Price Positioning Strategies and Organizational Performance of Tier 1 Commercial Banks in Kenya

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@article{1719094,
      author = {Namachanja Wamalwa Albert, Tecla Kirwa, Ezekiel Wechuli},
      title = {Price Positioning Strategies and Organizational Performance of Tier 1 Commercial Banks in Kenya},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {9},
      number = {12},
      pages = {2262-2272},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1719094.pdf},
      abstract = {Kenya’s largest banks set their prices inside a sector marked by close regulatory disclosure, competitive convergence and customers who weigh value as much as cost, which raises the question of how much pricing can still contribute to performance. This study assessed how price positioning strategies affect the organizational performance of Tier 1 commercial banks in Kenya and how far customer satisfaction carries that effect. The study used a mixed methods explanatory sequential design and drew on Porter’s competitive advantage theory, the resource based view and expectancy disconfirmation theory. A sample of 264 branch and operations managers from the eight Tier 1 banks, selected through stratified random sampling, completed a structured questionnaire, and the survey evidence was supported by sixteen executive interviews and four customer focus group discussions analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, simple linear regression and bootstrap mediation analysis. Price positioning was practised at a moderately high level, with a composite mean of 3.77 on a five point scale, and managers rated fee transparency highest and segment based pricing tiers lowest. The correlation between price positioning and performance was positive and significant though the weakest among the four positioning dimensions, and the regression showed that price positioning accounted for 13.5 per cent of the variance in performance, so the null hypothesis was rejected. Bootstrap mediation analysis established that customer satisfaction partially mediated the relationship and carried 66.0 per cent of the total effect, the largest mediated share of any dimension. The qualitative evidence traced this pattern to regulatory disclosure, price convergence among the banks, transparency as a substitute for low prices and uneven price sensitivity across segments. The study concludes that pricing is a constrained lever whose influence reaches performance mainly through perceived fairness and transparency, and recommends that the banks compete on clear and fair pricing rather than on price levels.},
      keywords = {Price Positioning, Organizational Performance, Customer Satisfaction, Competitive Positioning, Tier 1 Commercial Banks, Kenya},
      month = {June},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I12-1719094}
  }