Knowledge Capability and Competitiveness of Firms in the Banking Industry in Kenya

Abstract

The effectiveness of building knowledge within the firm depends on the firm’s ability to monitor and absorb newly acquired knowledge from many sources and then integrate this knowledge into its existing knowledge base. The objective of knowledge capability is to offer a firm sustained competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is possible when a firm delivers some of the benefits that are not possible with the competitors because of their capability. The study sought to determine whether knowledge capability is related to competitiveness of firms in the banking industry in Kenya, and to establish how firms in the Kenyan banking industry create, manage and share knowledge. The study was based on resource-based theory, Knowledge spiral theory and chaos theory. This study used descriptive survey design. Population for this study included all the commercial banks in Kenya. The study made use of primary data which was collected through semi structured questionnaire. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis while quantitaive data was analyzed through descriptive statistics including the mean and standard deviation. The study established that the knowledge capability that most of the banks in kenya that are involved in is knowledge and that the technology of the bank enables it to relate better with customers to a great extent. Further, the study established that commercial banks in Kenya uses resources to develop new products to a very great extent It was also established that most of the firms in the banking industry in Kenya manage Knowledge and that firms in the banking industry carry out management and leadership aspects of managing knowledge.