COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF POSITIONING STRATEGIES USED BY PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN KENYA.docx (original) (raw)
ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to carry out a comparative analysis of the positioning strategies used by private universities for competitive advantage in Kenya, The study was guided by the following research questions: What are the strategies being used by private universities in Kenya? To what extent does the top management team impact on the choice of growth strategies by private universities in Kenya? What are the branding mechanisms do private universities use? Target population was four selected universities which are Strathmore, Kenya College University, United States International University-Africa and St. Paul’s University. Herein the target population will be 237 participants. The study adopted a quantitative research design, with a sample size was 237 managers/supervisors from the various institutions. The study further developed open and closed structured questionnaires so as to be able to collect the primary data. The methods used enabled comparative analysis using both the qualitative and quantitative methods. The questionnaires were pilot tested before they were fully disbursed to the respondents. ANOVA was used to test whether strategies used were statically different. The study found that some private universities pursue the same strategies differently. Thus the end results of the strategies pursued is different. The strategies are differentiated by the extent to which they apply the strategies and also the target of their strategies. ANOVA results shows that strategies pursued by different private universities significantly differed (p>0.05). On the relationship between top management team and the choice of growth strategies, the role of management in strategy formulation was found to be critical in the private universities; the study found that strategic decisions were formulated by the senior level managers in the universities thus axing the participation of the lower cadre staff. The study concludes that private universities pursue branding as a way of creating competitive edge and also building the image of an institution and also as a way of increasing the market value of their institutions. The study notes that branding is viewed as a conduit upon which institutions move from their missions to visions Study recommends that private universities work on creating efficiency of operations so as to lower the cost of running their operations so as to lower the fees and accommodate students from different financial backgrounds. Consequently, it recommended that strategic planning and implementation be highly inclusive and highly participatory to ensure that all parties take part in strategic planning and implementation. This would reduce resistance and create some sense of ownership while suppressing apathy in the institutions. Lastly the study suggested that universities invest in research and development to come up new ways of developing their brands and selling it out to the public so as to remain relevant and competitive in the higher education. The nature and the way private universities run are different from public universities. Thus, to completely bring out deeper understanding on strategies pursued by different universities in Kenya. It is recommended that a similar study be done in public universities to have an understanding, views and approaches pursued by the public universities as well. Keywords: Private universities strategies, management team impact and branding mechanisms
Sign up for access to the world's latest research.
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.