ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS AS CORRELATES OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE NIGERIAN TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT

The Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) was introduced in the Nigerian telecommunication industry in 2001 after the industry’s deregulation in 1992. The mobile telephone network which revolutionized the business, social and economic lives of Nigerians also engendered competition in the industry. Competition among the operators enabled them to deploy their organizational factors of stakeholders, knowledge, innovation, culture and technology management to create competitive advantage for the benefit of the telecommunication consumers. However, the industry is challenged by volatility of quality of service and intermittent network failures which have affected the value of its competitive advantage. The study examined organizational factors as correlates of competitive advantage. The study adopted a survey research design. Target population comprised 584 senior and executive management staff of the selected five mobile network operators. This population size also constituted the sample size for the study, using total enumeration. Data were collected through the use of validated questionnaire. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for the constructs ranged from 0.709 to 0.897. The response rate was 64.49%. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings revealed that there was positive and significant effect of stakeholders management on competitive advantage in the Nigerian telecommunication industry (Adj R² =0.626; F_(1,471)=509.732; p < 0.05). Positive and significant effect of knowledge management on competitive advantage was found in the industry (Adj R² = 0.532; F_{(1, 471)}= 346.11; p < 0.05).Positive and significant effect of innovation management on competitive advantage was established in the industry (Adj R² = 0.514; F_{(1, 471)}= 322.734; p < 0.05).The effect of organizational culture on competitive advantage was positive and significant in the industry  (Adj R² = 0.576; F_{(1, 471)} = 413.575; p < 0.05).There was positive and significant effect of technology management on competitive advantage in the Nigerian telecommunication industry (Adj R² = 0.516; F_{(1, 471)} = 323.411; p < 0.05). The study concluded that the massive revolution in the Nigerian economy by the mobile telephone network was created by the competitive advantage driven by organizational factors. It was recommended that the Nigerian telecommunication industry should emphasise improvement of stakeholders’ values, knowledge, innovation, culture and technology management as models for enhanced quality of service and prevention of network failures.  The industry regulator, Nigerian Communication Commission should enact policies to regulate these organizational factors.

Keywords:     Competitive advantage, Telecommunication industry, Stakeholders management, Knowledge management, Innovation management, Culture management, Technology management