IDIA2009 Conference
Wireless technologies and eBusiness infrastructure for Micro and Small Enterprises in rural areas of Kenya: Hype or Opportunity?
Patrick Kanyi Wamuyu
Daystar University Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
The number of mobile telephone subscribers has grown steadily since the liberalization of the Kenyan telecommunications sub-sector through the 1997 Communications Act. This has seen increased wireless technologies penetration in the rural areas. Mobile telephones are the first telecommunications infrastructure in most Kenyan rural enterprises. This has contributed to development through employment creation, access to services and increased access to information. With such a massive acceptance, wireless technologies create opportunities for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in rural areas to deploy wireless eBusiness infrastructure. Wireless technologies present a unique opportunity for MSEs to overcome their institutional impediments to internet access and e-payments by providing new services and technical capabilities. Wireless technologies offer voice communication, internet access and monetary transactions. Availability of wireless technologies is only an enabling factor. To positively impact organization’s performance, wireless technologies must appropriately match organization’s eBusiness infrastructure requirements. However, appropriateness alone does not guarantee use. User acceptance is critical to successful implementation of any new technology. This study extends Task-Technology Fit (TTF) theory to incorporate acceptance as a factor that could influence use of Wireless eBusiness infrastructure. The proposed model was empirically tested using questionnaire responses from MSEs in the rural town of Nanyuki. The findings from the study suggest that appropriateness and acceptance do influence the use of wireless technologies to implement eBusiness infrastructure and that using wireless technologies to implement eBusiness infrastructure positively and significantly influences organization’s performance. It also found that cost and risk factors have a moderating effect on the use of wireless eBusiness infrastructure. Consequently, the final modified model referred to as the “Suitability of Wireless eBusiness Infrastructure” (SWeBI) model has the power to explain use of wireless technologies to implement eBusiness infrastructure and could help practitioners to take efficient measures to improve use of wireless technologies in Kenyan rural MSEs.
