Organizational Innovation and Competitive Advantage Among Health Focused Non-governmental Organizations in Nairobi Kenya

Abstract

Innovation is not a new phenomenon. Arguably, it is as old as mankind itself. Research has found that commitment to innovation is a key to success and in a long run can be helpful in earning a competitive advantage for the firm. However, it's not that easy to buy it out in a Nonprofit context because of the confrontational environment that is around them, the many internal and external forces that influence them both positively and negatively and more so the level of uncertainty in innovation and some degree of risk with a gap of its understanding and its actual implementation. The primary objective of this Study was to determine the extent of organizational innovation and competitive advantage among health focused non-governmental organizations in Nairobi. The study employed survey methodology to determine the extent of organizational innovation and competitive advantage among health focused NGOs in Nairobi. A structured questionnaire was constructed and mailed to the directors and program managers of the NGOs in order to elicit responses for an in-depth understanding and analysis of key aspects of the research. Findings of the study suggested that there is a significant extent of practice of organizational innovation activities among Health NGOs operating in Nairobi and that there is also a positive relationship between the organizational innovation extent and competitive advantage. A significant proportion of the respondents are aware of organizational innovation concept though they have not fully adopted the practice to a great extent largely due to insufficient resources (both capital and human), market factors and also knowledge factors. As recommendations, these organizations were encouraged to go beyond the fear of the perceived economic risks and to take risks in coming up with new innovative ideas that have a commercial value. They should not expect too much of innovation -thinking that it will bring instant results and underestimating the timescales and investment needed, and finally NGOs should not consider innovation as a standalone department or area of work; rather, they ought to embed and integrated it as a core competency throughout the organization and its workforce.