Key informants were drawn from government ministries, state organizations and Internet Services
Providers.
Interviews with representatives of government ministries included the Information
Technology Director and Ministry of Trade and Industry officials. Key informants from state
organizations included representatives of the Investment Promotion Centre (IPC), the Institute of
Computer Science at the University of Nairobi and the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA). Two
individuals from the Internet Service Providers, Wananchi Online and Swift Global (K) Limited, were
interviewed. In some cases, these key informants directed the researchers to other organisations that were
concerned with B2B e-commerce: e-Sokoni, the National Communication Secretariat, AITEC, Central
Bank of Kenya and Barclays Bank of Kenya, the Tele-Communication Services Providers Association of
Kenya, Yellow Pages and UUNET.
4. THE SAMPLE FIRMS
4.1 Firm Characteristics
The characteristics of the firms in the study are important considerations as these are likely to influence
the interviewees’ perceptions of the likely impact of B2B e-commerce. As shown in Table 2, the sample
included ‘young’ and ‘old’ firms, the youngest having been founded in 1997 and the oldest in 1950. The
firms were producing a wide range of products (Table 2). Four (A, B, G, and K) were making only one
product and the other eight were making two or three products. Since previous studies had suggested that
medium and large-sized firms were more likely to be using B2B e-commerce because of their
involvement in international and regional trade, the sample was biased towards larger firms in the
garment sector. As shown in Table 2, the smallest firm had 40 employees and the largest had 2,500
employees.
The annual turnover ranged from between Ksh 40 million and Ksh 800 million (US$ 0.5 to
10 million).
T-shirts were the most common product (see Table 2). One T-shirt firm (Firm A) combined production of
its own shirts with providing embroidery services to other firms. Three firms (C, E and J) were producing
under contract for export. They were receiving samples from potential customers, which they were
duplicating in a bid to win a contract. Most frequently, they appeared to be winning contracts for fairly
standard men’s or women’s sportswear: shirts, shorts, trousers, skirts, and basic dresses. One of the
knitting firms (F) was making sweaters and socks. Four firms (D, G, H, and I) were making uniforms and
two of these (D and H) were also making safety products. One of the firms (L) was an integrated producer
of fabrics and yarn as well as clothing.
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