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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 11 May 2015

Ewan Sutherland

– This paper aims to examine how telecommunications in Kenya was affected by the absence of good governance and the presence of rent-seeking by ministers.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how telecommunications in Kenya was affected by the absence of good governance and the presence of rent-seeking by ministers.

Design/methodology/approach

A single-country case study combining approaches of anti-corruption and telecommunications methodologies using secondary and legal sources.

Findings

Corruption has been a significant factor, but has also led to distortions in the market which may have been more significant.

Research limitations/implications

Given the sensitivity of corrupt dealing, it is impracticable to interview the principals, some of whose identities are concealed behind front companies.

Practical implications

It is necessary to modify telecommunications practice to eliminate the use of front companies and those registered in opaque registries to identify conflicts of interests.

Originality/value

This is one of only four countries examined in terms of bribery and corruption in telecommunications.

Details

info, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6697

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 20 January 2017

Sarit Markovich and Charlotte Snyder

The Kenyan government’s announcement of a new 10 percent tax in March 2013 threatened the future prospects of M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service, which had…

Abstract

The Kenyan government’s announcement of a new 10 percent tax in March 2013 threatened the future prospects of M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service, which had revolutionized the way money moved in Kenya. The new tax would be levied on all cash transfers but was largely targeted at M-Pesa, which controlled around 80 percent of the cash transfer market. In response to the new tax, Safaricom, the mobile communications market leader, announced a 10 percent price increase.

The case presents the structure Safaricom established in order to develop a mobile money transfer service in Kenya. As a concept, M-Pesa was unprecedented in Kenya: prospective customers had to get comfortable with the idea that a mobile communications company could provide a payment system, that transactions could be initiated through a mobile phone, and that nonbank outlets could provide cash-in/cash-out services. Even when the concept was accepted, however, customers needed a convenient network of agents to handle transactions, and stores needed to see demand from customers in order to be motivated to become agent outlets. Thus, in order to grow, M-Pesa needed to aggressively pursue and acquire both customers and agents in this two-sided market.

  • Understand the complexity of pricing in two-sided markets

  • Evaluate the profitability of different pricing strategies in two-sided markets

  • Understand the effect of an innovation on the creation and capture of value

  • Identify possible threats to competitive advantage in two-sided markets as well as in developing countries

  • Understand the value of co-opetition and how cooperation with competitors and complementors can increase a company’s profitability

Understand the complexity of pricing in two-sided markets

Evaluate the profitability of different pricing strategies in two-sided markets

Understand the effect of an innovation on the creation and capture of value

Identify possible threats to competitive advantage in two-sided markets as well as in developing countries

Understand the value of co-opetition and how cooperation with competitors and complementors can increase a company’s profitability

Details

Kellogg School of Management Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-6568
Published by: Kellogg School of Management

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2013

Jecton Anyango Tocho and Timothy Mwololo Waema

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of e-waste management practices in Kenya and selected countries. It develops an ideal regulatory framework for e-waste

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of e-waste management practices in Kenya and selected countries. It develops an ideal regulatory framework for e-waste management in Kenya.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology adopted for this paper includes collecting data using interviews, direct observation and literature review. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used.

Findings

Waste is an emerging stream of solid waste in Kenya. It has become a major concern due to the high volumes generated, its hazardous fractions and the lack of policies applicable to its disposal. Gaps are identified in the areas of awareness levels, e-waste management technology, financing, collection, disposal, monitoring, and stakeholder collaboration.

Research limitations/implications

The study area is limited to Nairobi and its environs. With regard to product, the paper focuses on ICT equipment.

Practical implications

The proposed framework has direct practical policy implications to manufacturers who ought to reduce e-waste from production, consumers who should adopt safe disposal practices, recyclers/informal actors who ought to use environmentally friendly methods and government agencies that enforce e-waste policies.

Social implications

Adoption of the proposed framework has positive socio-economic impacts on job creation, reduced crime and sound environmental management.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the body of knowledge on the e-waste problem from the perspective of developed as well as developing countries. It points out best practices for socio-economic development and fronts arguments for sustainable environmental management.

Abstract

Details

Innovation Africa
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-310-5

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2001

Stephen M. Mutula

The paper discusses the current status of information technology development in Kenya and assesses how the public universities along with their libraries in the country should…

1926

Abstract

The paper discusses the current status of information technology development in Kenya and assesses how the public universities along with their libraries in the country should respond in order to compete effectively in the new technological dispensation and become part of the global information society.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2007

Damaris Odero‐Musakali and Stephen M. Mutula

This paper sets out to discuss internet adoption and assimilation among university libraries in Kenya.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to discuss internet adoption and assimilation among university libraries in Kenya.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a literature survey and the experiences of the authors with the Kenyan high education system.

