DETERMINANTS OF FIRMS’ COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AMONG SEED COMPANIES IN KENYA: CASE OF KENYA SEED COMPANY LIMITED
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate determinants of firm’s competitive advantage using a case of Kenya Seed Company. The study specifically sought to establish how resource capability, marketing capabilities, research and chain supply responsiveness affect competitive advantage of Kenya Seed Company. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population comprised of the top management, middle level management and low level management of Kenya Seed Company. There were 121 employees across the three levels of management at the time of carrying out this research. The sample size was 93 employees arrived at using Yamane formula. The respondents from the strata were sampled using stratified random sampling. The research instrument used in this study was questionnaires. The researcher collected primary data using a self-administered questionnaire which were issued through drop and pick later method. Before the actual data collection, the researcher carried out a pilot study to pre-test the validity and reliability of data collected using the questionnaire. Quantitative data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyze data. The findings were presented using tables and models. The results indicated that resources capability, marketing capabilities, supply chain responsiveness, research and development have positive effect on competitive advantage of Kenya Seed Company. Therefore, the study concluded that increase in these four factors, would results to significant increase in competitive advantage. Therefore, the study that Kenya Seed Company should ensure that the marketing personnel had the right marketing capabilities by bringing expert in the area to train them and also hold in-house trainings. Further, the study recommended that companies should have strategic marketing plan with well-coordinated marketing activities, which would results to better outcome.
Key Words: Resource Capability, Marketing Capabilities, Research and Development, Chain Supply Responsiveness, Competitive Advantage
CITATION: Mwei, M., & Otinga, H. (2020). Determinants of firms’ competitive advantage among seed companies in Kenya: A case of Kenya Seed Company Limited. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 7(3), 1062 – 1081.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v7i3.1727
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