FACTORS SURROUNDING SOCIAL MEDIA UPTAKE BY INFORMAL SECTOR SMES IN KENYA

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand the various factors that surround social media uptake by informal sector SMEs in Kenya. The study is limited mainly to informal sector SMEs in the Highrise area of Nairobi who deal in small-scale retail/service delivery, and only social media uptake meant for the sole purpose of marketing/fulfilling commercial purposes. Complexity of the social media platforms, compatibility of the social media platforms with existing business functions, and relative advantage gained through using social media are some of the influential factors towards social media uptake by SMEs. Complexity refers to the relative ease of use for the respondent, compatibility is the way that the technology corresponds to the operational needs of the respondent, and relative advantage refers to the competitive edge that the respondent gains over counterparts by using the said technology. This research utilizes a survey research design which selects and analyzes data collected from the sample group through the use of various sampling instruments. The sampling instrument used in this study is a questionnaire. The questionnaire is used due to its efficacy in giving us both demographic and operational information, it’s comparatively lower cost as opposed to other instruments, and the fact that it requires much less effort compared to face to face or telephone surveys. The population under research is estimated to be fifty (50) informal sector SMEs in the Highrise area. Half of the sample population (25) will be made up of retail SMEs with the other half (25) being service-providers