Users' Technology Capabilities and the Growth of Micro and Small Enterprises in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the influence of  user's capabilities on the Growth of Micro and Small Enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya and; To determine the moderating effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation on user's capabilities and the Growth of Micro and Small Enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya. The study was grounded on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM. The study adopted a descriptive research design since the design enabled the researcher to generalize the findings to a larger population of MSEs. In addition, this design enabled the researcher describe the characteristics of the population being studied as they exist at present hence minimizing biasness and maximizing the reliability of the evidence collected. This study was guided by positivism philosophy. The target population for this study comprised of all the 1835 Owners or managers of the MSEs registered with Nairobi City County and have operated for more than five years. Stratified and Simple Random sampling techniques was used to select a total of 184 respondents for the study. The study found out that user's capabilities and organizational technology policies were the key variable that significantly influencing the Growth of Micro and Small Enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya. Specifically MSEs Staff were largely found to be un-trained especially on Emerging Technologies and lacked motivation to adopt and use technologies. In addition, study found out that there was low adoption on use of social media platform for business operation. The study recommend that the Management of MSEs needs to make   deliberate efforts and invest on training especially on Emerging Technologies such as e-commerce, communication, e-production, e-procurement among others. This will ensure that the MSEs staffs are well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge needed to effective utilize the emerging technologies in the market. Further, the management of the MSEs needs to be motivated to adopt and use technologies and innovation. Motivation many be inform of incentives and rewards that motivates users to adopt and use technology in their operations. The is also need to invest in a strong and robust social media platforms that are easy to use for most users. Social media networks can be harnessed to boast in product and services marketing and sourcing of market information among other.