Strategic Factors Influencing Sustainable Competitive Advantage of Mobile Phone Dealers in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This study explores the strategic factors influencing sustainable competitive advantage of mobile phone dealers in Nairobi, Kenya. The study used cross sectional survey design. The study targeted 155 dealers within Nairobi and simple random design was employed. A random sample of 80 dealers was surveyed. Data was collected using a questionnaire that was administered through drop and pick later method. The study used both primary and secondary data sources since the nature of the data was quantitative and qualitative. The respondents were picked randomly. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Factor analysis was employed to determine factors affecting. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the most pre-dominant SCA factors. The study found out that majority of the mobile phone dealers who had implemented sustainable competitive advantage practices ensured that they gathered and integrating customer information and display courtesy and also ensured business enter into one on one communication with customer, exhibiting high level of trustworthiness and reliability. The study also found out that majority of the mobile phone dealers adopted various strategies to a great extent in order to achieve competitive advantage; they included: market strategy, products reputation, customers’ differentiation, product pricing, cost control, technology, quality of the product, product and service innovations and customer service strategies. The study concluded that strategic practices have a positive relationship with sustainable competitive advantage of the organizations and that mobile phone dealers adopted the strategies in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The findings of this research have important implications for the practice of SCA. It will help demystify the concept of SCA in mobile phone dealers within Nairobi. It was also concluded that implementation of sustainable competitive advantage practices ensured mobile phone dealers gather and integrate customer information and display courtesy and also ensured business enter into one on one communication with customer, exhibiting high level of trustworthiness and reliability. The study also concluded that, besides the implementation of SCA practices, businesses faced some challenges. These challenges include rapid rate of technological change, competitor’s reaction, expensive rate of managing SCA systems, lack of qualified personnel to operate the systems especially when they are complex hence putting the organization on a task to educate staff so that they can proficiently operate the SCA practices. The study recommends that mobile phone dealers in Kenya should benchmark themselves with the best performing firms globally in order to find out the Sustainable Competitive Advantage practices that the firms use in enhancing competitiveness.