The Impact of Mental Models as a Construct of Organizational Learning on Competitive Advantage in Kenya’s Oil Marketing Sector

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the growing popularity of organizational learning (OL) and its constructs, the concept remains complex and vague for researchers as well as managers. Mental models are inherently difficult to study and several methods have been developed that essentially document a mental model in the form of a mind map or concept diagram. Objective: This study aimed to determine the impact of mental models as a construct of organizational learning on competitive advantage in Kenya’s Oil Marketing Sector. The latent aspects of competitive advantage; organization agility, innovation, barriers to entry, mass customization and inimitability (difficulty to duplicate) were investigated against the independent variable. Methodology: The research design was explanatory, non-contrived and cross-sectional study on Kenya’s oil marketing sector. A sample size of 425 was drawn from oil marketing companies that had a market share above 1% according to the Petroleum Institute of East Africa. Structured questionnaires were used as the data collection tool. Correlation, regression and SEM model were used to analyze the study findings. Findings: The study found that mental models significantly predicted competitive advantage which indicated rejection of the null hypothesis.

Keywords: Organizational Learning, Mental Models, Competitive Advantage, Oil Marketing Sector.