Employment creation in Kenya: exploring the Jua Kali enterprises

  • 1895 Views
  • 620 Downloads

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

In developing countries, non-agricultural micro-sized informal enterprises are known to create employment and income generation opportunities. However, due to the complexity and unregulated nature of the sector and, in particular, the Jua Kali, achieving efficient and effective sustainability remains a major challenge for the owners and policy makers alike. Since many unknown barriers continue to impact the effective and efficient development of the aforementioned enterprises, the aim of this study was to determine the barriers to effective job creation in a developing country’s informal micro enterprise industry using evidence from the Jua Kali sub-sector in Kenya. The data from a survey conducted among a random sample of 118 enterprises, which were listed in one Jua Kali Association Directory Nairobi, were analyzed using exploratory factor and regression analyses. Strong evidence supports the notion that some socio-demographic variables such as age, education and marital status have an impact on entrepreneurial activities in the Jua Kali sector. Training, advise and consultation for Jua Kali entrepreneurs need to be enhanced, as this will be necessary to advance their business prowess. The results contribute to studies in entrepreneurship and management by demonstrating that designing and implementing the systems, activities and programs for supporting employment creation through the informal sector can improve productivity at all levels of the economy and improve the living of these entrepreneurs.

view full abstract hide full abstract
    • Figure 1. Conceptual model
    • Table 1. The demographic characteristics of the study sample
    • Table 2. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability results
    • Table 3. Calculated coefficients of barriers
    • Table 4. Influence of variables
    • Table 5. Kruskal-Wallis equality of population rank test
Related Articles

  • Industrial Revolutions and their impact on managerial practice: Learning from the past

    Lucia KohnováORCID , Nikola SalajováORCID doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.17(2).2019.36
    Problems and Perspectives in Management Volume 17, 2019         Issue #2         pp. 462-478 Views: 4229 Downloads: 1795 TO CITE АНОТАЦІЯ

    Technological changes that come with industrial revolution have largely affected businesses, as well as society. With the current technological shift and Fourth Industrial Revolution, many questions arise regarding the impacts and effects on current ways businesses operate. This study presents a retrospective analysis and overview of previous industrial revolutions. The aim of the retrospective analysis is to identify common characteristics that may lead to lessons learned for the forthcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution and thus complement the current debate on technological change. All previous industrial revolutions have led to change in business environments and new challenges for managers and owners. The findings show that all previous revolutions have led to increase in the number of service jobs created. The key approach of successful countries during the times of industrial revolution has included education as the source of new skills and knowledge necessary for adaption. Countries that were able to produce high skilled people could not only invent, but also adapt to new technologies sooner than others. Similarly, these approaches included introduction of new managerial practices in order to be able to utilize new technologies and new skilled workers effectively. The research article processes secondary data together with literature review on this topic.

  • The relationship between e-CRM and customer loyalty: a Kenyan Commercial Bank case study

    Eric E. Mang’unyiORCID , Oumar T. Khabala , Krishna K. GovenderORCID Researcher ID doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/bbs.12(2).2017.11
    Banks and Bank Systems Volume 12, 2017         Issue #2         pp. 106-115 Views: 2983 Downloads: 2591 TO CITE АНОТАЦІЯ

    Since customer loyalty is key, especially in the highly competitive commercial banking environment, this article evaluated the effects of features of electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) on customer loyalty. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from a convenience sample of customers of a major international Kenyan bank using self-administered questionnaires. The findings based on correlation and multiple regression analyses, revealed that pre-service, during (the) service and post transactional e-CRM features have a positive and significant relationship with loyalty, and that the pre-service and during service features significantly predict loyalty. Thus, enhancing e-CRM practices could be a strategic competitive tool to impact the banks’ relationship with their customers.

  • Business dynamism in the world economy

    Zuzana VirglerovaORCID , Felice AddeoORCID , Eliska ZapletalikovaORCID doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.18(3).2020.14
    Problems and Perspectives in Management Volume 18, 2020         Issue #3         pp. 160-169 Views: 2856 Downloads: 325 TO CITE АНОТАЦІЯ

    The creation and growth of new enterprises and, on the other hand, their decline and market exit are crucial factors of business dynamism and economic growth. Thus, business dynamism is an important aspect in the market chain and productivity of an economy, as well as a trigger for market reforms. The aim is to analyze business dynamism using Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 and its variables worldwide and to verify the relationship between business dynamism in the EU states and economic characteristics such as Valued added at factor cost, Enterprise Birth Rate and Enterprise Death Rate. Data were collected from the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report and from the EUROSTAT database, using the most recently updated source for each indicator. The 11th pillar of the Global Competitiveness Index, focused on business dynamics, and a set of indicators were analyzed using PCA to verify if all the variables are effective representatives of the concept. It was found out that the pillar does not effectively represent the concept of business dynamism in case of the EU countries; therefore the new pillar was constructed. A strong and statistically significant correlation between business dynamism and Value Added was confirmed. A relationship between business dynamism and other economic indicators was not proven. From a territorial point of view, Oceania achieved the best overall result in the analyzed field. The process of starting a new business is the most challenging in terms of start-up costs in South America. By contrast, the EU has reached the best result in this process.

Download Preview
Close
Problems and Perspectives in Management
Problems and Perspectives in Management