Strategic Agility and Competitiveness of Pharmaceutical Companies in Kenya

Abstract

Despite the fact that the pharmaceutical sector in Kenya is the largest in East and Central Africa, it is exposed to fast and complex changes ranging from price volatility to radical changes in regulation. This study focused on investigating the effect of strategic agility on firm competitiveness among pharmaceutical firms in Kenya. Descriptive research design was applied in the study. The specific objectives of the study were: to examine the various strategic agility practices adopted by pharmaceutical firms in Kenya; and to establish the association between strategic agility and firm competitiveness of pharmaceutical firms in Kenya. The population included 22 selected pharmaceutical firms in Nairobi. The study establishes a statistically significant association between strategic agility and firm competitiveness among pharmaceutical companies in Kenya as evidenced by the high coefficient of determination in the regression model (R2) at 0.86. The study concludes that the adoption of various strategic agility practices: clarity of vision, core capabilities, selected strategic targets, shared responsibilities, and implementation of strategic agility have had a significant influence on firm competitiveness of pharmaceutical companies in Kenya.The study recommends that firms in Kenya adopt strategic agility practices to enhance their performance since it has a significant impact on firm competitiveness. On clarity of vision, the study recommends that pharmaceutical firms establish a clear sense of purpose which guides decision making. With regards to selected strategic targets, the study recommends that pharmaceutical companies in Kenya endeavor to identify and focus on the various business units’ core capabilities to exploit market opportunities to a large extent. On shared responsibilities, the study recommends that firms in Kenya endeavor to incorporate all the project teams including the clients to be part of the final outcome and results. Owing to the sensitivity of the subject of the study, a number of respondents were non-committal with a number of the respondents fearing victimization in case they filled the questionnaires. Possibly, the study could have adopted a census approach to cover all the manufacturing firms in Kenya. However time and material resources did not make this feasible and for this reason the study was confined to pharmaceutical firms in Kenya. The study suggests that future research efforts should unravel various factors that should be put in place to create an enabling environment for the implementation of strategic agility in Kenya. Moreover, future researchers should consider determining the role of national policy on industrialization in facilitating agility among Kenyan firms in enhancing firm and national competitiveness. At policy level, the findings of the study imply that policies aligned to enhancing firm and national competitiveness can bear fruits if they focus on enhancing strategic agility in both the public and private sector in Kenya. At the theoretical level, the findings of the study offer a critique of the existing theoretical models on strategic management. The results further imply that it’s possible to develop a conceptual model that can be used to analyze the effect of strategic agility on firm competitiveness and performance in Kenya. To practice, the findings of the study imply that firms in Kenya can greatly enhance their core competence by establishing various mechanisms that foster their responsiveness to stimuli in the macro-environment.