INFLUENCE OF COMPETITIVE POSITION ON GROWTH STRATEGIES AMONG MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

We are living in a global industry and the impact of globalization on the business ventures cannot be wished away. A global industry is one where the marketplace is worldwide and major firms are driven to employ some type of worldwide competitive strategies or else face strategic disadvantage. The competition position is determined by a number of factors including; market power, product line, customer service, research and development, financial position, cost advantage, etc. This study sought to establish whether competitive position of a firm influences its choice of a growth strategy. The findings established that though the firms under study were homogeneous, the approach to strategic choice was totally dependent on a firm’s capabilities. The competitive position of a firm was indeed found to be a factor that influenced the sampled firms’ choices of specific growth strategies. This indicates that, before any growth strategy is formulated, a firm has to do a thorough analysis of the capabilities within i.e. internal business environment and also the external environment to be able to come up with a good strategic fit.