Strategic Organizational Resources and Competitive Advantage of Commercial Banks in Nairobi City County, Kenya
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of strategic organizational resources on the competitive advantage of commercial banks in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Guided by the Resource-Based View, the study adopted a descriptive research design and a census of 150 management-level employees drawn from finance, ICT, human resource, and operations functions. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, with validity supported through expert review and pilot testing and reliability assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. A total of 130 questionnaires were returned, representing an 86.67% response rate. Correlation analysis showed significant positive associations between competitive advantage and ICT resources (r = 0.701, p < 0.01), human resources (r = 0.689, p < 0.01), financial resources (r = 0.674, p < 0.01), and physical assets (r = 0.652, p < 0.01). The multiple regression model explained 55.0% of the variance in competitive advantage (R² = 0.550). ICT resources were the strongest significant predictor (B = 0.238, β = 0.314, p < 0.001), followed by financial resources (B = 0.198, β = 0.287, p = 0.002) and physical assets (B = 0.183, β = 0.223, p = 0.008), while human resources were positive but not statistically significant (B = 0.060, β = 0.091, p = 0.316). The study concludes that competitive advantage depends on the coordinated deployment of financial, technological, human, and physical resources and recommends prioritizing digital capability, financial resilience, digitally aligned human capital, and integrated physical-digital service infrastructure.
Keywords: Strategic Organizational Resources, Competitive Advantage, Commercial Banks, Resource-Based View, Nairobi City County
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