Factors Affecting the Adoption of Competitive Strategies by New Kenya Co-operative Creameries

Abstract

The major determinant of an organization’s success today in the changing turbulent environment depends on successful adoption of competitive strategies. Where globalization and technological change are new source of competition, markets are becoming more complex and unpredictable. The rules of competition are embodied in Porters five forces which are threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of sellers and rival among existing competitors. Competitive strategy offered a rich framework for understanding the underlying forces of competition in industries captured in the five forces .An effective strategy gives a firm three benefits .First, it is a source of economic gain, second it provides a framework for resource allocation and third it guides firms’ decision. The study sought to investigate the challenges of adoption of competitive strategies in new KCC. The study adopted a case study research design as it sought to gain an indepth understanding of the specific factors affecting the adoption of competitive strategies. A total of six respondents were interviewed using an interview guide. The study findings showed that the factors affecting the adoption of competitive strategies of new KCC were economic factor, social factor, ecological factor, technological and political factor. The level of competition was found to be stiff with all the respondents indicating that the industry was characterized by high levels of competition. This was mainly attributed to globalization which has permitted ease of cheap imports as well as intense inter-firm rivalry thanks to the many new entrants.