| dc.description.abstract | A business does not function in a vacuum. It has to act and react to what happens outside the factory and office walls. The changes taking place outside the business will affect its main functions and possibly its objectives and strategies. As business environment changes, it is becoming increasingly important that business engage in innovation to make most of their own unique strengths and to develop new markets.
Businesses have to be flexible and respond quickly to keep up with the changes, else they will find it harder to survive. How a business responds to changes within its environment determines its success in the industry and constitutes its strategic responses. Rwathia group of businesses have been faced by several environmental changes such as increased competition, changing customer demands, increased government regulations and bylaws among others.
The research was a in-depth case study about strategic responses of Rwathia group of businesses to environmental changes. The objective of the study was to document strategic responses that the group businesses have undertaken faced by changes in the environment. The study was conducted by carrying out in-depth interviews with ten respondents namely two owners, chairman of the board and seven units’ managers.
The study established a number of strategic responses by the group to the changes in the environment these include price adjustments, modernization of their facilities, training, differentiation and diversification. Regardless of the advancement in technology there is very minimal movement towards this advancement more so in the businesses where this is expected to have an impact on their efficiency, case in point being Rwathia Distributor Limited. These strategic responses are discussed in the ensuing sections in detail.
During data collection I had to translate most of my questions to Kikuyu language, which the two owners could easily understand, this was not always easy and at times I needed a third party to help in translation. Other than the translation the time for the study was also short.
The group businesses are not confined in Nairobi, a number are located in Thika, Muranga, Nakuru and Nyahururu. Similar study could be conducted to identify how other businesses of the group are responding to changes in the environment. Also, given that the remaining owners are getting incapable of running the business due to their age, a study could be conducted to establish the impact of generation transition that the group is going through. | en |
