To Establish Effects of Strategy Planning Practices On Competitive Advantage

TO ESTABLISH EFFECTS OF STRATEGY PLANNING PRACTICES ON
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
JUNE, 2018
DECLARATION
I declare that this research proposal is my original work and has not been presented for a degree
in any other university.
Signature………………………………………….Date…………………………………….
This research proposal has been submitted for examination with my approval as a University
supervisor.
Signature………………………. Date……………………………………..
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DEDICATION
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ...................................................................................................................................... ii
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... iii
Table of contents ............................................................................................................................ iv
Definition of terms ........................................................................................................................ vii
List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................... viii
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the study ....................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Strategy Planning Practices............................................................................................ 4
1.1.2 Competitive Advantage ................................................................................................. 5
1.2 Statement of the problem ...................................................................................................... 6
1.3 Objectives of the study .......................................................................................................... 7
1.3.1 Specific objectives ......................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 7
1.5 Significance of the study ....................................................................................................... 8
1.6. Scope of the study ................................................................................................................ 8
1.7. Limitations of the study........................................................................................................ 8
1.8. Organization of the Study .................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 10
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 10
2.0 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 10
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2.1 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................... 10
2.1.1 Resource Based View (RBV) ...................................................................................... 10
2.1.2 Strategy Fit Theory ...................................................................................................... 11
2.1.3 Institutional Theory...................................................................................................... 11
2.2Empirical Review ................................................................................................................. 12
2.2.1 Strategy Formulation and Competitiveness ................................................................. 12
2.2.2 Strategy implementation and Competitiveness ............................................................ 13
2.2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy and Competitiveness ......................................... 15
2.2.4 Strategy Leadership and Competitiveness ................................................................... 16
2.3 Summary of literature review and gaps............................................................................... 17
2.4 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 24
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................. 24
3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 24
3.2 Research Design .................................................................................................................. 24
3.3 Population............................................................................................................................ 24
3.4 Sampling Design and Sample Size...................................................................................... 25
3.5 Data Collection Methods..................................................................................................... 26
3.6Reliability and Validity ........................................................................................................ 27
3.6.1 Reliability..................................................................................................................... 27
3.6.2 Validity ........................................................................................................................ 28
3.7 Data Analysis and Presentation. .......................................................................................... 28
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 30
Appendix I .....................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Introduction Letter to the Respondents ..........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
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Appendix II ................................................................................................................................... 40
Structured Questionnaire .............................................................................................................. 40
Appendix III ...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Work Plan ......................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix IV...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Budget Estimates ...........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
Competitive advantage: In this study, competitive advantage is the condition that allows SDA
movement to have a good background of competition with other churches with regard to
investments in income generating activities
Competitiveness: In this study, competitiveness can be defined as the basic approaches adopted
by SDA movement to compete successfully and gain competitive advantage over other churches
offering similar activities.
Strategy implementation: The activity performed according to a plan in order to achieve an
overall goal. For example, strategy implementation within a business context might involve
developing and then executing a new marketing plan to help increase sales of the company's
products to consumers.
Customers: These are all the members of the SDA movement and also any of the people who use
the other non-faith related activities offered by the SDA movement.
SDA movement: SDA movement is a Protestant Christian denomination, part of the Sabbatarian
Adventist movement, and formed as the result of a schism within the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in Europe.
Strategy Formulation: Strategy formulation is the process by which an organization chooses the
most appropriate courses of action to achieve its defined goals. This process is essential to an
organization's success.
Strategy Implementation: Strategy Implementation is the activity performed according to a plan
in order to achieve an overall goal of the SDA movement.
Strategy leadership: Strategy leadership refers to a manager's potential to express a strategy
vision for the organization, or a part of the organization, and to motivate and persuade others to
acquire that vision. Strategy leadership can also be defined as utilizing strategy in the management
of employees.
Customer services: Customer services are the assistance and advice provided by a company to
those people who buy or use its products or services.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ANOVA: Analysis of Variance
MBV: Market-Based View
RBV: Resource Based View
SDA: Seventh-day Adventist
SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Science
IGAs: Income generating activities.
M&E: Monitoring and evaluation
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ABSTRACT
Christian religious institutions play important roles in economic and social development in many
countries. Religious institutions also contribute towards social change in communities even in
Kenya. The well-being and growth of these institutions is anchored on strategy planning practices.
Organizations both profit oriented and non-profit (for instance churches) are slowly embracing
strategy planning principles to run on the basis of accountability and transparency. The main
objective of this study will be to establish the effects of strategy planning practices on competitive
advantage of SDA movement in Nairobi County. The study will specifically look at the effect of
on competitiveness at SDA movements in Nairobi County. The study will be guided by resource-
based theory, strategy fit theory, and institutional theory. This study will be a descriptive in nature.
The target population of this study will be the 835 management staff working at SDA movement
in Nairobi County. The sample size will be 86 SDA movement top management, middle level
management (usually heads of departments) as well as low level management staffs in Nairobi
County. Primary data will be collected directly from respondents mainly using questionnaires.
Before processing the responses, the completed questionnaires will be edited for completeness and
consistency. Quantitative data collected will be analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics using
SPSS (Version 21). Data will be presented in form of percentages, means, frequencies and
correlations and presented using various forms of charts and tables.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study

