| dc.description.abstract | The business environment is constantly changing and has shifted considerably over
the past several years, presenting both; Threats and Opportunities to the banking
sector in Kenya. In light of this dynamic landscape, commercial banks must manage
rapid environmental changes and make difficult decisions in order to survive, navigate
and compete effectively in the Kenyan banking industry. Organizations need to create
and implement an effective strategy in order to excel in today's marketplace. While
setting and implementing strategy is never easy, organizations that make the
investment in time, effort, and thinking are better equipped to excel in the
marketplace and outperform their competitors. On the other hand, the quest for
financial inclusion is generating a lot of interest, not just in Kenya but throughout
developing economies. Financial exclusion is thus a key policy concern, because the
options for operating a household budget, or an enterprise, without mainstream
financial services can often be expensive. This study sought to determine what
strategic responses commercial banks are adopting in order to reach the unbanked
population in Kenya and the influence of these strategic responses on enhancing
market penetration of the unbanked population in the country. The descriptive
research design was used for the purpose of this study, which allows the researcher to
describe the phenomena under study. The population of this study was drawn from the
Heads of strategy or their equivalent in 43 commercial banks registered and licensed
under the Banking Act of Kenya as at June 2014. Primary and Secondary data were
used for the purpose of this study. Primary data sources were through selfadministered drop and pick questionnaires for quantitative and qualitative data.
Secondary data sources, Articles, books, Newspapers, the internet, journals and
magazines were also used where the banks had granted interviews on their
competitive strategies. The data collected was edited for completeness and accuracy,
coded and entered in SPSS for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to understand
the characteristics and relationship between the established strategic responses and
market penetration of the unbanked population in Kenya. Statistical tests such as
independent sample t-test and ANOVA were used to analyse the differences in the
data. Correlation and simple regression models were also used to understand the
relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. The study
concluded that Commercial banks employed strategic responses like, Market
Segmentation, Mobile Banking, Agency Banking and Microfinance to reach the
unbanked population in the country. This is testament to the fact that Commercial
banks were indeed, embracing technological advances to get around cost barriers and
help in reaching customers where they are located - overcoming infrastructural
deficiencies and costs involved in physically reaching out to clients. Organizational
strategy is one of the broadest and most complex concepts used in studying
organizations. Many, if not most, organizations simultaneously pursue a combination
of two or more strategies, but a combination strategy can be exceptionally risky if
carried too far. No organization can afford to pursue all the strategies that might
benefit the organization. Difficult decisions must be made and priorities established.
In short, organizations just like individuals have limited resources. | en_US |
