IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cwd/ijbmnz/v4y2025i2p173-195.html

Differentiation and benchmarking as competitive strategies: An analysis of organisational performance of savings and credit cooperative societies in Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Hannah Wangumo Njangiru

    (Kenyatta University)

  • Chris Simon Kipkorir Sitienei

    (Kenyatta University)

Abstract

Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) are essential in reducing poverty, wealth creation, and development. However, they have been faced with declining organizational performance characterized by low market share, inability to satisfy customers and low employee productivity. In the current study, the aim was to establish the effect of differentiation and benchmarking strategies on organizational performance of SACCOs in Nairobi City county, Kenya. The study was anchored on balanced scorecard model, diffusion of innovation theory, Porters and general theory of competitive strategies. The target population was forty-nine SACCOs in Nairobi City County, Kenya that were registered with Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority. The target respondents were one operations manager, one finance manager, one administration manager, and one human resource manager from each of the 49 Savings and credit cooperative Societies. A census was used, and primary data was collected using an open and closed ended questionnaire. The validity of research instrument was determined by experts and pilot study. Alpha Cronbach method was used to ascertain the reliability of research instrument and threshold was 0.7. Data was analysed utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics especially mean, standard deviation and multiple regression with the aid of statistical package for social sciences. Tables were utilized to present the data. The researchers upheld research ethics. The results revealed that differentiation strategy had a negative and insignificant effect contrary to much established theory on organizational performance, while benchmarking strategy had a positive and significant effect. The study recommends that management of SACCOs should improve operational efficiency and competitiveness in the market. The study is meant to benefit policy makers, management of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies, Sacco Society Regulatory Authority, government, academicians and researchers. The findings are additional literature to existing body of knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Wangumo Njangiru & Chris Simon Kipkorir Sitienei, 2025. "Differentiation and benchmarking as competitive strategies: An analysis of organisational performance of savings and credit cooperative societies in Kenya," International Journal of Business and Management (IJBM), International Emerging Scholars Society (IESS), New Zealand, vol. 4(2), pages 173-195, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwd:ijbmnz:v:4:y:2025:i:2:p:173-195
    DOI: 10.56879/ijbm.v4i2.164
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://iessociety.org/index.php/IJBM/article/download/164/38
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.56879/ijbm.v4i2.164?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Norhashimah Mohd Yasin, 2015. "Statutory obligations for banks to comply with the anti-money laundering legislation in Malaysia: Lessons from the United Kingdom," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(4), pages 326-344, November.
    2. Luliya Teeratansirikool & Sununta Siengthai & Yuosre Badir & Chotchai Charoenngam, 2013. "Competitive strategies and firm performance: the mediating role of performance measurement," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 62(2), pages 168-184, January.
    3. Goodluck A. Mmari & Lebitso C. Thinyane, 2019. "Analysis of Factors Influencing Financial Performance of Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies in Lesotho: Evidence From Maseru District," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(2), pages 121-136, April.
    4. Chipo Mukonza & Ilze Swarts, 2020. "The influence of green marketing strategies on business performance and corporate image in the retail sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 838-845, March.
    5. Mohammed Alosani & Hassan Al-Dhaafri & Rushami Yusoff, 2016. "Mechanism of Benchmarking and Its Impact on Organizational Performance," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(10), pages 172-172, September.
    6. Bala Krishnamoorthy & Christine D'Lima, 2014. "Benchmarking as a measure of competitiveness," International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(3), pages 342-359.
    7. Luliya Teeratansirikool & Sununta Siengthai & Yuosre Badir & Chotchai Charoenngam, 2013. "Competitive strategies and firm performance: the mediating role of performance measurement," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 62(2), pages 168-184, January.
    8. repec:eme:ijoes0:ijoes-06-2020-0087 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Jarmila Horváthová & Martina Mokrišová & Mária Vrábliková, 2021. "Benchmarking—A Way of Finding Risk Factors in Business Performance," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Lawrence Musiitwa Kyazze & Isa Nsereko & Isaac Nkote, 2020. "Cooperative practices and non-financial performance of savings and credit cooperative societies," International Journal of Ethics and Systems, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 411-425, August.
