EFFE ECT of Drivers of Internationalization on Performance of Commercial Banks in Rwanda: A Case Study of Ecobank Limited, Rwanda

The global market is increasingly becoming popular and gaining importance as a market and a base for internationally active organizations as well as those intending to go international. The general objective of the study was to determine the effect of drivers of internationalization on performance of firms. The study specifically sought to establish the effect of competitive drivers on performance of Ecobank Limited, to assess the effect of market drivers on performance of Ecobank Limited, to investigate the effect of technological drivers on performance of Ecobank Limited and to evaluate the effect of Government drivers on performance of Ecobank Limited. The study was carried out at Ecobank Limited in its Head offices in Kigali City. The study focused on the period between 2013-2015. The study was conducted through a case study design. The population of this study included the 36-top level management at Ecobank Limited including the CEO of the firm, who were involved in international operations of the bank. The sample size for this study was 36 respondents selected through convenience sampling since only the staff relevant to the study (top level management) were considered. The source of data was primary data which was collected using an interview guide and a questionnaire. Interview guide was used to interview the CEO and Directors of the company. The researcher personally discussed each of the issues detailed in the interview guide with the respondents. In order to analyze this study, use of Content Analysis was applied. In addition, descriptive (percentages and frequencies) and inferential (linear regression) statistics were conducted to determine the extent to which the independent variable influenced the dependent variable. The study found out that internationalization of Ecobank was influenced by competitive, market, technology and Government drivers. The study concluded that internationalization drivers presented lots of opportunities to firms in the banking industry creating the prospect of trade and investment in foreign markets. Ecobank needs to put more effort into expanding its business empire into more countries or regions. It can also add more branches in the countries it is already doing business in.