Abstract: As a result of globalization, benchmarking strategies in sustainable competitive advantage are continuously being replicated eliminating the aspect of uniqueness, imitability and rarity. The purpose of the study was to investigate how thirteen private hospitals in Mombasa County in Kenya accredited to the National Hospital Insurance Fund managed to sustain themselves with the costs of medical services tremendously rising. The theoretical framework was based on the resource based, market based and capability based views. The researcher highlighted the cost leadership strategy and used the descriptive research design. A purposeful census cross-sectional sampling of thirty nine managers who took part in strategy formulation and implementation was issued with a questionnaire that used survey technique for data collection. It was found that hospitals’ sustainable competitive advantage related positively with cost leadership influencing the level of competitive advantage. The study found that private hospitals in conjunction with insurance firms and non-governmental organizations had managed to retain customers through the reduction of costs, some subsidies, bill waivers and the use of generic drugs in treatment. The findings further revealed that a positive and significant relationship between cost leadership and sustainable competitive advantage contributed significantly to survival in the health sector. Private hospitals that provided services at low cost enabled them to attract more customers therefore increasing revenues.
Keywords: Cost Leadership Strategy, Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Private Hospital, Medical Insurance.
Title: Cost Leadership Strategies for Sustainable Competitive Advantage Adopted by Selected Private Hospitals in Mombasa County
Author: Margaret Banks, Eric Mathuva, Paul Mwenda
International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations
ISSN 2348-7585 (Online)
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