Factors influencing competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya

Currently, there are forty three licensed commercial Banks in Kenya (as at 13th December 2011) offering generic products. They are in the business of accepting money from members of the public on current account and payment on acceptance of cheque and employing of money held on deposit or on current account or any part of the money by lending, investment or any other manner for the account and at the risk of the person so employing the monies. Each Commercial Bank needs to present itself in a unique way to the market so as to have an edge. For the Commercial Banks to present themselves uniquely, they need to identify their target market and find out the mix of factors which will give them an edge and ensure their survival within the industry. \n \nThis study therefore sought to find out and document the types of competitive advantages enjoyed by Commercial Banks in Kenya and the factors influencing the competitive advantages. The research design was a survey which looked at all the forty, three commercial banks in Kenya. Closed ended questionnaires were used to collect data. The research revealed that the main types of competitive advantages enjoyed by commercial banks are Brand Loyalty, Differentiation targeting the market in general, differentiation targeting a specific market, strategic alliances and ease of cross border transactions. \n \nStrategic partnerships like mergers and acquisitions, low cost strategy targeting the market in general, presence attributed to branch network as types of competitive advantage are generally not enjoyed by Commercial Banks in Kenya. The study further revealed that the Number of Products offered by each Commercial Bank, Marketing strategy adopted, Advances in Technology, Customer satisfaction surveys and ownership structure are some of the main factors influencing they types of Competitive advantages enjoyed by Commercial Banks in Kenya. On the other hand staff turnover rate, Corporate Social responsibility activities, Decision making process, the financial results of the Bank and the years that the commercial bank has had its operation in Kenya do not have a major influence on the type of Competitive advantage enjoyed by Commercial Banks in Kenya.