For an organization to determine its future direction, it has to understand its current position and
ways through which it can pursue particular courses of action. Strategy planning is a disciplined
effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is,
what it does and why it does it, with a focus on the future (Murangiri, 2011). It is the first step in
the strategy management process which lays the foundation for the other phases namely
implementation, evaluation and control. Formal strategy planning systems provide the framework
for formulating and implementing strategies (Steiner, 1979). It brings about changes which may
or may not face resistance in the organization. Thompson and Strickland (1989) argue that
galvanizing organization wide commitment to the chosen strategy plan is critical for effective
performance. It is therefore important for an organization to properly communicate the vision and
build a culture of staff involvement.
A good strategy plan emphasizes on the long-term, mid-range strategy goals and objectives and it
results to a proper definition of the organizations activities, allocation of the scarce resources to
accomplish organizational strategy objectives. Over the years the Christian religious institutions
has seen birth of new churches competing for the same available demand. With this increasing
competition, SDA movement has to embrace strategy planning practices in order to obtain
sustained competitive advantage over its competitors. For the strategy planning process to be
effective, the three phases (Determine position, Develop strategy, and build plan) should be taken
care of. A good formulated strategy alone does not automatically guarantee achievement of
objectives. Hambrick and Cannella (1989) state “without successful implementation, a strategy is
but a fantasy”. The formulated strategy therefore needs to be implemented at all levels of the
organization. Implementing a strategy means putting the strategy into action (Hill and Jones,
2009).
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Strategy planning is a management technique intended to identify the strengths and weaknesses of
the organization, the challenges and opportunities facing it, its vision of the future and how it will
seek to achieve its vision. Strategy planning focuses on the organization’s long-term goals,
assesses its capabilities to achieve these goals, examines environmental factors that may affect the
organization, and identifies strategies designed to move the organization forward (Kumar, 2006).
In the vast majority of companies, strategy planning is a calendar-driven ritual which assumes that
the future will be more or less like present (Hamel, 1996). Competition between firms has become
more severe as they strive to gain competitive advantage over their rivals. Customer tastes and
needs are constantly changing in addition to increased awareness and variety of choices when
making purchase decisions to satisfy their needs. Firms therefore must adopt strategy planning
practices in order to enable them survive in this turbulent environment.
An organization practicing strategy planning involves the following, defining the organizational
vision and mission, environmental scanning, setting of objectives, generating strategy option,
evaluating and deciding on the strategy methods to monitor progress. For an organization to
achieve it desired goal and maximize profits it needs to follow the step of corporate strategy
planning. The environment presents organization with opportunities, threats and constraints that
force them to have specific strategies to help in fulfilling their mandate in the market.
Environmental forces keep on changing every now and then and thus leaving a market gap that
has to be filled by the most competitive organization. Every organization should have strategies
that will enable it operate in the dynamic environment. These strategies should lead to competitive
advantage and create sustainability that leads to the organization’s future growth. Organizations
can be affected by both internal and external environments. Planning is one of the major functions
of the management. It fosters very pertinent issues that have to be handled by the executives. This
is because it directs the organization to where it wants to be in the future. Strategy planners should
understand both the internal and external environments that influence their organizations before
coming up with the organizational strategy. This is achieved by carrying out a SWOT analysis of
the environment to see the gaps created by the prevailing opportunities and threats in the market
(Johnson & Scholes, 2002).
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Weru (2008) conducted a study on the assessment of the information systems management
practices in Practical Action (International). Muchiti (2009) and Ongechi (2009) conducted a study
on the strategy planning practices and risk management strategies adopted by commercial banks
in lending to SMEs. A study by Onzere (2012) was done on the strategy planning practices adopted
by Barclays Bank of Kenya to attain optimal performance. However, these studies mainly focused
on the financial performance of the firms. Secondly, these studies were mainly surveys (Weru,
2008; Muchiti, 2009 and Ongechi, 2009).
Strategy planning is designed to help public, private and non-profit making organizations (and
communities) respond effectively to the changes in their environment. It is a disciplined effort to
produce fundamental decisions and actions shaping the nature and direction of an organization’s
activities. These decisions typically concern the organization’s mandate, mission, product or
service level and mix, cost, financing, management and organizational design. Strategy planning
practices were designed originally for use by organizations (Bryson, 2011). The purpose of
strategy planning is to operationalize the strategies developed through strategy thinking, and to
support the strategy planning (Porter, 1996).
Strategy planning for most companies involves a complex process of quantitative analysis,
assessments about the business environment, intense conversations, and difficult trade-offs that
often leads to nothing more than a bulleted list of strategies. The complexity of the process and the
assumptions that underlie the strategy becomes lost or live only in the heads of the executives that
participates in the planning process (Hamel & Prahalad, 1990). Increased volatility of the business
environment makes systematic strategy planning more difficult (Brown and Eisenhardt’s, 1997).
Strategy planning is critical for all organizations. The key objective of a strategy is to bring about
a competitive advantage over the rivals in the market (Porter, 1991). The dynamism in the
environment poses a great challenge to managers during planning thus they must first conduct an
environmental scanning both externally and internally. Scanning the external environment helps
to identify the possible opportunities and threats while that of internal environment helps to
identify the possible strengths and weaknesses (Mintzberg, 1999). Strategy planning if well
conceptualized and implemented should result in strategy management (King & Cleland, 1987).
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countries and more so in Kenya. Religious institutions contribute towards social change in
communities. The well-being and growth of these institutions is anchored on strategy planning
practices. Organizations both profit oriented and non-profit for instance churches are slowly
embracing strategy management principles to run on the basis accountability and transparency
(Clinton, Williams, & Stevens, 1995)
countries and more so in Kenya. Religious institutions contribute towards social change in
communities. The well-being and growth of these institutions is anchored on strategy planning
practices. Organizations both profit oriented and non-profit for instance churches are slowly
embracing strategy planning principles to run on the basis accountability and transparency
(Clinton, Williams, & Stevens, 1995).
1.1.1 Strategy Planning Practices

Strategy and strategy planning history dates back from ancient Greece to the 21st century. Unlike
mathematics, physics or material science, strategy does not comprise of universal truths that can
be documented through scientific theorems and proofs (Steiner, 2010). However, the history of
strategy planning shows that scientific and management advancements have been integrally related
to the field for centuries. Strategy planning incorporates combination of quantitative and
qualitative fields’ ideologies. Management and industrial sciences have formalized the domains of
operations, logistics, and finance and complemented the quantitative aspect with the qualitative
human dimensions of psychology, sociology and human resource management. The combined
quantitative and qualitative elements address diverse organization needs including professional,
technical, and strategy demands.
Strategy planning models have been proposed by numerous academic and business writers to
enhance development of new strategies (Steiner, 2010; Nelson, 2008; Marksberry, 2013). These
strategy planning models offer specific instructions on how to approach, execute and evaluate the
development of strategy concepts. There is a rapid increase in strategy planning methods which is
a common attribute of any topic that focuses on procedural processes. Strategy planning has thus
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focused attention to strategy concepts development based on response to internal and external
business conditions.
An organization realizes the impact of moving to a strategy planning focus through an

understanding that strengths should be utilized to close existing gaps and leverage on priorities. In
some circumstances, considerable investment is necessary to move the strategy objectives forward.
Organizations must thus align the available resources with the priorities that the organization has
set. However effective strategy planning boosts the performance of an organization. According to
Kiochos (1997), the strategy planning process will involve building a team; setting the objectives;
gathering inputs by members; synthesizing the developed ideas; developing an implementation
plan; executing the plan and evaluating the success of the ideas prior to the start of the next strategy
planning process.
1.1.2 Competitive Advantage

