The Impact of Information and Communication Technology Adoption and Diffusion on Technology Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: The Case of Kenya

Abstract

ICT-based enterprises (ICT-BEs) are businesses that produce ICT products, provide ICT processing technologies, or offer ICT support services. Most ICT-BEs grow in particular niche fields of ICT use by offering services that are well tailored to meet the needs of a specific target market. This however is usually short lived, as alternative technologies are developed each day and availed globally within a few months, while the rate of adoption and diffusion of technology is dependent on other factors other than the ICT itself. In most cases technology diffusion is rather slow and uneven at first, but accelerates rapidly once a critical mass of individuals has adopted the technology. This raises the question of how ICT-BEs can cushion themselves against sudden and unpredictable ICT trends, which may lead to existing customers abandoning a technology for any new alternative technology. The study examines the impact of rapid ICT trends on ICT entrepreneurship in the liberalized and globalized Kenyan ICT market. The study is based on qualitative data, collected through four descriptive case studies selected from micro and small enterprises offering ICT solutions. Findings reveal that rapid changes in ICT trends and early adopters' switching behavior negatively affect the survival of an ICT-BE, while customer satisfaction and entrepreneurial creativity positively influence the survival and success of an ICT-BE. The study provides practitioners, budding ICT entrepreneurs, and policy-makers with essential lessons on how ICT trends affect the growth and survival of ICT-BEs and how to mitigate these negative effects and therefore remain in business.

Keywords:

• micro and small enterprises
• ICT-based enterprises
• ICT trends
• ICT diffusion
• ICT adoption
• ICT entrepreneurship
• ICT dynamism
• service quality
• exploratory
• interpretive
• qualitative
• case studies

Acknowledgments

The author is very grateful to the managers, employees, and customers of ICT-BEs in the study for their participation in this research.

Notes on contributors

Patrick Kanyi Wamuyu Ph.D. is an Assistant professor of Information Technology at United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. His research focuses on a range of topics including ICT4D, Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing, E-business Infrastructure, ICT Innovations and Entrepreneurship, Wireless Sensor Networks and Databases. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Technology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. His papers have appeared in a range of international scholarly journals.

Notes

1 LLOs are enterprises issued with regional licenses to provide fixed line voice and data transmission services and to expand the last mile access. Their licenses limit their on-net traffic within a geographic district while traffic between designated districts is through any of the country's major fixed or mobile operators.

2 Internet Access Services is the provision of Internet access and related services directly to the public within an enterprise's premises for a fee.

3 http://allafrica.com/stories/201309100315.html?page=3 (accessed 6 January 2014).

4 http://www.accesskenya.com/index.php/media-centre/news/188-dimension-data-offer-for-accesskenya-goes-unconditional-in-all-respects.html (accessed 5 May 2014).

5 Available from http://www.cck.go.ke/resc/downloads/Q4_201213_STATISTICS_final_25th_oct_2013.pdf

6 http://www.agpo.go.ke/ (accessed 20 May 2014).