Browsing by Author "Adjei-Ababio, Kwame"

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    Evaluation of competitive strategies of the Licensed Cocoa Buying Companies (LBCS) in Ghana: a case study of Produce Buying Company Ltd
    (2011-06-13) Adjei-Ababio, Kwame
    The study was aimed at evaluating the competitive strategies adopted by the Licensed Buying Companies in the cocoa industry in Ghana with a special focus on the Produce Buying Company Limited (PBC). The main objectives of the study were to analyse the current competitive strategies being pursued by the company, determine the impact of such strategies on the company’s performance, assess the sustainability of the strategies and to make recommendations to improve the company’s strategic competitive advantage in the industry. The review of literature was related, among other issues, to the concepts of strategy, competitive strategies and competitive advantage and how they have been used to impact on performance. For this research the methods employed were by survey and interviews. The instrument used for collection of relevant data for the study was a questionnaire and the semi-structured interview approach. Questionnaires were given out to both staff and farmers at the selected purchasing centers of PBC. A sample size of two hundred (200), comprising thirty (30) staff and one hundred and seventy (170) farmers of the targeted population of two thousand, six hundred (2,600) were selected using the non-probability sampling method of random sampling, specifically, the purposive sampling technique. Data collected were collated and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. Findings indicated that PBC has adopted the cost leadership strategy which has had a significant impact on general performance, increased market shares, corporate image and profitability. Lack of public relations department, permanent strategic department, lack of information communication technology strategy, prefinance and port discrepancies were identified as bottlenecks in the company’s bid to attain higher competitive advantage. Recommendations made include the need for PBC to diversify its operations, look for offshore loans, adopt adequate monitoring strategy, establish corporate strategy and public relations departments, computerise the company’s operations and many others.