DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE OF ONLINE PROGRAMS AMONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN NAIROBI METROPOLITAN AREA, KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The study examined the effect of differentiation strategy on the performance of online programs among private universities in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Kenya.
Methodology: A positivist, cross-sectional explanatory design was adopted. From a target of 155 administrators and managers across 20 private universities, 149 usable responses were obtained (96.1% response rate). Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed in SPSS v29 with descriptive statistics, model diagnostics, correlation, and simple linear regression.
Findings: Results show that differentiation practices are embraced at a high level (overall M=3.94, SD=0.821), especially the use of innovative digital tools. Regression analysis indicated a positive, statistically significant relationship between differentiation and online program performance (R=0.529; R²=0.280; Adjusted R²=0.275; F (1,147) =57.127, p<.05). The unstandardized coefficient for differentiation was B=0.529 (SE=0.070; t=7.558; p<.05), implying that a one-unit improvement in differentiation is associated with a 0.529-unit increase in performance.
Conclusion: The study concludes that strategic differentiation through distinctive curricula, superior pedagogy, and innovative technologies materially enhances enrolment, completion, and institutional standing of online programs.
Recommendations: Universities should prioritize continuous content upgrading, learner-centred teaching, and technology-enabled delivery to sustain competitive advantage in digital higher education.
Keywords: Differentiation strategy, online program performance & private universities.
References
Barrow, L., Morris, W., & Sartain, L. (2024). The expanding landscape of online education: Who engages and how they fare. Journal of Labor Economics, 42(S1), S417-S443. https://doi.org/10.1086/728807
Belostecinic, G., & Jomir, E. (2023). Online educational marketing as a means to increase the attractiveness of the university and its image. Economica, (3(125)), 7-27. https://doi.org/10.53486/econ.2023.125.007
Estelami, H., & Mao, Z. (2019). An exploratory study of the determinants of tuition for online MBA programs. American Journal of Business Education (AJBE), 12(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v12i1.10252
Hidayat, M. A., & Mukminin, A. (2022). The diffusion of innovations model: Applications to education policymaking and critique. Edukasi Journal Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran, 9(2), 100-107. https://doi.org/10.19109/ejpp.v9i2.15745
Hilman, H., & Kaliappen, N. (2014). Do cost leadership strategy and process innovation influence the performance of Malaysia hotel industry? Asian Social Science, 10(10). https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n10p134
Karadağ, H., Tosun, P., & AYAN, B. (2022). User-generated and brand-generated content as indicators of university brand personality and business strategy. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 34(2), 646-668.
Kimiti, P. M., Muathe, S. M. A., & Murigi, E. N. (2021). Cost leadership strategy: A new game strategy for competitive advantage in milk processing firms in Kenya. European Scientific Journal, 17(23). https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n23p296
Kinyuira, D. (2014). Effects of Porter’s generic competitive strategies on the performance of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) in Murang’a County, Kenya. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(6), 93-105. https://doi.org/10.9790/487x-166193105
Levin, M. E., Hayes, S. C., Pistorello, J., & Seeley, J. R. (2016). Web‐based self‐help for preventing mental health problems in universities: Comparing acceptance and commitment training to mental health education. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(3), 207-225. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22254
Liu, Y. (2022). Exploring the influencing factors of the online learning efficiency, case study: Post graduate study at College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University. Proceedings of the 5th International Academic Conference on Education, Teaching and Learning (IACETL 2022), 592-603. https://doi.org/10.33422/5th.iacetl.2022.06.40
Maware, C. S., Parsley, D., Huang, K., Swan, G. J., & Akafuah, N. K. (2023). Moving lab‐based in‐person training to online delivery: The case of a continuing engineering education program. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(4), 1167-1183. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12789
Nguyen, V. Q., Le, T. H., Tran, T. T., Le, T. A. T., Lê, T. H., & Vo, N. H. (2021). Education quality and student satisfaction in private universities: An empirical study of FPT University Da Nang, Vietnam. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 9(6), 1148-1161. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2021.090604
Palvia, S., Aeron, P., Gupta, P., Mahapatra, D., Parida, R., Rosner, R., Sindhi, S. (2018). Online education: Worldwide status, challenges, trends, and implications. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 21(4), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198X.2018.1542262
Willging, P. A., & Johnson, S. D. (2019). Factors that influence students’ decision to dropout of online courses. Online Learning, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v8i4.1814
Yuanyuan, X., Wang, W., & Li, Y. (2016). Research on the development strategy of private universities. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Science and Higher Education (ICSSHE 2016), 116-120. https://doi.org/10.2991/icsshe-16.2016.25