Wang (2014) says that: “Competitive advantage is obtained when an organization develops or
acquires a set of attributes (or executes actions) that allow it to outperform its competitors”.
“Essentially a competitive advantage answers the question, why should the customer purchase
from this operation rather than the competition?”(Ehmke, 2008). Porter (1985) says that
“competitive advantage is at the heart of a firm’s performance in competitive markets. He argued
that a firm’s ability to outperform its competitors lay in its ability to translate its competitive
strategy into a competitive advantage” (Beal, 2001).
According to Barney (2001), competitive advantage can be defined differently provided the unit
of analysis the firm or the industry. For him a firm is said to have a competitive advantage when
the activities in engages in increase its efficiency or effectiveness in ways that competing firms are
not, withstanding the fact that those other firms are in a particular firm’s industry. The second
definition refers to firms that produce higher returns than were expected by stockholders. He said
that his definition of competitive advantage is often called an “economic rent”.
Many theories exist that discuss the various ways of gaining competitive advantage. The earlier
two major theories of competitive advantage are the Market-Based View (MBV) and the Resource-
Based View (RBV). Added to them are the two recent views: the Relational View and the Notion
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of Transient Advantage. The notion of core competencies, the knowledge-based view and
capability-based view of strategy are derived from the resource based view
1.2 Statement of the problem

In recent years, the Christian institutions in Nairobi have experienced unprecedented growth.
Which has led to the desire to establish systems that ensures that transparency and accountability
as well as decision making cut across the church membership so as to ensure everyone is involved
in the process of decision making (Jacobs, 2012). In that regard transparency coupled with
accountability has been strengthened in churches through members’ participation approach.
Performance of Christian churches in Nairobi is important as they contribute to the social-
economic development of Kenya that will invariably accelerate economic development to help the
country achieve the Vision 2030. Research has found that the resources can explain variation in
performance that organizations control, but that alone is not sufficient as firms operate in a
dynamic environment. This has resulted in to some organizations going under and yet they had
good resources.
SDA movement is faced with various challenges emanating from external environment such as
political instability, socio – cultural changes, technological changes, economic challenges and
even challenges from the religious context. These challenges pose a serious threat to the
performance of such ministry. This calls for better strategic plans that capture the industry
dynamics that are premised on radical changes reminiscent of the industry for swift responses may
such occasions arise. Churches have always been caught unprepared for such challenges and the
reason could be lack of adequate planning. This is an area that has not received deserving attention
from researchers.
There are few studies done on churches, Kakui (2010) carried out a study on strategic planning
practices at Christ is the Answer Ministries which is based in Nairobi. In the conclusion, Kakui
recommended that further studies be carried out on relevance of strategic planning on churches as
well as on challenges of strategy implementation. A study carried out by Ngumo (2006) has looked
at challenges of strategy implementation in the Scripture Union of Kenya, which is a Christian not
–for- profit organization. Ngumo (2006) found out that some of the common challenges
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encountered while implementing strategy include leadership, resources, organization policies, and
procedures, and reward systems. The researcher recommended further study in challenges facing
not-for-profit organizations. Strategic planning practices in churches has not received the attention
it deserves as other components of strategic management and therefore gaps exist in our
knowledge, which this study aims to bridge. However, not any known study by the researcher has
been carried out on the SDA movement. This research study therefore seeks to bridge this gap.
1.3 Objectives of the study

The main objective of the study will be to establish the effects of strategy planning practices on
competitive advantage of SDA movement in Nairobi County
1.3.1 Specific objectives

i. To determine the effects of strategy formulation on the competitiveness of SDA movement
in Nairobi County
ii. To determine the effects of Strategy implementation on the competitiveness of SDA
movement in Nairobi County
iii. To explore the effects of strategy monitoring and evaluation on the competitiveness of SDA
movement in Nairobi County
iv. To establish the effects of strategy leadership on the competitiveness of SDA movement in
Nairobi County
1.4 Research Questions

i. What is the effect of strategy formulation on the competitiveness of SDA movement in
Nairobi County?
ii. What is the effect of strategy implementation on the competitiveness of SDA movement in
Nairobi County?
iii. What are the effects of strategy monitoring and evaluation on the competitiveness of SDA
movement in Nairobi County?
iv. What are the effects of strategy leadership on the competitiveness of SDA movement in
Nairobi County?
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1.5 Significance of the study
The findings of this study will equip SDA management with the skills to understand the underlying
forces of competition in the protestant churches. The managers will acquire understanding on the
skills of corporate strategy planning and practice facilitating establishment of a unique position
that census competitive advantage.
The study will also come in handy for firms in the protestant churches sector in Kenya. It will
enable management of the protestant churches to improve their strategy planning processes where
they exist, or to successfully introduce the same where they don’t. As a consequence, it is hoped
that SDA leaders in management position will improve church performance through the strategy
planning processes.
The study findings will also provide a useful reference document for stakeholders in the church
ministry and academic institutions in their endeavor to formulate work plans to meet the
performance goals. This study will also build on the available knowledge on the topic by bridging
the gaps highlighted above.
1.6. Scope of the study

The target population of this study will be the 835 management staff working at SDA movement
in Nairobi County. The aim of this study is to establish the effects of strategy planning practices
on competitive advantage of SDA movement in Nairobi County with specific objectives being to
determine the effect of strategy formulation, strategy implementation strategy leadership and
strategy monitoring and evaluation on competitiveness at SDA movement in Nairobi County. SDA
movement in Nairobi County will be selected as the study site due to its proximity to the researcher,
time available for the study and budgetary constraints.
1.7. Limitations of the study

The respondents may not be willing to provide data related to their strategy planning problems and
inner details of the church. It may be very hard to convince them of the intention of my research
in a bid to collect information from them based on the sensitivity of the sector. However, with the
assistance of friends working in the church and with the introduction letter from the university the
researcher will be given the opportunity to undertake the research.
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Some of the respondents may also not co-operate to the questionnaire and attempt to ignore the
questionnaires; this will threaten to reduce the response rate. The researcher will minimize non
response cases by taking and collecting summary questionnaires by hand from each respondent
and knowing how best to deal with those reluctant to interviews.
1.8. Organization of the Study

This research proposal is structured as follows: Chapter one provides the research background,
statement of the problem, research objective, research questions, significance of the study, scope
and limitations that may be encountered in the course of the study. Chapter two covers literature
review on resource-based theory, strategic fit theory, and institutional theory and the empirical
review of strategic planning, while chapter three covers research methodology.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Overview
This chapter examines theoretical framework and empirical studies that have been done in the area
of effects of strategy planning practices on competitive advantage. It also outlines the various
studies done in the discipline of strategy planning practices by different researchers leading to the
conceptual framework of the study.
2.1 Theoretical Framework

