Title: Competitive strategy and performance in Southern Ghana

Authors: John A. Parnell; John E. Spillan; Edwin C. Mensah

Addresses: School of Business, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372, USA ' School of Business, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372, USA ' School of Business, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372, USA

Abstract: There is a dearth of academic work investigating the effectiveness of competitive strategies in retail organisations in emerging nations, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the relationship between business strategy and performance in business enterprises in Southern Ghana. Data from 184 firms in Accra, Tema and Kumasi suggest that - in terms of both financial and operating performance - Ghanaian retailers employing a combination of cost leadership and differentiation strategies outperformed those adopting only one of the two pure strategies.

Keywords: business strategy; marketing strategy; business performance; strategy formation; management functions; marketing function; marketing organisations; Ghana; retailing; financial performance; operating performance; cost leadership; differentiation strategies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2014.062546

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2014 Vol.13 No.2, pp.109 - 129

Accepted: 12 Feb 2014
Published online: 26 Jul 2014 *

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