| dc.description.abstract | The main objective of the study was to establish the strategic and innovative responses adopted by real estate firms to gain sustainable competitive advantage: Case of Suraya Property (K) Ltd. The study was theoretically grounded on the resource based view theory. The research design to be adopted was a case study. Primary data was collected by use of an interview guide targeting four senior property managers of the company. Data obtained was qualitative in nature. Content analysis was the right techniques to utilize in the analysis process. Content analysis techniques was preferred because it assisted in making inferences by objectively identifying specific information relating the same to occurrence trends on competitiveness factors. The study findings established that the essence of a firm developing appropriate competitive advantage is concerned with being able to contribute more value to customers than competitors in a competitive environment. Competitive advantage is the result of the firm’s planned strategy. As seen, many factors are equally important in producing appropriate competitive advantage. Some of these are industrial factors; others are resources and competencies of the firm. The sum of all these factors results in creating and sustaining successful competitiveness. The findings indicate that the real estate firms use various strategies, resources and capabilities in order to achieve competitive advantage. Due to the multiplicity of factors that lead to a firm’s competitive advantage, there is need for a firm to identify appropriate industry resource, firm resource and capability formation in a manner that is going to lead to synergy between the industry and the firm. The firms should be able to identify an appropriate strategy that it can employ in order to gain the necessary competitive advantage because even though two firms operate in the same industry, their sources of competitiveness might differ due to the market segment that it has concentrated on. A firm’s ability to develop an appropriate competitive advantage grows out of value a firm is able to create for its buyers that exceeds the firm's cost of creating it. The study has established that the real estate firms use several strategies in order to ensure that they achieve competitive advantage and it is recommended that the firms should use only those strategies which would ensure that they maximize the advantage in order to reduce costs to manageable level. The study has established that the real estate firms should consider using latest technology in their operations in order to reduce their operational cost and offer their services at competitive pricing. It is recommended that the firms should continue training their employees on how to maintain the low cost strategy and at the same time they should not incur the costs which they can do away with by outsourcing the services which will leave them to concentrate on their core objective. The real estate firms should at the same time continue evaluating their customer service in order to compete effectively with other players in the market. The findings of the study is consistent with the resource based theory which forms the basis for competitive advantage of a firm which lies primarily in the application of a bundle of valuable and tangible or intangible resources at the firm’s disposal. It is recommended that researchers and academicians explore further research on the symbiotic relationship and organizational performance in other sectors | en_US |
