Effect of Collaborations on Competitive Advantage of Universities in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of collaborations on competitive advantage of universities in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. This was in the light of concern that there has been intensified competition in the higher education; there are also limited number of student who attained minimum C+ requirement for university entry. The study was anchored on resource based theory which postulates that a firm's resources should be Valuable, Rare, In-imitable and Non-substitutable (VRIN). The study employed causal comparative research design. The target population of the study was 310 employees in the universities. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were was employed to select a sample of 170 employees.  Questionnaire was used to collect data. Content validity was established through consultation with experts in that area of strategic alliances. Cronbach alpha coefficient was employed to test the reliability of the questionnaire. Data was analyzed in both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics were analyzed and presented in form of frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation. Pearson correlational and multiple regression analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. The study established that there was a significant relationship between collaboration (p=0.000<0.05 and β= 0.798) and competitive advantage of Kenyan universities. The study concluded collaborations had an effect on the competitive advantage of universities. The study also recommended that the universities forge collaborations as a means to enhance on improve on geographical and market diversification.