INFLUENCE OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF OIL MARKETING COMPANIES IN MOMBASA, KENYA

Abstract

Organization performance is critical for every oil marketing company as it enhances customer 
satisfaction and retention. The competitive business environment is continuously working 
against a firm’s performance and thus the need to counter these competing forces by gathering 
information for strategic management. This study was guided by both general and specific 
objectives as follows: to determine the effect of strategic competitive intelligence practice on 
organizational performance of oil marketing firms in Mombasa County; to investigate the effect 
of technology competitive intelligence practice on organizational performance of oil marketing 
firms in Mombasa County. To evaluate the effect of tactics competitive intelligence practice on 
organizational performance of oil marketing firms in Mombasa County and to examine the effect 
of target competitive intelligence practice on organizational performance of oil marketing firms
in Mombasa County. To strengthen the conceptual framework, the study used the following 
theories porter’s generic theory, theory of strategic balancing, Ansoff’s growth theory, theory of 
network organizationa and grand unified theory of the firm, The study targeted two officers 
working 62 firms being general managers and marketing manager therefore the target population 
was124. The study sample size was94. A modified Likert scale questionnaire will be developed 
and divided into three parts. A pilot study was carried out to refine the instrument. The quality 
and consistency of the study was further assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Data analysis was
performed on a computer using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 25) for 
Windows. Data was presented in form of means, standard deviation, percentages and tables.The 
findings indicate that competitive intelligence practices have a positive and a statistically 
significant effect on the non-financial performance of oil marketing companies. The study 
concluded that strategic competitive intelligence and target competitive intelligence have a 
significant effect on organizational performance of oil marketing companies in Mombasa county. 
Managers of oil marketing companies should raise the utilization level of competitive 
intelligence practices to enable the firms to make accurate predictions on changes in the business 
environment, compete better in the marketplace against rivals, improve on innovation and 
automation, track competitors’ activities and improve the competitiveness of their firms by 
identifying threats and opportunities before they become obvious.