Operations Strategy and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Tyre Industry in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The main aim of the study was to operations strategy and sustainable competitive advantage in Tyre industry in Nairobi County, Kenya. The objectives of the study are: to determine the operation strategies used by Tyre Industry in Kenya; to determine the relationship between operations strategy and sustainable competitive advantage in Tyre Industry in Kenya and to determine challenges faced in implementation of sustainable competitive advantage by Tyre Industry in Kenya. The study was carried out through a survey where the unit of study was the Tyre Industry in Kenya. The study targeted 480 firms dealing with tyres in Nairobi County, Kenya as at September 2016. These firms include manufactures, distributers, wholesalers and retailer. The researcher adopted a stratified random sampling technique to select a sample size of 144 firms from the population 480 firms dealing with tyre. Primary data was obtained from one respondent in each firm in the Tyre industry in Kenya using a research questionnaire. This was drawn from top management. Both the primary and secondary data were used thus making qualitative and quantitate respectfully. From the findings on the operations strategies employed by tyre industries to remain competitive in the market, the study revealed the competitive strategies were: corporate strategy, customer-driven approach, core competencies, competitive priorities and development of product and service. The study revealed that the challenges faced by challenges faced Tyre Industry in Kenya in implementation of sustainable competitive advantage are; poor or vague strategy implementation, challenge of communication insemination, consumer protection and competition regulation, economic growth challenges (overall; by industry sector), lack of coordination and support from other levels of management and resistance from lower levels and lack of resources in the form of financial and human or indivisibility of resources. The researcher suggests that further research should be done on the challenges faced in adopting the sustainable competitive advantages hence hindering their effectiveness in response to increased Competition.