This section looks at three theories namely; the resource-based theory, strategic fit theory, and
institutional theory.
2.1.1 Resource Based View (RBV)

The Resource Based View (RBV) based mainly on Jay Barney’s article “Firm resources and
Sustained Competitive Advantage” (1991), suggests that the resources possessed by a firm are the
primary determinants of its performance, and these may contribute to a sustainable competitive
advantaged to the firm (Hoffer & Schendel, 1978; Wernerfelt, 1984). According to Barney (2002)
the concept of resources includes all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes,
information and knowledge controlled by a firm that enable the firm to conceive of and implement
strategies that improve its efficiency and effectiveness. This theory further states that a successful
business must have sufficient resources to use (Dollinger, 2003). This theory will be used to
explain how the availability of resources can create a competitive advantage and hence contribute
to successful strategic planning in SDA movement
In the RBV the valuable attribute of a firm is taken as given. The strategic planning and investment
necessary to build up such resources are exogenous in this framework (Priem and Butler, 2001a).
The strategic factor markets are developed when a firm requires the acquisition of resources to
implement its strategy (Barney, 1991). These valuable and rare resources are not the source of
competitive advantage or above normal return if the cost of acquiring or developing these resources
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equals to value they create when used to conceive of and implement a strategic plan or a strategy
(Rumelt, 1987, Peteraf, 1993).
2.1.2 Strategy Fit Theory

Strategic fit first introduced by Hoffer (1975), expresses the degree to which an organization
matches its resources and capabilities with the opportunities in the external environment. The
matching takes place through a strategy and therefore it is very important that the organization has
the actual resources to execute and support strategy (Grant 2007). This means that an organization
comes up with a strategy by seeking the opportunities in its business external environment and
adapting its resources and capabilities to take advantage of the opportunities.
Organizations build competitive strategies to target a set of customer segments and build strategies
to satisfy needs and priorities of those customer segments. Organizations have to understand the
needs and priorities of the targeted customer segments and the uncertainty of their demands.
Organizations also study what other organizations are doing and what changes they can offer to
have a competitive advantage. They can only achieve these strategies by ensuring that their supply
chain capabilities are able to support these strategies. Organizations must also ensure that their
strategies are consistent with the organizational values (Grant 2007).
2.1.3 Institutional Theory

This theory is concerned with organizational structures and how they influence the flow of
information that plays an important role in strategy implementation (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991).
The complexity of reporting structure affects the way information relevant for strategy
implementation flows hence negatively affecting strategy implementation (Scott, 2001). The set
of formal rules in terms of policies and procedures developed in an organization determines how
the information flows and the actions to be undertaken by staff in case of an incident of a particular
nature occurring (Jepperson, 1991). These structures in an organization create expectations among
different stakeholders in strategy implementation in an organization that determine how actions
are undertaken thereby influencing final product of strategy implementation (Zucker, 1977).
Institutions set out in an organization determine what is acceptable and whatever that is not
acceptable in an organizational setting (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991). This therefore determines how
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employees carry themselves around when doing their duties (Amenta, 2005). This theory is
important for this study because it helps explain the role played by policies, procedures, laws and
other internal restrictions on strategy implementation.
2.2 Empirical Review
2.2.1 Strategy Formulation and Competitiveness

Organization are faced with various decisions for example the new business to venture into, those
to abandon, ways of allocating resources ,business expansion or to diversify, mergers or joint
ventures or even enter into international markets, and how to avoid a hostile takeover David
(2003). For an organization to make a right decision based on the above, then a proper scanning
of both the external and internal environments is vital. Michael Porter has summarized them into
three generic types that provide a good starting point for strategic thinking: Overall cost leadership,
differentiation or focus. Paul, (1985) recommends that it is vital to cultivate strategies and
programs that are both long term actions to attain the objectives and specific short term actions to
implement the strategies.
According to Macmillan and Tampoe (2000) strategic formulation is concerned with the ends and
objective of the organizations and combines a vision of the future with the formulation to make
that vision a reality. Strategic formulation is a way of reconciling organization‟s end to its means.
Strategic formulation includes the ability to envision a desired leadership position, to establish the
criterion used to chart organizational progress towards that end and the active management process
required to accomplish the formulation
According to Neustadt and May (1986), strategic formulation can be defined as mentality of
focusing on future opportunities and long term objectives for global leadership beyond short term
strategic planning. Strategic formulation is focused on the ends, while the means are left to be
flexible. Strategic formulation is a useful concept in management for purpose and continuity of
goals in an organization adapting to internal and external developmental pressure. As such,
strategic formulation represents a proactive mode in strategizing, a symbol of the organization’s
will about the future, which energizes all organizational levels for a collective purpose; which
imposes an ambition or obsession to achieve something or as an obsession with winning.
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2.2.2 Strategy implementation and Competitiveness
The strategic implementation stage involves preparation of a strategic plan that outlines the
organization objectives, establishment of organizational structure, budget allocation and
development of a viable information system. Further it involves employee motivation, creation of
a supportive culture, allocation of resources and associating employee compensation to the
organization (Thompson, Gamble, & Strickland, 2004). According to David (2003), this stage
requires that both the topmost leadership as well as the workforce need to work in harmony in
implementing decisions and that appropriate communication is required to achieve effective
implementation. At this stage factors like annual objectives, policies, resource allocation,
management of conflict, organization structure, managing resistance to change, and organizational
culture (David, 2003). Dooley, Fryxell, and Judge (2000) indicated that strategic implementation
has a distinct relationship with various organizational elements like performance.
Execution enables an interaction amid strategic goals and objectives and the hospital’s daily
activities which can be achieved by proper communication of the goals and objectives to all levels
in the organization, evaluation of human resource skills in line with available resources. A
performance measurement structure allows the implementation of a hospital’s strategy by
transforming it into operative terms that can be measured, communicated and used to develop
analysis, reporting and decision- making at both the product line, organizational and institutional
levels (Bellenfant & Nelson, 2010).
Strategic management is important for organizational performance. Statistics indicates that many
strategies that are well formulated end up not well implemented because of various challenges.
Well implemented strategies lead to realization of better organizational performance (Blahová &
Knápková, 2010). Scientific studies from strategic management standpoint, suggests that applying
appropriate strategies in an organization is essential in achieving better organizational performance
(Brown Squire & Blackmon, 2007). Operationalizing strategy is as important as formulation only
that it involves many stakeholders compared to formulation (Favaro, 2015). Without well planned
strategy implementation program, no strategy would be implemented regardless of its superiority.
Better strategy implementation assures companies of improved returns on investment (Lefort,
2015).
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Effective strategy implementation enables an organization record great benefits in terms of
improved customer satisfaction, loyalty and repeat purchase. Signs of poor strategy
implementation could involve low self esteem among employees, low employee retention, low
customer satisfaction and struggling organizational performance. Lefort, (2015) found that
companies which emphasize on good strategy implementation sustained twice financial success
compared to poor implementers. Sometimes implementation is hard to get right, yet success of
organizations depends on effective implementation. Shah (1996) posits that without effective
implementation of strategy, establishment of the organizational route of operation and the
formulation of the organizational strategy. Therefore, for performance to be realized, measures
have to be put in place to ensure effective implementation of the strategy
The influence of strategy implementation on performance is subject to soft factors, which are the
factors related to human capital like commitment, communication, and consensus, hard factors
like hierarchy of positions in the organizational and administrative systems) and mixed factors.
Most organizations do not report good performance outcomes because the organizations and their
managers forget the vital role of strategy implementation (Rahimnia, 2009). Njagi and Kombo
(2014) established that strategy implementation affected the level of performance reported by
commercial banks in Kenya. The strategies defined the direction that the banks adopted in gaining
competitive advantage and differentiating their financial service offerings from other commercial
banks in Kenya. The results indicated that commercial banks in Kenya employed different strategy
implementation programs on different strategies with the aimof leveraging their operational
efficiency for better return on equity and assets. The banks controlled different resources which
they combined in different proportions to achieve competitiveness in the industry. In order to be
more competitive and responsive to customer needs, the study recommended continuous
improvement on information communication and technology in their operations for operational
efficiency.
Mbaka and Mugambi (2014) conducted a study on strategy implementation in the Water Sector in
Kenya through descriptive design. The study studied various secondary data reports on how
various water projects were implemented. The findings show that strategy implementation in the
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water sector was affected to a large extent by the level of management support, inadequacy of
resources and technical expertise among staff. The findings further indicated that strategy
implementation was affected by the type of management leadership and the communication
effectiveness.
Ndegwah (2014) studied strategy implementation in learning institutions by focusing on Public

