Challenges Of Strategy Implementation By Insurance Companies In Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the challenges of strategy implementation by insurance companies in Kenya.Materials and methods: The study made use of primary data that was collected using questionnaires. Since the study involved the use of questionnaires, descriptive survey study was employed. The study population used included all the 46 insurance companies operating in Kenya as at August 2014. A list of the insurance companies in Kenya was obtained from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). A census of the 46 insurance companies was used. Therefore, sampling was not applicable in this study. After data has been collected through questionnaires, it was prepared for readiness of analysis by editing, handling blank responses, coding, categorizing and keying into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software for analysis. SPSS was used to produce frequencies, descriptive statistics which were used to derive conclusions and generalizations regarding the population.Results: The results from the study showed that among that the macroeconomic factors considered to affect strategy implementation were; strict guidelines for compliance with legal, regulatory and capital requirements, high technology advancement, and high inflation rates and low purchasing power of customer whereas the industry specific challenges that affected strategy implementation included; threat of price wars, stiff competition, rivalry among insurance companies and strong bargaining power from clients. Lack of staff involvement, bureaucratic structures and procedures in the company, poor communication of deliverables, and lack of clear guidelines in implementation, were among the internal factors that affected strategy implementation. The study also found out that strategy responses adopted by insurance companies in order to effectively implement their strategies included; rewards being linked to strategy implementation in order to enhance effective execution, lobbying through the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) to address regulatory, economic, political and environmental challenges, reliance on support from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) to address challenges in pricing and price wars.Recommendations: The study recommended that in order to address the strategy implementation challenges companies must first, avoid resistance by employees towards strategy implementation by ensuring employee involvement in the process, secondly, the companies should also work in lessening the bureaucratic structures and procedures, improving and ensuring effective communication of deliverables to ensure they are well understood by the employees, and also ensuring that clear guidelines in implementation process are laid down before the strategies are implemented.