Assessing the Influence of Product Quality Differentiation Strategies on Performance of Car Hire Businesses in Kisii Town, Kenya
Abstract
The necessity to remain competitive as a result of changes in clients’ needs has been a key preserve of most car hire businesses whereas in the service industry, launching and enhancing new products and services is a clear way of retaining and attracting new customers. Thus, the purpose of the study was to assess the influence of differentiation strategies on the performance of car hire businesses in Kisii town. The information that was to be provided by this research is likely to be of benefit to policymakers, community members, and academicians. It adopted a descriptive survey research design with a target population of 38 employees of car hire businesses in Kisii town. The researcher collected data using questionnaires, interviews, observation, and document analysis. Piloting was done in Kenyanya Sub-County, the instruments were validated by the supervisors and reliability was determined through the test rest method; thereafter Cronbach alpha coefficients were determined using 0.7 reliability. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in tables. The study established that Care hire organisations should strive to enhance product differentiation by coming up with unique product features that would suit the consumer needs, car hire firms should seek to ensure that their products are trustworthy and dependable to their client base. This way, clients will begin to depend on your services, thus creating customer loyalty. The study recommends that organisations should invest in research and development to ensure before a new product is rolled out, adequate research is carried out so that the end product is able to sustain the emerging client needs.
Downloads
References
Barney, J. B. & Hesterly, W. S. (2008). Strategic Management and Competitive advantage-Concepts (2nd Ed.). New Dehli: Prentice-Hall.
Baum, O., Lurman, G., & Mueller, M. (2011). Molecular mechanisms of muscle plasticity with exercise. Comprehensive Physiology, 1(3), 1383-1412.
Best, R. L., & Khan, T. A. (2006). Scale development research: A content analysis and recommendations for best practices. The counselling psychologist, 34(6), 806-838.
Davidow, S., & Uttal, M. (2005). Strategy and restructure at the United Church of Christ. Journal of Macro marketing, 466-492.
Dirisu, J. I., Iyiola, O., & Ibidunni, O. S. (2013). Product differentiation: A tool of competitive advantage and optimal organisational performance (A study of Unilever Nigeria PLC). European Scientific Journal, 9(34).
Gant, O. (2013). Developing a scale to measure customer loyalty. Procedia Economics and Finance, 3, 623-628.
Ghadge, A., Dani, S., Ojha, R., & Caldwell, N. (2017). Using risk sharing contracts for supply chain risk mitigation: A buyer-supplier power and dependence perspective. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 103, 262-270.
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). Transforming the balanced scorecard from performance measurement to strategic management: Part 1. Accounting Horizons, 15(1), 87-104.
Kyengo, M. A., Ombui, J. W., & Iravo, K. (2016). Determinants of customer relationship management strategies on the performance of small and medium enterprises in Westlands Nairobi City. Int. Acad. Journals, 2(1), 17-28.
Morgan, E. J., Avermaete, T., Viaene, J., Pitts, E., Crawford, N., & Mahon, D. (2004). Determinants of product and process innovation in small food manufacturing firms. Trends in food science & technology, 15(10), 474-483.
Mugambi, C. & Kagiri, A.(2016). Effect of access to capital on the growth of youth-owned micro and small enterprises in Kenya. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, 5(4), 252-271.
Muraya, D. N., & Fry, D. (2016). Aftercare services for child victims of sex trafficking: A systematic review of policy and practice. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17(2), 204-220.
Neve, A., Corrado, A., & Cantatore, F. P. (2011). Osteoblast physiology in normal and pathological conditions. Cell and tissue research, 343(2), 289-302.
Ogbonna, E., & Harris, L. C. (2003). Innovative organisational structures and performance: A case study of structural transformation to “groovy community centers”. Journal of Organizational Change Management.
O’reilly, K. (2012). Ethnographic methods. Routledge.
Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive strategy, The Free Press.
Prajogo, D. I. (2007). The relationship between competitive strategies and product. Quality Industrial Management and Data Systems,107.
Phadtare, M. T. (2010). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Reece, K., & Pisano, R. L. (2009). Organisation Theory & Design. Tehran Institute for Humanities & Cultural Studies.
Sumutka, A., & Neve, B. (2011). Quality as a Competitive Advantage.
Sifuna, I. N. (2014). Effect of competitive strategies on performance of public universities in Kenya. Unpublished MBA Thesis, 57.
Stock, J. R., & Boyer, S. L. (2009). Developing a consensus definition of supply chain management: a qualitative study. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.
Copyright (c) 2022 Daisy Abwanda Kombo, Richard Nyangosi, PhD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