Secondary Schools in Nyeri County, Kenya. The study collected primary data using a semi
structured questionnaire to collect data. The explanatory variables of thestudy included:
Managerial skills, Resources allocation, Rewards & Incentives and Institutional policies. The
targeted respondents included institutions’ Principals who were free to delegate to their Deputies
in the 2 Sub-counties: Mukurweini and 34 in Othaya. The findings show that: Resources allocation
Managerial skills, Institutional policies, and Rewards/Incentives greatly affected strategy
implementation. Proper management of these factors had a great influence on strategy
implementation among secondary schools in the study area.
2.2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy and Competitiveness

Establishment of an effective monitoring and evaluation of an organization should be an integral
part of stabilization interventions. This activity is essential to track and evaluate the outcomes of
activities, to maximize positive impacts, and to minimize unintended consequences (Gupta and
Thomson, 2006). This is more so in an unstable environments where the business characterized by
a lack of information, which can lead to plans quickly going off track. Moreover, effective
monitoring enables real-time evaluation during an intervention, and allows plans to be adapted
accordingly. This helps to ensure that stabilization is achieved for the desired impact and that
unintended consequences are minimized. In the longer term, evaluation is also important in
supporting accountability and in identifying lessons that can help improve future efforts at
strategic, operational and tactical levels (Hatry, 2009). For an effective monitoring to be realized,
sufficient resources must be allocated to the monitoring and evaluation process, though the
framework must also be designed to be proportionate to the plan and resources available. In
addition, appropriate measures of effect (both quantitative and qualitative) must be identified at
the planning stage, and modified as necessary, to enable real-time evaluation of outcomes and
impact.
15
According to Yabs (2007) strategy evaluation monitors the results of formulation and
implementation activities and includes measuring individual organization performance and taking
corrective action when necessary. Every institution has outputs and inputs that need to be in
alignment with the organization’s mission and goals and the effectiveness of an organization will
be measured by the output consumed by the organization’s customers and clients. Kunwar and
Nyandemo (2004) argues that evaluation is a process which attempts to determine as
systematically and objectively as possible the relevant effectiveness, efficiency and impact of
activities in light of specific objectives. Monitoring generates and collect data needed for
evaluation. Monitoring will therefore help in identifying any short falls in the achievement of
objectives and therefore helping in coming up with measures to eliminate the shortcomings in good
time.
2.2.4 Strategy Leadership and Competitiveness

The idea of competitive advantage is mainly to measure organization’s success relative to
competitors. The concept of sustainable competitive advantage has created the need for
organizations to remain competitive and successful in the long run. No other single entity has more
control or influence over an organization than its leader and the leadership they demonstrate
(Burns, 2008).
Strategic leadership has a vital influence on competitive advantage and long-term performance
(Hinterhuber and Friedrich, 2012). This is because it enables organizations to respond to several
challenges such as high competition, financial scandals, poor relationships with stakeholders and
loss of clients. Strategic leadership also influences competitive advantage because the strategic
leaders have a role in sharing their power as necessary and are people who encourage employees
to work effectively in ambiguous and turbulent environments by providing a vision and pathway.
Abilities of strategic leaders to effectively make significant changes in aspect such as business
processes, products, and services are crucial because decisions and actions of leaders, particularly
in the top level, have a major impact on performances and business successes of organizations
(Fung, 2012; Guimaraes et al., 2010). Strategic leaders establish a direction for an organization
through vision and strategy (Daft, 2011). The No competitive advantage is permanent. Competitive
16
advantage in an organization can end whenever leaders have poor strategic leadership and its rivals
have skills to duplicate the benefits of the company’s value-creating strategy.
Hitt et al. (2013) state that effective strategic leaders are decisive and committed to nurturing other
people and supporting organizational activities to create value for all stakeholders. Hence, strategic
leadership is important for an organization. No competitive advantage is permanent according to
Hitt et al. (2013). Organizations can be sure that their strategies are effective only after their rivals’
efforts to imitate their strategies have failed or ended. Competitive advantage of an organization
can end whenever leaders have poor strategic leadership and its rivals have skills to duplicate the
benefits of the company’s value-creating strategy.
Strategic leadership is the best type of leadership to protect profit from market forces in a manner
that is valuable to shareholders (Rowe, 2011). Organizations should think about leadership,
especially strategic leadership aligning with complex adaptive systems. It helps organizations get
out of chaos and cope with challenges that come up. Without strategic leadership, organizations
cannot make an important and effective change (Fung, 2012).
2.3 Summary of literature review and gaps.

