ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE A CASE STUDY OF HOTELS IN NAKURU

Abstract

Technology is easy to acquire and therefore the advantage that results from it depends on how it is exploited. When it is fully exploited, it strengthens the core capabilities of the business. Technology has become an integral part of all major corporate firms and with its emergence and continued development, firms have been making technological investments to compete strategically by realizing the benefits it brings along. Hoteliers have realized that the face of innovation in technology is continually changing and they need to take a proactive stance in implementing technological advances while continually striving to build levels of service quality and guest loyalty. To enhance the service quality and to gain competitive advantage, organizations must use technology to gather information on market demands and exchange it. This study therefore seeks to establish the role of technology as the independent variable in building sustainable competitive advantage as the dependent variable in hotels in Nakuru town. This study has reviewed literature by different scholars with regards to how technology has contributed in creating sustainable competitive advantage. For instance it has looked at the value chain model, effects of technology in hotels, effects of technology in other sectors, as well as information technology and sustainable competitive advantage which is the key area of the study. The design to be used for this study will be of a survey type since it seeks to discover relationships that are common across organizations and hence provide generalizable statements about the object of study. This study purposes to deal with a population of eleven hotels in Nakuru town that fall under the category of two-four star hotels, out of which a simple random sampling will be done so as to get the sample of the hotels that will be used for the study. Two hotels will then be selected from each category of class. This study will use both primary and secondary data. Secondary data will be gotten from journals and books while primary data will be acquired using the interviews carried out by the researcher using a uniform interview guide. The data collected from these questionnaires will be analyzed using prescriptive statistics such as tables, charts and percentages to represent the response rate and information on the variables under study. 2