An Investigation Of The Effects Of Expansion Strategies On Performance Of Commercial Banks In Kenya A Case Of Banks On Tier One

ABSTRACT

Implementation of structural adjustment program and ensuing market liberalization opened the Kenyan market, leaving businesses at the mercy of market forces. As a result, businesses face stiff rivalry and register low performance in terms of profits growth and sometimes even losses are incurred. This could be credited to lack of proper strategic expansion planning. Some of the forces of change that have greatly influenced the banking industry include intense competition, regulations and technological advancement. Strategic expansion in the banking industry demands that companies should have efficient systems in place to counter unpredictable events that can hinder their set goals, operations and overall performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of adopted expansion strategies on the performance at Commercial Banks in Kenya. This research problem was studied through the use of a descriptive research design. The target population of this study was the staff working at Commercial Banks in Kenya in Tier One. The study focused more on the section and particularly on the top, middle and lower level management staff who are directly dealing with the day to day management of the banks since they are the ones conversant with the subject matter of the study. A sample of staff drawn from the population of 232 management staff working in Commercial Banks in Kenya of the top, middle and low level management rankswas used. Stratified proportionate random sampling technique was used to select the sample. From each stratum, simple random samplingwas used to select 70 respondents. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire while secondary data was obtained from annual reports of the companies. Data collected was purely quantitative and it was analyzed by descriptive analysis. In addition the study used Karl Pearson‟s product moment correlation analysis to assess the relationship between the variables. From the findings, the study concluded that product development has the highest effect on performance of commercial banks, followed by market penetration, then diversification while market development having the lowest effect on the performance of commercial banks. The study therefore recommends that the management to increase the advertising expenditures and market share of distribution through more intensive distribution. Market share can be increased by changing the variables of the marketing mix which include the product whose attributes can be changed to provide more value to the customer by improving product quality. The study found out that diversification expansion strategies had greatly effect on the performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya. This study recommends that bank management should occasionally review their diversification expansion strategies in order to enhance the performance of their banks.