| dc.description.abstract | A strategic alliance involves at least two partner firms that: remain legally independent
after the alliance is formed, share benefits and managerial control over the performance
of assigned tasks; and make continuing contributions in one or more strategic areas, such
as technology or products. The objective was to evaluate Post Bank as a preferred
strategic partner by commercial banks in the implementation of agent banking in Kenya.
This research was conducted based on the Case Study as a research tool. This study relied
on the use of primary data carried out through an interview guide. The study established
that there were several key drivers to setting up the strategic partnership. All these were
meant to cope with the stiff competition in the market by increasing their foot prints
across the country more so by increased customer uptake and improved levels of
satisfaction for its existing customers that would result in the growth of their market share
and profitability. On the other hand the strategic alliance partners found it cheaper to
partner with Post Bank as opposed to setting up their own agents. By partnering with Post
Bank, the strategic partners rode on post bank’s already existing information technology
platform that eased the installation link of communication between the partners. Besides
the installation costs, the post bank staff were well trained and conversant with the
system lowering the cost of training on the partners. The availability of suitable space and
openness to post bank’s co-branding preferences fundamentally acted as a cost reduction
factor to the partners leading to the partnership between post bank and the commercial
banks. The study further concludes that the banks experienced challenges that included
frequent system down times which affected the operations at post bank its partners and
led to frequent long queues in the banking halls. There were also system integration
challenges as some systems of strategic alliance partners were not compatible with those
of post bank delaying the kickoff of some partnerships. Differences in strategic intent
between post bank and its partners also served as a major challenge in the implementation
of the partnership. This study therefore recommends that post bank and its partners
invests innovative products so as to improve the level of customer satisfaction, loyalty
and the overall impact and success of the partnership. The study therefore recommends
that future research be carried out to determine factors affecting the choice of agent
banking partner selection in Kenya to help find out how commercial banks go about
selection of agents in Kenya. | en_US |
