Porter’s Five Forces and Competitive Advantage of Telecommunications Firms in Nigeria (Published)
Telecommunications Firms in Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted in the study. The study had a population of 181 and was treated as census study. The primary instrument used in data collection was questionnaire. Two firms, Airtel and MTN were involved in the study. The study made use of the survey research design and achieved 61.38% response rate. Data analysis was done with multiple regression. The study revealed an adjusted R2 of 0.723 which implies that about 72.3% of the variables of Porter’s Five Forces studied when combined will account for about 72.3% changes in competitive advantage in telecommunications firms in Nigeria. Specifically, Buyers’ Bargaining Power (Beta = 2.981, t= 4.785, P< 0.05); Current Rivalry (Beta = 1.003, t= 2.145, P< 0.05); Threat of Substitute (Beta = 1.064, t= 2.011, P< 0.05) and Threat of New Entrant (Beta = 3.138, t= 3.017, P< 0.05) were all significant in influencing competitive advantage among telecommunication firms in Nigeria. However, Suppliers Bargaining power (Beta = 1.372, t= 1.847, P> 0.05). had no significant influence. It was concluded that Buyers’ Bargaining Power, Current Rivalry, Threat of Substitute and Threat of New Entrant were the key forces that influence competitive advantage among telecommunication firms in Nigeria, while Suppliers Bargaining power was weak and therefore, not capable of influencing competitive advantage among telecommunications firms in Nigeria. It was recommended that telecommunications companies in Nigeria should pay close attention to Buyers’ Bargaining Power and strategize on satisfying customers, meeting their needs and retaining their patronage; continuously monitor their competitors, launch aggressive campaigns, provide loyalty programmes and provide appropriate strategic response, strategize on retaining their customers and making difficult for new telecommunications firms to birth in the country; should ensure that their actions and policies do not cause their customers to switch to other brands but influence customer loyalty, in order improve their competitive position.
Keywords: Competitive Advantage, Nigeria, Porter’s Five Forces, Telecommunication Firms
Examining the effect of fleet management on competitive advantage in the transport industry (Published)
The study assessed the impact of fleet management practices on competitive advantage in the Ghanaian transport sector within the Kumasi metropolis. The study was conducted on a sample of 200 firms with which 178 responses were successfully received representing 89% response rate. Data was collected using questionnaire. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in selecting respondents. The research designs adopted was explanatory and was analyzed using IBM Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 20. Regression, correlation and Cronbach alpha coefficients were used for data analysis. The study revealed that, repair and maintenance, fuel and driver management, and training have positive effect on competitive advantage whiles vehicle tracking have an inverse relationship with competitive advantage. The study recommended that, firms should employ experts in the field of fleet management to give them advice on how to implement fleet management practices to enhance service delivery hence giving them an edge over competitors.
Keywords: Competitive Advantage, Fleet Management, fuel management, repair and maintenance
Effect of Collaborative Awareness on Supply Chain Agility of Cosmetics Manufacturing Firms in the County Government of Nairobi, Kenya (Published)
Global competition within firms has forced most manufacturing industries to become more innovative and strategic in their supply chain practices. One way of achieving this is through Supply Chain Agility. The study focussed to assess the Effect of Collaborative Awareness on Supply Chain Agility of Cosmetic Manufacturing Firms in the County Government of Nairobi, Kenya. Relational View theory, Resource Based View Theory and Stategy, Structure and Performance Theory was adopted in the study. Cross-sectional survey research design was used in the study. The target population of the study was 714 employees working in the Cosmetic Manufacturing Firms in the County Government of Nairobi, Kenya. A sample of 256 was selected from the target population using a Multi Stage Sampling Technique. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the collected data. The results of the study reveal that collaborative awareness contributes positively to supply chain agility of cosmetics manufacturing firms in the County Government of Nairobi.Generally, majority of the respondents agreed that Collaborative Awareness contributes positively to Supply Chain Agility of Cosmetics Manufacturing Firms in the County Government of Nairobi. The results also indicates that there is a positive and statistically significant correlation between collaborative awareness and supply chain agility (r=0.505, p<0.001). This implies that collaborative awareness enhances supply chain agility of cosmetics manufacturing firms in the County Government of Nairobi. As evidenced from the results it can be concluded that collaborative awareness positively affects the Supply Chain Agility of Cosmetics Manufacturing Firms and as such the firms should constantly be in collaboration with their partners since it one of the strategies employed by firms to deal with uncertainties. Interesting findings might be obtained from studies that explore integral relationship strategies in other industries or settings.
Keywords: Collaborative Awareness, Competitive Advantage, Relational View Theory, Resource Based View Theory, Strategy, Structure and Performance Theory, Supply Chain Agility
Building Sustainable Organizational Capabilities through Supply Chain Innovation (Published)
Organizational performance directly affecting supply chain management practices. A continuous innovation in supply chain is important for corporations to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, to differentiate from competitors. Contemporary supply chain management stresses coordinating supply chain stakeholders into seamless unit in meeting customers demand and enhancing competitive advantage. Although companies concentrate on innovating independently for developing capabilities, companies however demonstrate reliance on creating their supply chain innovation capability. As markets became global, competition intensified. This forced the companies to innovate to be competitive and carryout holistic, fully integrated approach to their supply chain designs. This can replace traditional thinking in pursuit of effective and responsiveness supply chain. The research addresses gap in the literature between supply chain innovation and organizational capabilities. The study explore how organizations expand their efforts in improving relationships for developing capabilities of supply chain and what capabilities do firms develop to create innovation capacity within a supply chain. Companies in Karnataka, India surveyed to examine the inter relationship beteen organizational capability and supply chain innovation. The results showed that supply chain innovation has positive relationship with organizational capabilities and supply chain integration mechanisms do impact supply chain innovation.
Keywords: Capabilities, Competitive Advantage, Innovation, Performance, Supply Chain