This chapter discussed literature pertinent to the study as written and reviewed by other authors.
This chapter reviewed the theories upon which the study is grounded namely; the resource-based
theory, strategic fit theory and competitive advantage theory. The chapter also delved into the
conceptual framework for the study. The chapter also discussed the empirical literature addressing
the objectives and the variables; identifying the research gaps.
In this section, all empirical studies reviewed attained their objectives and drew conclusions from
the researched findings. However all studies reviewed carried out in the area of competitiveness
and strategic planning have been general or have failed to give detailed insights on the influence
of strategic planning on competitiveness of SDA movement. This study intends to bridge this gap
in knowledge that exists. There is a scarcity of published work on competitiveness, particularly in
the context of developing countries in the dynamic African region and specifically in Kenya. This
17
study therefore intends to bridge this gap in knowledge that exists with a view to establish effects
of strategic planning practices on competitive advantage of SDA movement in Nairobi County.
2.4 Conceptual Framework

Conceptual framework is a schematic diagram of the independent variables and the dependent
variables. The independent variables in this research will be strategic formulation, strategic
implementation, strategic monitoring and evaluation as well as strategic leadership. The dependent
variable of the study will be competitiveness of SDA movement.
18
Figure 2.1: Conceptual Framework
Independent variables Dependent variables
Strategic Formulation
 Vision and Mission
 Stakeholder mapping
 Budgeting and resource
allocation
Competitiveness of SDA
Strategic implementation
movement
 Progress review
 Less time wastage
 Communication  Increased customers:
 Staff Motivation people using the
SDA movement
activities
 Large market share
Strategic Monitoring and among other
churches offering
Evaluation
similar activities like
 Budgetary allocation schools or worship
membership.
 Baseline Survey
 Performance reviews
Strategic leadership
 key capabilities of strategic Leadership skills
leaders
 Effective communication
 Management
Intervening variable
Source: Researcher (2017)

Hart and Banbury (1994) view strategy formulation in terms of Rational or Incremental process.
The rational model of strategy formulation is described by Andrews (1971) as that which involves
19
systematic environmental scanning which concerns the PESTEL factors. This is then followed by
the process of assessing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which then culminate
to explicit goal setting, evaluation of alternative courses of action, and the development of a
comprehensive plan to achieve the goals by the top management in the organization. The
assumption of rationality has however been challenged by other scholars who proposed the
incremental strategy formulation (Cyert & March, 1963). They outline the shortcomings of
rationality to include; difficulties with strategy implementation; an increasing rate of
environmental change; growing importance of entrepreneurship by organizational members to
innovation and corporate success (Quinn, 1985; Galbraith & Kazanjian, 1986; Ansoff, 1979)
Strategy implementation is also described as the process through which strategy is translated into
functional and operational targets as strategies and policies are put into action through the
development of programs, budgets and procedures (Wheelen & Hunger 2011; Pearce & Robinson
2004). The main components of strategy implementation will therefore entail dissemination of
strategy through business functions, setting long term goals per department and setting up
supportive organization structure, leadership and culture to the achievement of the desired
objectives, design of governance and ethics, establishing good control mechanisms like policies
and setting ways of evaluating progress towards achievement of set goals.
In accountability orientated M&E, high levels of scrutiny are expected, and judgment generally
made against clear standards and norms that have been established for a range of performance
areas. This would include the proper management of budgets, personnel, legal and regulatory
compliance with process and procedures, transformational and ethical considerations. Deviation
from any of the standards invites censure, and the ranking of departments across these indicators
and making such findings public may take place. In this context M&E is seen as supporting a
governance function, which Cook (2007:14) points out “encompasses the entire management,
operating systems and culture of an institution”. It also links to government if supported by a strong
government auditing system. Improving governmental management is yet another reason
evaluation is employed in government (Davies et al, 2006: 165).
20
Table 2.1: Research Gaps and Literature review critique
Kenya
Author Topic Methodology Conclusion Critique
Maina (2014) Strategic planning Stratified and The study concluded that Strategic planning is key and The study failed to
and performance purposive sampling fundamental for any insurance company that wants to show an explicit
rating of insurance techniques be successful taking into consideration all the aspects relationship between
companies in Kenya of strategic planning Strategic planningand
competitiveness but
rather focused on
performance rating
21
Kamau (2008) Strategic planning Descriptive From the findings, strategic planning in the firms The study findings
adopted by tour and research design & follows the formal planning process, save for the focused only on travel
travel firms in Kenya Multiple regression involvement of key stakeholders such as employees in firms in Kenya. And
analysis the planning process. It also established that another thus little information
planning practice is that the firms in the industry do regarding churches
external as well as internal environmental analysis to could be retrieved
ascertain the effects of various factors on their from the study
operations before formulating their plans.
Awino, strategic planning causal research The findings was that there are positive and The study findings are
Muturia and outcomes and design significant relationship between strategic planning only applicable to
Oeba (2012) organizational (seven dimensions of planning) and firm organizational
performance performance; strategic planning and planning performance
outcomes and finally planning outcomes and firm perspective
performance
Muema, Factors influencing Exploratory survey The finding was that strategic formulation between Findings focused on
(2012) strategy firms may be a crucial constituent in attaining local non-
implementation advantage or avoiding competition since competitive governmental
among local non- advantage may not always be achieved by organizations and thus
governmental competition alone cannot be generalized
organizations in to churches
Nairobi, Kenya
22
Dussauge, and Determinants of Descriptive The findings concluded that strategic alliances are Findings focused on
Garrette, success in research design critical to organizations for a number of key reasons: aerospace
(1995) international strategic organic growth, speed to market, complexity, industryonly and
alliances: Evidence partnerships can defray rising research and could not be
from the global development costs, and alliances facilitate access to generalized to
aerospace industry global markets churches.
Martín-de The moderating role Descriptive The study noted that developing successful The study was
Castro, of innovation culture research design technological innovations is essential for creating and restricted to
Delgado- in the relationship sustaining an organization’s competitive advantage innovation culture
Verde, Navas- between knowledge only
López, assets and product
&Cruz- innovation
González,
(2013)
23
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the research methodology that covers research design, population,
and sampling design, data collection methods, research procedures, data analysis methods
and chapter summary.
3.2 Research Design

