Strategic Responses Adopted by Invest & Grow Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited to Changes in the Political Legal Environment in Kenya

Abstract

Organizations are affected by many factors in their environment. The management has to respond by formulating strategies aimed at countering threat in the environment or maximizing on opportunities presented. A dynamic environment that has continuous change requires corresponding change in strategy. Kenya’s political legal environment is dynamic and has continuously changed. This has forced organizations to respond to the changes by changing strategy. Invest & Grow savings and credit society ltd is a savings and cooperative society established in 1977 with a membership of 200 and has since grown to a membership of over 17,295. The sacco has its headquarters in Kakamega with 5 branches in Mbale, Lumakanda, Malava, Mumias and Butere. The objective of the study was to determine the strategic responses adopted by the Sacco to changes in the political legal environment in Kenya and also to identify challenges it faced in adopting the strategies. The research was a case study. The research used an interview guide as the primary data collection instrument and inward communication from the government and Sacco’s society regulation authority as the secondary data. The interview guides were administered to 4 managers of different departments. The data collected was analyzed by content analysis which involved looking for ideas from the responses which formed the basis for discussion. The study found out that the Sacco operates in a dynamic political legal environment. It concluded that the IG Sacco had adopted various strategies to respond to the changing political legal environment. These are the market development strategy, the cost leadership strategy and the lobbying strategy. The study found the major challenges in the adoption of these strategic responses to be an unsupportive organization structure, low membership, internal inefficiencies and an unsuitable organization name. The study recommends that the Sacco applies more strategies to counter the threats in the political legal environment and ensure survival by adapting to the ever changing environment. The study was limited to interviewees from one company and conclusions drawn may not be representative of the whole industry. Further research should be undertaken to establish the strategic responses adopted to changes in the political legal environment in Kenya by other Sacco’s.