affected their perception of the strategy. Also there personal attitudes and values played a great part in the way they perceived the strategy positively, furthermore support of acquisition strategy by other employees affected how they perceived the strategy in a positive way because it looked like a good idea to have Liquid Telecom on board. The fact the company understands the needs of employees and believe that the strategy if not carefully implemented can lead to lack of support by employees was assign that the company understand what it takes to succeed in the implementation. Updates from the company on the progress of the strategy and also educated them on the advantages of embracing the strategy, it played a big role in how they perceived the strategy positively. The respondents disagreed that acquisition strategy can actually cause division between employees.The study concluded that employee’s motives, attitudes, values and communication from the management in regards to the process of acquisition strategy are key factors that organizations should consider when implementing acquisition strategy. The study recommends that any organization that would like to implement the strategy to adhere to the above key factors and also to do a thorough check of the company that they want to acquire understand their culture and values before implementation start for it to be successful. The study did not however agree to some of the theories like Industrial Organization Economic theory which focus on the market a company operates on rather than the firm itself, according to the structure conduct performance model there’s a casual link in which the market operates, organization conduct and in turn profitability. If organizations will focus on its employees more, they will be able to deal with them better especially during implementation of a new strategy to ensure its success. The study recommends that further studies to be done in other companies in the same industry to be able to have a comparison and find out key issues affecting employees perception, also the study go deeper and get more information regarded as confidential to be able to get a clear picture of the situation.