Research design is the basic plan that indicates an overview of the activities that are
necessary to execute the research project. Burns and Grove (2003) define a research design
as a blueprint for conducting a study with maximum control over factors that may interfere
with the validity of the findings.This study will be a descriptive study aimed at establishing
effects of strategic planning practices on competitive advantage among SDA movement in
Nairobi County. Chargy (2003) defines it as one which goes on a fact finding mission to
explain a present situation. The use of the design is to ensure the present situation is well
described with little or no bias in data collection and interpretation. The design also
provides an accurate and complete picture of the situation as discussed in literature review.
3.3 Population
The target population of this study will be the 835 management staff working at SDA
movement in Nairobi County. The study will focus on the SDA division, union, conference
and districts particularly on the top, middle and lower level management staff who are
directly dealing with management of the church since they are the ones conversant with
strategic issues taking place within the church and those who have worked for more than
one year. The staff particularly include pastors, head of schools, preachers and leaders who
are linked to the management levels of SDA movement in Nairobi County.The population
characteristic is as summarized in table 3.1 below.
24
Table 3.2: Target Population
Sections Population Percentage %

Top management 104 12.5
Middle level management 208 24.9
low level management 523 62.6

Total No. of Staff 835 100
3.4 Sampling Design and Sample Size

The general goal of all sampling methods is to obtain a sample that is representative of the
target population. Cooper and Schindler (2006) define the sampling frame as a list of
elements from which the sample is actually drawn, which is closely related to the
population. Sampling techniques provide a range of methods that facilitate to reduce the
amount of data need to collect by considering only data from a sub-group rather than all
possible cases or elements. This study will adopt stratified random sampling. The
population will be stratified into three sub-groups including top management, middle level
management (usually heads of departments) as well as low level management.
Due to the large size of the target population and limited availability of time and resources
to survey the whole target population, a sample size will be used to give results that will
reflect the target population as precisely as needed using the Kothari, (2004) formula
n=Z2pqn
e2(N-1) + Z2pq
Where:
n: is the sample size for a finite population
N: size of population
p: population reliability (or frequency estimated for a sample of size n), where p is 0.5
which is taken for all population and p + q= 1
e: margin of error considered is 10% for this study.
Z α/2: normal reduced variable at 0.05 level of significance z is 1.96
According to the above formula, the sample size for this study is:
25
n= (1.96)2×0.5×0.5×835
(0.1)2(835-1) + (1.96)2×0.5×0.5
=801.934
8.34+0.9604
=801.934
9.3004
=86
Therefore the sample size will be86 SDA movement top management, middle level
management (usually heads of departments) as well as low level management staffs in
Nairobi County
Table 3.3: Sample size
Sections Population Sample ratio Sample
Top management 104 10 11
208 10
Middle level management 21
523 10
low level management 54
Total 835 86
3.5 Data Collection Methods

According to Creswell (2002) data collection is a means of collecting information from the
selected units of a study. This study will collect primary data. Primary data will be gathered
and generated for the project at hand directly from respondents mainly using
questionnaires. The questionnaire will have both open and close-ended questions. The
close-ended questions will provide more structured responses to facilitate tangible
recommendations. The closed ended questions will be used to test the rating of various
attributes and this will help in reducing the number of related responses in order to obtain
more responses that are varied. The open-ended questions will provide additional
information that may not have been captured in the close-ended questions.
26
The questionnaire will be carefully designed and pilot tested with 10 SDA movement
managers from Nairobi County. They will be chosen using convenience sampling. This
will be done in order to enhance its validity and accuracy of data to be collected for the
study. Secondary data will be collected from already documented data or available reports.
The researcher will administer the questionnaire to all respondents of the study. The
researcher will exercise care and control to ensure all questionnaires issued to the
respondents will be received. To achieve this, a register of questionnaires will be used. The
questionnaire will be administered using a drop and pick later method.
3.6Reliability and Validity
3.6.1 Reliability
Using stratified random sampling method, the study will chose a pilot group of 10
individuals from SDA movement managers within Nairobi County who will not participate
in the research will be used to test the reliability of the research instrument. This will be
achieved by first stratifying the individuals according to level of management, level of
education, number of years worked. The pilot data will not be included in the actual study.
The pilot study will allow pre-testing of the research instrument. The clarity of the
instrument items to the respondents will be established to enhance the instrument’s validity
and reliability. The pilot study will enable the researcher to be familiar with research and
its administration procedure as well as identifying items that will require modification. The
result will help the researcher to correct inconsistencies arising from the instruments, which
ensure that they measure what is intended.
The researcher will adopt the internal consistency of the instruments to test reliability.
According to Ary et al., (2006) an instrument should have a Cronbach alpha value of above
0.7 if it is to be considered to have good internal consistency. The results of the pilot study
will be used to calculate the Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient at a confidence interval of 95%.
This will be fed into a computer and the Cronbach’s alpha will be calculated using SPSS
version 20.
27
3.6.2 Validity
According to Somekh, and Cathy (2005) validity is the degree by which the sample of test
items represents the content the test is designed to measure. Content validity, which is
employed by this study, is a measure of the degree to which data collected using a particular
instrument represents a specific domain or content of a particular concept. To establish the
validity of the research instrument the researcher will seek opinions of the supervisor.
Expert opinion will help to determine the representativeness and suitability of questions.
Suggestions will be used to improve on the structure of the research tools.
3.7 Data Analysis and Presentation.

Before processing the responses, the completed questionnaires will be edited for
completeness and consistency. Quantitative data collected will be analyzed by the use of
descriptive statistics using SPSS (Version 21). Content analysis will also be used to test
data that is qualitative in nature or aspect of the data collected from the open-ended
questions. The study will use ANOVA to test the level of significance of the variables on
the dependent variable at 95% level of significance. In addition, the study will conduct a
multiple regression analysis. The regression equation will be: Y = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3
+ β4X4 ε
Whereby
Y = Competitive advantage,
X1= strategic formulation,
X2= Strategic implementation
X4= Strategic monitoring and evaluation
X3= Strategic leadership
While β1, β2, β3, and β4 are coefficients of determination and ε is the error term.
This will generate quantitative reports through tabulations, percentages and measures of
central tendency. The analyzed quantitative data will be presented through percentages,
means, standard deviations and frequencies. The information will be displayed by use of
28
bar charts, graphs, and pie charts. This shall be done by tallying up responses, computing
percentages of variations in response as well as describing and interpreting the data in line
with the study objectives and assumptions through use of SPSS (Version 21) to
communicate research findings.
29
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Appendix II
Structured Questionnaire
Instructions: Kindly complete the following questionnaire using the instructions provided
for each set of question. Tick or respond appropriately.
Confidentiality: The responses you provide will be strictly confidential. No reference will
be made to any individual(s) or organization in the report of the study.
Instructions: Please tick as appropriate
Section One: General Information

