Differentiation Strategy And Performance Of Large Rice Milling Factories In Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Abstract

Organizations must adapt themselves to the empowered customer by implementing strategies that can sustain them in this competitive environment such as porter`s generic competitive strategy model differentiation, cost leadership, diversification, and new product development. Differentiation is a business strategy where firms attempt to gain competitive advantage by increasing the perceived value of their products or services relative to the perceived value of other firm’s products or services The study aimed to establish the effect of differentiation on performance of rice milling factories in Kirinyaga County, Kenya; through finding out the effect of product differentiation, physical differentiation and service differentiation strategy affect performance of large rice milling factories. The study was anchored on three main theories of differentiation strategy which includes knowledge based theory, Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy Principles model and Resource Based Theory. The study zeroed into Mwea Sub-County one of the four (4) Sub-Counties of Kirinyaga County, where rice is grown and milled. The study population comprised of 40 rice milling factories. A sample of fifty three (53) respondents was determined from the population through stratified sampling where the population was arranged into three strata; factory managers, technical officers and employees. The study focused on primary data both qualitative and quantitative. The questionnaire was used as the major data collection instrument and they were self administered to the respondents in the sample size. A pilot study was undertaken to pretest the questionnaires for validity and reliability. The gathered data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics aided by Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to summarize and analyze the data. Results showed that product, physical and service differentiation had a positive influence to the performance of large rice milling factories. However, physical differentiation was not statistically significant (0.059 which is >0.05). The study concluded that only product and service differentiation strategies are affecting performance of large rice milling. In addition, service differentiation seems to be a key player being significant at 95% level of significant. The study recommended that large rice milling factories to offer online shopping services to have a wider market share, brand their products by attractive packaging, add value to their product by sorting the rice and have variety of sales incentives like offering transport services to the customers which are key to the factories` performance