PERFORMANCE OF STRATEGICALLY ALLIED ENTERPRISES IN KENYA: THE JOINT INFLUENCE OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Abstract

Researchers and practitioners in strategic management are increasingly trying to figure out why some
businesses perform better than others even when they are in the same or similar business conditions. With
the ever changing business environment strategic alliances are seen as the best strategies to enhance
organizations innovative capabilities as a means to stay current in their field and enhance performance.
The objective of this study was to determine the joint effect of strategic alliances, organizational
characteristics and competitive advantage on performance of strategically allied enterprises in Kenya.
The relevant theories reviewed for this study are network theory, Resource Dependency Theory, Resource
Based View theory and Market Based View Theory. The study applied positivism research philosophy and
descriptive cross-sectional design with target population constituted of the executives of the 40
strategically allied enterprises. With the aid of semi-structured questionnaires, primary data was
gathered. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Based on the goals of
the study, the hypotheses were created and evaluated. The findings of the study showed that strategic
alliances, organizational characteristics and competitive advantage have a significant and positive joint
influence on enterprise performance. The results contributes to policymakers as the insights gained aid
them in improving their policymaking abilities, as well as using invention in strategy employment in zones
of aptitude creation, alliance building by strategically allied companies, and the overall benefits accrued
by companies in alliances. Thus, policymakers and practitioners operating in the strategically allied
enterprises should take advantage of the findings of this research and benefit from the implementation of
the right kind of strategies like strategic alliance together with putting in place the right organizational
characteristics and competitive advantage to maximize on their performance.
Key words: Strategic alliances, Organizational characteristics, Competitive advantage, Performance,
Strategically allied enterprises