Influence of Mergers and Acquisitions on Competitive Advantage in the Insurance Industry in Kenya: a Case of Uap-old Mutual Group

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions continue to shape local and international business due to changes in the operating environment. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of mergers and acquisition on competitive advantage, a case study of UAP Old Mutual Group. The study was based on theories: of competitive Advantage and the Resource-Based View (RBV), an empirical review on mergers and acquisition from various scholars was conducted. The research methodology was a case study, using an interview guide as a data collection tool, the data was analyzed using content analysis. The results from the research shows that there is a relationship between mergers and acquisition and competitive advantage. There was an in increase in the market share and performance of the organization post-merger, the organization was able to incorporate a new service which created competitive advantage. The merger has it pros and cons; the pros were that it improved the organization performance and financial status, the cons are that merging the two organizations products and services has taken time implement and a few changes were made e.g. staff layoff. I would recommend further studies to be conducted on mergers and acquisition in other industries e.g. hospitality, mergers and acquisitions of organizations operating in different industries and a review on the performance of the organization that conducted a merger/acquisition few later. The research concluded that there is a significant relationship between competitive advantage and mergers/acquisitions. Mergers/acquisition can be used by a company that is aiming at improving its profits and market share. A follow up research should be conducted on organization that have performed a merger/acquisition to analyze the progress, as well as merger/acquisition in different industries.