Effect of Strategic Implementation on Competitive Advantage of Airports in Nairobi County

Abstract

Competitive advantage is the superiority that gives an organization an edge over its rivals and the ability to generate greater value for the firm and its shareholders. Effective strategy implementation is critical component of why some firms outperform others as a well formulated strategy cannot guarantee success until it is effectively implemented. Historically, airports have been seen as monopoly utility providers with limited room for growth. Aviation markets however, have become more liberalized, new dynamics emerged, adding to the industry's complexity and the emergence of airport competition. This has left the Kenyan airports’ struggling for competition with other regional airports. The general objective of this study was to determine the effect of strategic implementation on competitive advantage of Airports in Nairobi County. Specifically, establish the effect of organizational structure on competitive advantage, examine the effect of leadership styles on competitive advantage, examine the effect of corporate culture on competitive advantage and establish the effect of training on competitive advantage of Airports in Nairobi County. The study was informed by resource-based view theory of the firm, Porters’ generic Model and Contingency theory. This study adopted an explanatory research design because the research attempted to establish causal relationship. The study used a multi-stage sampling design to select 130 respondents from a population of 1,300 staff of Kenya Airports Authority in Nairobi County. A Cronbach alpha value of 0.883 was observed which showed that the research instrument was valid and reliable for the study. Data was analyzed to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The overall ANOVA values were indicated by an F value of 2826.816 indicating that the overall model was a good fit and removing any independent variable will have a significant effect on competitive advantage (DV). The overall Regression model results indicated were that organizational structure (β=.279, p ≤0.001) leadership styles (β=. 260, p ≤0.001), organizational culture (β. .207, p p ≤0.001) and training (β.484, p ≤0.001) this demonstrated that independent variable has Significant influence on the dependent variable. The overall regression model posited in R squared was 99% showing that strategic implementation positively and significantly predicted competitive advantage of Airports in Nairobi County. The study concludes that a better organizational structure, adoption of superior leadership style and adequate employee training would lead to a higher competitive advantage. The study recommended that the organizational structure be changed and aligned to the corporate strategy, the Airports Authority adopt other forms of leadership style supportive of strategy implementations, that the organization ensures strong organizational culture characterized by flexibility, cooperation & integrity and that the Airport Authority invests in well-structured training. Future studies should seek to examine the effect of strategic implementation on competitive advantage on other firms apart from the airports in Nairobi County.