| dc.description.abstract | The success and sustainability of any organization m a competitive environment IS determined by its choice of strategy. However most strategies are replicated by competitors and thus a company must position itself in the minds of the consumer in order to remain competitive. This study was an attempt to determine the positioning strategies applied used by Telecommunication firms in Kenya. From Introduction of Telecommunication services in the colonial times up to 1977, the services in Kenya were managed as part of regional network with neighboring East African community .It collapsed as a result of Establishment of Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KP&TC).
The challenge at that time was to transform the existing policy Structure from one designed for a monopoly to a policy managing a liberalized telecommunication Market. In 1998/1999, the government Launched the Telecommunications sector reform and introduced competition in certain market segments, while at the same time Disbanding KP&TC (CCK, 2001). There are four major players in the Telecommunications industry in Kenya. These are: Safaricom Limited, Airtel Kenya, Telkom Kenya which operates under the Orange Brand and Essar Telecom Kenya which operates under the Brand name Yu Mobile.
A census study method was used since the number of firms was small and it is a sound basis for gathering insight information from the firms in the Kenyan Telecommunication industry on the positioning strategies they use. The data for the study was primary data collected using semi-structured questionnaires. These questionnaires were administered to persons in charge of Strategic planning function, and in their absence, to persons in charge of the marketing function. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean scores, frequency distributions and percentages.
The research objective of this study was to determine the positioning strategies used by firms in the Telecommunication industry in Kenya in the competitive environment. From the research, it was established that most telecommunication firms are preferred by customers because of their competitive prices, product characteristics, technological advancement and superior product characteristics as this affects positioning to a greater extent. | en_US |
