GROWTH STRATEGIES AND PRODUCT PERFORMANCE: A CASE OF M-PESA
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to establish the growth strategies that Safaricom Limited Company had implemented for M-PESA service and the impact on its performance. The specific objectives of the study were to understand the impact of market penetration, market development, product development and diversification strategies on M-PESA’s performance as measured by market share and revenue growth. The study design used a combination of descriptive and correlational research using survey method for data collection. The target population for the research was 160 senior and middle management staff at Safaricom Limited, Head Quarter offices. A sample size of 114 respondents was drawn from this population using stratified random sampling method. The study mainly used primary data collected using self-administered questionnaires, and secondary data was collected from published industry reports and Safaricom annual reports. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data while inferential statistics, specifically multiple linear regressions were used to determine the relationship between growth strategies and product performance. The data was analyzed using SPSS analysis software and was used to determine findings of the research and draw conclusions for the study. The study findings established that the four growth strategies of market penetration, product development, market development and diversification strategies had been applied by Safaricom Limited for M-PESA service. The regression model showed a statistically significant positive relationship between growth strategies and product performance. However further regression analysis to determine coefficients of each of the growth strategies found that, only two of these strategies, product development and market development had a statistically significant impact on product performance. The remaining two growth strategies of market penetration and diversification had negligible effect on product performance. The study further recommended adoption of growth strategies for products guided by the product life cycle stage and market conditions to optimize use of organization resources for targeted growth.
Key Words: Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development, Diversification, M-PESA
CITATION: Kioko, M., Wasike, S., & Ndiao, O. (2019). Growth strategies and product performance: a case of M-PESA. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (3), 272 – 288.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v6i3.1316
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