Findings

The potential advantages of the internet appear to have precluded the foresight of Kenyan university libraries to the challenges that may be associated with its deployment. There is clear under‐utilization and considerable disparities between and within the libraries in their levels of general Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deployment and use in Kenya. Most public university libraries still use conventional methods of service provision, suggesting that most library employees are not ready to embrace and integrate these information technologies in their routine operations. If promising ICT applications cannot be widely deployed, then the benefits resulting from such technologies are likely to be equally curtailed.

Research limitations/implications

This paper confines itself to discussion of the internet in Kenyan university libraries. The paper also focuses only on fully fledged government, and private universities as they are among the major stakeholders of the internet initiatives taking place in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Higher education in Kenya has expanded tremendously in the last decade and there is need for studies that address various issues that relate to technology adoption and use that include legal and regulatory frameworks, technology transfer, capacity building and management of new technologies.

Originality/value

With students and staff in higher education the world over increasingly gaining access to the internet and other new technologies, the future of universities depends on their capacity to institutionalize such technologies to meet the complex needs of the academic populace. The ubiquitous presence of ICTs in academic libraries, especially the internet and its potential impact on learning, teaching, and research, implies that any effort that would shed light on this technology is laudable. This underscores the need to understand the underlying factors that impede or promote individuals’ response to the internet‐based technology in university libraries not only in Kenya but elsewhere.

Details

Library Review, vol. 56 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 24 December 2016

Abstract

Details

Innovation Africa
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-310-5

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Stephen M. Mutula

The paper reviews the current status of Internet development in Kenya. Factors affecting Internet development such as telecommunications, national information network…

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Abstract

The paper reviews the current status of Internet development in Kenya. Factors affecting Internet development such as telecommunications, national information network infrastructure, the economy and electricity supply are discussed. The way forward is outlined.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 June 2012

Christoph Stork

This paper aims to demonstrate that call termination is not one side of a two‐sided market and that a “waterbed effect” does not exist for calling‐party's‐network‐pays (CPNP

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate that call termination is not one side of a two‐sided market and that a “waterbed effect” does not exist for calling‐party's‐network‐pays (CPNP) markets where mobile termination rates are being reduced towards the cost of an efficient operator.

Design/methodology/approach

The cases of Namibia, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Botswana are investigated and the impact of cost‐based termination rates on subscriber numbers, investment and profits of dominant operators is analysed.

Findings

In Kenya, the reduction in mobile termination rates in August 2010 led to an immediate reduction in retail prices, allowing smaller operators to compete with dominant operators. In Namibia, lower retail prices led to an expansion of the market, which, in turn, led to higher investment and profits for the dominant operator. On the strength of the most recent empirical evidence from Africa, the paper shows that cost‐based mobile termination rates increase competition between operators and lead to lower prices, more subscribers and more investment in networks and services.

Originality/value

The paper provides empirical evidence for five African countries on impact on regulatory interventions.

Book part
Publication date: 21 April 2022

Theobald Mue Nji, Ayienda Kemunto Carolynne and Emmanuel Yenshu Vubo

Kenya is vulnerable to multiple natural hazards that lead to disasters resulting in human, economic, environmental and other losses. The promulgation and ratification of several…

Abstract

Kenya is vulnerable to multiple natural hazards that lead to disasters resulting in human, economic, environmental and other losses. The promulgation and ratification of several disaster management (DM) policies, acts, conventions and the establishment of the National Disaster Management Policy Framework has placed Kenya at the international forefront. We critically analyse various Kenyan policy institutions and processes for disaster risk management (DRM), applying a mixed-methods approach. Content analysis was applied to qualitatively analyse Kenya’s DM policy and legislation documents, using Nvivo 11 Pro. Descriptive and econometric analyses were performed on empirical data from DRM key informants in Kenya using SPSS version 25.0. Only 11% of interviewees were aware of the National Disaster Policy Framework; 50% had read up to two national DM-related documents. National institutions exert highest influence in the policy formulation (78%), compared to local and international institutions (67% and 56%, respectively). Participation of local and national institutions in national DRM policy formulation was high (mean scores of 2.44/4 and 1.67/4, respectively). A weak correlation was observed between years of experience (r = 0.115, p = 0.768), and a positive but insignificant one between experience and participation in DRM policy formulation. Based on the aforementioned, we suggest that Kenya’s disaster risk reduction (DRR) implementation benefits from the high human capacity and high level of participation. However, the performance of frontline staff needs to be improved, especially regarding their knowledge of existing national DRM frameworks.

Details

Disaster Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policies, Institutions and Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-817-3

Keywords

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