    11. Md. Shakib Hossain & Sara Bintey Kabir & Nafisa Mahbub, 2019. "Competitive Strategies and Organizational Performance: Determining the Influential Factor Conquer Over the Rivals in the Food Industry of Bangladesh," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 9(3), pages 100-105.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jessica Thacker & Debdatta Saha, 2025. "Financial Performance and Corporate Distress: Searching for Common Factors for Firms in the Indian Registered Manufacturing Sector," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 65(6), pages 3841-3883, June.
    2. Brijesh Sivathanu & Rajasshrie Pillai, 2026. "Generative AI: fuelling e-commerce revenue growth," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(1), pages 93-108, February.
    3. Charles Karuga & Dr. Henry Kiptum Yatich & Dr. Kibe Lucy Wairimu, 2023. "Influence of Competitive Priorities Strategy on Organizational Performance of Cement Manufacturing Firms in Kenya," European Journal of Business and Strategic Management, International Peer Review Journals and Books, vol. 8(1), pages 50-65.
    4. Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu & Kevin Baird & Sophia Su, 2022. "The association between the interactive and diagnostic use of financial and non-financial performance measures with individual creativity: The mediating role of perceived fairness," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 371-402, September.
    5. Thac Dang‐Van & Tan Vo‐Thanh & Jianming Wang & Ninh Nguyen, 2023. "Luxury hotels' green practices and consumer brand identification: The roles of perceived green service innovation and perceived values," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4568-4583, November.
    6. Candan Özgün-Ayar & Murat Selim Selvi, 2025. "A Scale Development Study on Green Marketing Mix Practice Culture in Small and Medium Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-40, July.
    7. Walker, Nathan L. & Styles, David & Coughlan, Paul & Williams, A. Prysor, 2022. "Cross-sector sustainability benchmarking of major utilities in the United Kingdom," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Danial Esmaelnezhad & Mohammad Dana Lagzi & Jurgita Antucheviciene & Shide Sadat Hashemi & Sina Khorshidi, 2023. "Evaluation of Green Marketing Strategies by Considering Sustainability Criteria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    9. Cherry C. I. Lau & Christina W. Y. Wong, 2024. "Achieving sustainable development with sustainable packaging: A natural‐resource‐based view perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4766-4787, July.
    10. Yang, Jie & Jin, Jianjun & Qiu, Xin & Liu, Dan, 2025. "Does the cooking fuel transition lead to unexpected energy poverty? Evidence from the less-developed Tibetan region of China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    11. Youtang Zhang & Hagos Mesfin Berhe, 2022. "The Impact of Green Investment and Green Marketing on Business Performance: The Mediation Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Ethiopia’s Chinese Textile Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Javier Martínez-Falcó & Eduardo Sánchez-García & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Gustav Visser, 2026. "The Influence of Green Intellectual Capital on Competitive Advantage: A Mediation Analysis in Spanish Wineries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(2), pages 4330-4359, April.
    13. Irjayanti Maya & Azis Anton Mulyono, 2021. "Quality Management for Leather Industry to Increase Competitiveness in the Global Market," HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, Sciendo, vol. 12(2), pages 16-30, August.
    14. Abdullahi Hassan Gorondutse & Haim Hilman, 2019. "Testing the Effect of Business-level Strategy on Performance of Hotels," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(5), pages 1141-1154, October.
    15. Xiaoze Liu & Daehwan Kim, 2025. "The Effect of Green Marketing Mix on Outdoor Brand Attitude and Loyalty: A Bifactor Structural Model Approach with a Moderator of Outdoor Involvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-21, May.
    16. Said Echchakoui, 2018. "An analytical model that links customer-perceived value and competitive strategies," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(4), pages 138-149, December.
    17. Sekar Ayu Agustiani & Sabihaini Sabihaini & Mohamad Irhas Effendi, 2025. "How environmental effort drives performance through competitive advantage in the Indonesian recycling industry," Asian Management and Business Review, Master of Management, Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 5(2), pages 452-470.
    18. Habib, Maan, 2020. "Developing a sustainability strategy for multipurpose cadastre in post-conflict Syria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    19. Huisu Lai & Lei Quan & Fei Wu & Song Tang & Chong Guo & Xiaobing Lai, 2025. "Corporate environmental publicity and green innovation: are words consistent with actions?," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    20. Ariani, Mintarti & Putri, Arlika Anindya, 2018. "Entrepreneurial orientation dan pengalaman kerja," OSF Preprints nuj7p, Center for Open Science.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cwd:ijbmnz:v:4:y:2025:i:2:p:173-195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Cindy Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://iessociety.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.