Strategic Responses Adopted by Textbook
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STRATEGIC RESPONSES ADOPTED BY TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS IN KENYA TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES BY KABURU NANCY WAMBUI A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI. OCTOBER 2013 DECLARATION This research project is my original work and has not been submitted for examination in any other university or institution. Signed______________________________ Date__________________ Kaburu Nancy Wambui, D61/74662/2009. The report has been submitted for examination with my approval as the university supervisor. Signed______________________________ Date__________________ Prof. Evans Aosa, PhD., Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration, School of Business, University of Nairobi. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project is the work of many hands. First and foremost is my project supervisor, Prof. Evans Aosa, without whose guidance I would not have come to this joyous conclusion. I thank and respect you for the efficiency and precision with which you directed me through the project. I thank the various other lecturers who made the entire MBA course possible, and the fellow students with whom I held several discussions. You sharpened my mind. I thank my colleagues at work for being there so endlessly for me given the many times I had to take time off. iii DEDICATION This project is dedicated to my family and friends for the invaluable support that they accorded me during the entire period of study. To my loving husband for his unyielding support and goodwill. To my sons for giving me the inspiration to carry on, I wish you success in your studies and lives. To my parents for believing in me, and to my friends for urging me on when I needed it. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION............................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iii DEDICATION.................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... ix ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ......................................................................... x ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study ...................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Environmental Dependence .......................................................................... 2 1.1.2 Strategic Responses ...................................................................................... 4 1.1.3 The Publishing Industry in Kenya ................................................................ 5 1.1.4 Textbook Publishing in Kenya...................................................................... 7 1.2 Research Problem ................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Research Objectives ........................................................................................... 10 1.4 Value of the Study .............................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER TWO : LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 12 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 12 2.2 Theoretical Foundation ...................................................................................... 12 v 2.3 Organisations and the Environment ................................................................... 13 2.4 The Concept of Strategy and Strategic Fit ......................................................... 17 2.5 Strategic Responses ............................................................................................ 19 CHAPTER THREE : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................... 23 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 23 3.2 Research Design ................................................................................................. 23 3.3 Population of the Study ...................................................................................... 23 3.4 Data Collection ................................................................................................... 24 3.5 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER FOUR : DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............. 26 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 26 4.2 General Information ........................................................................................... 26 4.3 Environmental Challenges Experienced by Textbook Publishers in Kenya ...... 28 4.4 Strategic Responses to the Environmental Challenges ...................................... 31 4.5 Discussion .......................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER FIVE : SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 36 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 36 5.2 Summary ............................................................................................................ 36 5.3 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 38 5.4 Recommendations .............................................................................................. 39 vi 5.5 Limitations of the Study ..................................................................................... 39 5.6 Suggestions for Further Research ...................................................................... 40 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 41 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 44 Appendix I : Textbook Publishers who are Members of the Kenya Publishers Association ... ......................................................................................... 44 Appendix II : Questionnaire ....................................................................................... 45 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 : Environmental challenges affecting publishers of textbooks in Kenya ..... 30 Table 4.2 : Strategic responses to the environmental challenges .................................. 32 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 : Nature of ownership of the textbook publishers in Kenya textbooks ....... 27 Figure 4.2 : Nature of publications ............................................................................... 28 ix ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS KICD - Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development KPA - Kenya Publishers Association ICT - Information and Communication Technology x ABSTRACT Organisations are environment serving and dependent. They operate in an environment that constantly experiences changes and have to monitor the external environment closely enough to know when to respond. They have to know the business well enough to know the kind of changes to initiate. As the effectiveness of a firm is measured by the degree to which the products or services respond to the needs of their consumers and relevant stakeholders, firms must apply appropriate responses as changes occur in the external environment in order to survive. In order to continuously meet the needs of their market, organisations need to identify the challenges that would lead to failure to meet their objectives and respond appropriately by adopting timely strategic responses. The purpose of this study was to establish the strategic responses adopted by textbook publishers in Kenya to the environmental challenges facing them. The objectives were two. First was to establish the environmental challenges experienced by textbook publishers in Kenya. Second was to establish the strategic responses they adopt in response to the environmental challenges. The research design was a cross-sectional survey. The population was all the textbook publishers who are members of KPA. Primary data was collected by use of questionnaires which were administered to the senior administrators of the firms through the drop-and-pick method. In addition to the primary data, the researcher relied on secondary data mainly collected from the firms’ websites and publications. Results of the study indicate that all the firms monitored the external environment for factors necessitating their response. The results also indicate that all the firms responded to the challenges posed by the external environment. Challenges in the external environment included stiff competition, government policies, inconsistent release of funds for free schooling by the government, high cost of printing, a poor