1. What is your gender?
Male [ ] Female [ ]
2. Please indicate your age bracket?
Below 30years [ ] 30-39 years [ ] 40-49years [ ] Above 50
years [ ]
3. Indicate highest level of education
Certificate [ ] Diploma [ ] Undergraduate [ ]
Post Graduate [ ] PhD [ ] Other _______________
4. How many years have you worked with the SDA movement?
Section Two: Influence of Strategy Formulation on Competitiveness

5. Are you aware of strategy formulation in your church?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
6. Is strategy formulation done in your church?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
if yes, who does it…………………………

7. Does strategy formulation increase effectiveness of meeting the organization’s
goals and objectives?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
40
If yes to what extent
[ ] To a very great extent [ ] To a great extent [ ] To a moderate extent
[ ] To a low extent [ ] To a very low extent
If no, kindly explain……………………………………………
8. Do you think strategy formulation as a strategic planning practice influences
competitiveness of the SDA movement?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
To what extent
9. Please give suggestions/recommendations on how SDA movement can use
strategic formulation to enhance competitiveness.
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Section Three: Influence of strategy implementation on Competitiveness

10. Are you aware of strategy implementation in your church?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
11. Is strategy implementation done in your church?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, who does it…………………………
12. Does strategy implementation increase effectiveness of meeting the organization’s

goals and objectives?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes to what extent
[ ] To a very great extent [ ] To a great extent [ ] To a moderate
extent
41
If no, kindly explain……………………………………………
13. Do you think strategy implementation as a strategic planning practice influences
[ ] Yes [ ] No
To what extent
14. Please give suggestions/recommendations on how SDA movement can use strategy
implementation to enhance competitiveness.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
___
Section Four: Monitoring and evaluation Strategy and Competitiveness
15. Do you think monitoring and evaluation strategy have an influence on the
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Kindly explain
16. Tick the extent to which the following monitoring and evaluation strategy influence
competitiveness of SDA movement?
To a very To a To a To a low To a very

great great moderat extent low extent
extent extent e extent
Strategy plan reviews
Review of the implementation
status of the developmental plans
42
progress review audit
17. Please give suggestions/recommendations on how SDA movement can use

strategic monitoring and evaluation to enhance competitiveness.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Section Five: Influence of Strategy Leadership on Competitiveness

18. To what extent has strategy leadership impacted on sustainable competitive
advantage in your church?
1. Not at all ( )
2. To a little extent ( )
3. To a moderate extent ( )
4. To a great extent ( )
5. To a very high extent ( )
19. Below are some key capabilities of effective strategy leaders. To what extent do
they sustain competitive advantage in your church? Rate in a scale of 1 to 5 (1. Not
at all, 2. To a little extent, 3. To a moderate extent, 4. To a great extent, 5. To a very
high extent)
1 2 3 4 5
Investing and using the

development of new technologies
Engaging in the formulation and
implementation of strategy
Developing and using effectively
human capital
Developing and effectively
communicating the vision to all
employees
43
Building and maintaining an
effective organizational culture
Section Six: Sustainable Competitive Advantage
20. Has your church gained competitive advantage over other organizations engaging
in other IGAs?
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
21. Indicate the extent to which the following have been achieved as a result of strategic
planning practices in your church
Indicators 1 2 3 4 5
Less time wastage

Increased customers: people using the SDA movement activities
Large market share among other churches offering similar
activities like schools or worship membership.
22. Indicate the extent at which the following indicators of performance increase your
church competitiveness? Use a scale where 1- To a very low extent, 2- To a low
extent, 3- To a moderate extent, 4- To a great and 5-To a very great extent
Indicators 1 2 3 4 5
Finance available
Customer base
Number of branches
44
Number of employees
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION!!
45

To Establish Effects of Strategy Planning Practices On Competitive Advantage

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TO ESTABLISH EFFECTS OF STRATEGY PLANNING PRACTICES ON

Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... iii

Table of contents ............................................................................................................................ iv

Definition of terms ........................................................................................................................ vii

List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Background of the study ....................................................................................................... 1

1.1.1 Strategy Planning Practices............................................................................................ 4

1.1.2 Competitive Advantage ................................................................................................. 5

1.2 Statement of the problem ...................................................................................................... 6

1.3 Objectives of the study .......................................................................................................... 7

1.3.1 Specific objectives ......................................................................................................... 7

1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 7

1.5 Significance of the study ....................................................................................................... 8

1.6. Scope of the study ................................................................................................................ 8

1.7. Limitations of the study........................................................................................................ 8

1.8. Organization of the Study .................................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 10

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 10

2.0 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 10

2.1.1 Resource Based View (RBV) ...................................................................................... 10

2.1.2 Strategy Fit Theory ...................................................................................................... 11

2.1.3 Institutional Theory...................................................................................................... 11

2.2Empirical Review ................................................................................................................. 12

2.2.1 Strategy Formulation and Competitiveness ................................................................. 12

2.2.2 Strategy implementation and Competitiveness ............................................................ 13

2.2.3 Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy and Competitiveness ......................................... 15

2.2.4 Strategy Leadership and Competitiveness ................................................................... 16

2.3 Summary of literature review and gaps............................................................................... 17

2.4 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 18

CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 24

3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 24

3.2 Research Design .................................................................................................................. 24

3.4 Sampling Design and Sample Size...................................................................................... 25

3.5 Data Collection Methods..................................................................................................... 26

3.6Reliability and Validity ........................................................................................................ 27

3.6.2 Validity ........................................................................................................................ 28

3.7 Data Analysis and Presentation. .......................................................................................... 28

Appendix I .....................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Introduction Letter to the Respondents ..........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Structured Questionnaire .............................................................................................................. 40

Appendix III ...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Work Plan ......................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix IV...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Budget Estimates ...........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

MBV: Market-Based View

RBV: Resource Based View

SDA: Seventh-day Adventist

SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Science

IGAs: Income generating activities.

M&E: Monitoring and evaluation

1.1 Background of the study

1.1.1 Strategy Planning Practices

An organization realizes the impact of moving to a strategy planning focus through an

1.1.2 Competitive Advantage

1.2 Statement of the problem

1.3 Objectives of the study

1.3.1 Specific objectives

1.4 Research Questions

1.6. Scope of the study

1.7. Limitations of the study