STRATEGIC SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS BY MIDDLE LEVEL MANAGERS AND COMPETITIVENESS OF LISTED COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA

Efficiency of the middle level management is vital in any organization, since they bridge the gap between top level and bottom level staffs. However, recent times have seen the middle managers get more involved with the firm’s strategy development. Middle managers are crucial drivers of strategic change and hence face many challenges in performing their roles. Traditionally, middle level managers have always been co-opted into strategy execution without being party to their development. This means that middle level managers need time to understand the strategy while executing it. This has been quite disadvantageous as the learning curve could be indeterminate and also end up introducing and propagating errors into the strategy, some of which may be very costly for the firm. Previous studies have not examined this aspect in depth, therefore, motivating the need for the present study to examine the strategic value of middle level managers on competitiveness of listed commercial banks in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to establish how strategic situational analysis by middle level managers influence competitiveness of listed commercial banks in Kenya. Descriptive research design was used in this study. The study targeted branch managers, credit managers, customer relationship managers, and operations managers all who number 108 for the banks. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 85. The study used structured questionnaires for data collection. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 24. The findings established that strategic situational analysis by middle level managers has a positive and significant relationship with competitiveness of listed commercial banks in Kenya. The study, therefore, recommended banks to encourage the use of strategic situation analysis by middle level managers for improving on competitiveness among the commercial banking institutions in Kenya. Finally, the banks need to encourage the use of technology extensively in problem solving and sharing of the solutions to the problems with other departments and branches. Key words: Strategic Situational Analysis, Strategic involvement, Competitiveness CITATION : Kweyu, E., & Juma, J. (2023). Strategic situational analysis by middle level managers and competitiveness of listed commercial banks in Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 10 (4), 368 – 381. http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v10i4.2761.