Determinants of Information and Communication Technology Adoption by Small and Medium Enterprises in Thika Municiplality: A case of Selected SMES

Abstract
The adoption and use of information communication technologies (JeT) by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a major step towards value creation in any economy. It has a major strategic impact on the SMEs. The purpose of this study was to investigate determinants of JeT adoption and use by SMEs in Kenya. This study was guided by the following three specific objectives. First is to establish organizational characteristics that determine the adoption of leT by SMEs. Secondly it is to investigate organizational environment that influence adoption of leT by SMEs. Thirdly to investigate leT characteristics that influence adoption of leT by SMEs in Kenya. The research design which was adopted in order to meet the objectives of the study was descriptive in nature focusing on SMEs in Kenya. A sample of one hundred SMEs drawn from Thika Municipality was involved in the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used in this study. The study data was collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher and administered with the help of a trained research assistant. The data was analyzed through descriptive, relational, inferential statistics with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17.0). This included calculating measures of central tendency and standard deviations. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe and summarize the data. Finally the researcher conducted a multiple regression analysis to determine the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. This study will make pertinent contribution to the existing literature and inspire managers/owners of SMEs, donors, government and policy makers to come up with appropriate strategies on how to adopt JeT in SMEs. The adoption of leT in Kenya is relatively low hence there are still many factors that need to be considered other than the one investigated in this study. This includes benefits of leT adoption by SMEs which influence adoption and other environmental factors such as politics, economic and cultural factors that influence fCT adoption by SMEs.
Description
HD 30.2 .I7
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