ISSN : 2348-6503 (Online) ISSN : 2348-893X (Print) www.ijrmbs.com International Journal of Research in Management & Business Studies (IJRMBS 2014) © All Rights Reserved, IJRMBS 2014 93 Vol. 1 Issue 1 Jan - March 2014 Effect of Porter’s Generic Strategies on Expansion of Academic Programmes for Competitive Advantage in Kenya I Sylvia Namusoso Kisaka, II Dr. Walter Bichanga Okibo I,II Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya Email: I sylviakisaka@gmail.com, II bwokibo@jkuat.ac.ke I. Introduction and Background of the study An over expressed demand for higher education and the limited fnancial resources in institutions of higher learning may have necessitated the dawn of expansion of new or reviewed academic programmes; an expansion strategy that enables such institutions to have sustainable growth, increase capacity to deliver and increase market share. During the 1994/1995 fnancial year, the government reduced the education budget from 37 percent of its annual recurrent budget to about 30 percent with the argument that higher allocations were not sustainable. Under these circumstances, public universities were called upon to explore ways and means of fnancing university programmes with fnances generated from sources other than the exchequer (Kiamba, 2002). Given these challenges, the universities sought to exploit the opportunities to develop new academic programmes as an expansion strategy. These are opportunities owing to the fact that there is a very high demand for higher education. Now with the mounting pressure of conducting double intakes, universities have had to partner with the private sector to assist in accommodation due to their limited resources; their need to expand to fnancially cushion the defcit in service provision. On the other hand, the current Minister for Higher Education - Honorable Professor Margaret Kamar - announced an increase in the number of constituent colleges that have been upgraded into chartered public universities. The total number of public universities have grown from seven (1970- 2009) to forty- three presently. This is a reaction to increase the capacity for public universities to deliver the services; an acknowledgement by the government that they agree that indeed there is a very high demand for higher education. On the other hand, the private universities have not lagged behind in provision of higher education. In the recent past, there has been an increase in the number of private universities that are both local and international providing their services in the country. They too have recognized the opportunities present in the market and have put in place strategies which enable them gain competitive advantage. Most of them have grown in terms of campuses in various towns in the country and East African region such as Rwanda -Mount Kenya University, South Sudan –KCA University- and even in expansion of new academic programmes in view of increasing their market share. Kenya Vision 2030 envisions Kenya becoming a medium income country by the year 2030. In order to achieve this goal, Kenya will need to develop a critical mass of relevantly trained manpower for a globally networked environment. It places great emphasis on the link between education and the labor market, the need to create entrepreneurial skills and competences, and the need to strengthen partnerships with the private sector. This has considerable importance for the structure and focus of the education system and curriculum. Consequently this has been given consideration to changes to the structure of Education, the introduction of technical talent and general academic curriculum pathways, and the centrality of ICT to teaching and learning and its application on day-to-day life. Vision 2030 also recognizes the need for a literate citizenry and sets targets for enhancing adult literacy to 80% by 2012 (Ministry of Education, 2012). The Kenyan Government did pledge on its social strategy in its vision for 2030: Under education and training; Kenya will provide globally competitive quality education, training and research to her citizens for development and enhanced individual well-being. The overall goal for 2012 is to reduce illiteracy by increasing access to education, improving the transition rate from primary to secondary schools, and raising the quality and relevance of education. Public and private universities will be encouraged to expand enrolment, with an emphasis on science and technology courses (Government of Kenya, 2012). Abstract The 21st century has brought challenges and opportunities for higher education in Kenya. The institutions need to understand their resources, capabilities and core competencies which have a direct link to the institutions’ ability to achieve their strategic competitiveness and earn above average returns. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of Porter’s generic strategies on expansion of academic programmes for competitive advantage in Kenya. The specifc objectives were: to determine the effect of differentiation strategy on expansion of academic programmes; to fnd out how focus strategy has an infuence on expansion of academic. The sample site of the research study was Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. The respondents were senior university management- policy makers and the lecturers- developers of academic programmes. Descriptive research design was used and a case study approach adopted. The target population of the study was a total population of 630 comprising of 600 lecturers and 30 senior university management staff. Stratifed random sampling technique was used to pick a sample size of 103 respondents to carry out the study using questionnaires and qualitative approaches. Among the key fndings of this study was that both focus and differentiation strategies had positive correlation with expansion of academic programmes. Moreover, combining the two strategies had an effect on increasing the competitive advantage of the university. The study recommends that universities should do adequate market research before embarking on development of academic programmes. Moreover, universities should differentiate themselves in terms of academic programmes so as to create their own niche in the market and gain a competitive advantage. Key Words Porter’s generic Strategies, Differentiation Strategy, Focus strategy, academic programmes