The Effects of Product Differentiation Strategy on Corporate Growth in Selected Microfinance Institutions in Kenya
Keywords:
corporate, differentiation, growth, product,, strategyAbstract
The main purpose of this study was to assess the effects of product differentiation strategy on corporate growth of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Kenya. The study employed descriptive and quantitative research designs. The target population was 57 firms and the sample size was 32 firms arrived at through stratified and purposive sampling methods. The questionnaire was the primary data tool. The study found out that product differentiation strategy has significant effects on corporate growth in MFIs in Kenya. It concludes that increased deployment of product differentiation strategy increases corporate growth in MFIs in Kenya. It recommends that managers should create, protect and maintain differentiated products and services in order to be competitive in industry thus leading to corporate growth. Further, policy makers should find and implement ways of encouraging MFIs to create and maintain product differentiation in their portfolios.
Downloads
References
Colombelli, A., Krafft, J., & Quatraro, F. (2014). High growth firms and technological knowledge: Do gazelles follow exploration or exploitation strategies? Industrial and Corporate Change. 23 (1) 50-62.
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2013). Business Research Methods. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Creswell, J. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. India: Sage Publications.
Coad, A. (2009). The growth of firms: A survey of theories and empirical evidence. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Headd, B. & Kirchhoff, B. 2007: Small business growth: Searching for stylized facts. (2007). Retrieved 4 June, 2012 from the Office of Advocacy Web site: http://www.sba.gov/advo/./s/sol/wpaper
Hill, C. & Jones, G., (2012). Strategic management theory, An integrated approach. Biztantra: (10th ed.) Wiley India.
Hitt, M., Ireland, R. & Hoskisson, R. (2012). Strategic management; competitiveness and globalization (4th ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: South- Western College Publishing.
Hollander M., Wolfe D.A., & Chicken E. (2014). Nonparametric Statistical Methods, John Wiley & Sons.
Honjo, Y., & Harada, N., (2006). SME policy, financial structure and firm growth: Evidence from Japan. [Electronic version]. Small Business Economies 27(4), 289- 300.
Johnson, G., Scholes, K. & Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring corporate strategy: texts & cases, (8th ed.) United Kingdom: Prentice Hall International.
Pearce, J. & Robinson, R. (2013), Strategic Management; Planning for Domestic and Global Competitiveness. (13th ed.) Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
Picardi, C. A., & Masick, K. D. (2014). Research Methods: Designing andconducting research with a real-World Focus. U.S.A.: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Porter, M.E. (2004 [1985]). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance, Free Press, Reprinted in Abridged Form in: De Wit, B. & Meyer, R.,Strategy. Process, Content, Context. An International Perspective, (3rd ed.). London: Thomson.
Rothaermel, F. (2015), Strategic Management: Concepts 2e . McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Sekaran, U. (2010) Research methods for business: A skill building approach (5th ed) USA: John Willey & Sons’ publisher.
Struwig, F., & Stead, G. (2013). Research: Planning, Designing and Reporting. Pearson Education South Africa.
Valipour, H. Birjandi, H. & Honarbakhsh, S. (2012) The Effects of Cost Leadership Strategy and Product Differentiation Strategy on the Performance of Firms. [Electronic version]. Journal of Asian Business Strategy, 2(1) 4- 23.
Wheelen, T. & Hunger, D. (2012). Strategic management and business policy: Towards Global Sustainability. Boston: Pearson Education.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2016 gnpublication@

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All journals related to business, management, and accounting can be freely copied, circulated, and reprinted in Green Publication journals, as long as they are duly referenced by original authors. Green Publication follows CC licenses. “A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of the public copyright licenses that allows for the free reuse of an otherwise copyrighted "work." If an author wants to give others the right to publish, use, and build on a work created by the author, he may use a CC license. Green publication use the CC 4.0 license. This license allows anyone to write, remix, tweak, and build on your work, even commercially, as long as the original creation is attributed to you”. This is the most appropriate license available. Recommended for increasing the distribution and use of licensed products.



