Effect of Knowledge Transfer and Spillover on Product Innovativeness: The Case of Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of  knowledge transfer and spillover on product innovativeness (PI) in the context of manufacturing SMEs. in Kisumu, Kenya. To answer the questions this empirical study raised, a sample of 126 MSEs on the basis of the manufacturing hubs of Kisumu, Kenya. This study provided evidence in support of knowledge transfer and on the  contrary, knowledge  spillover on PI. Further research is needed to confirm and extend the present results by replicating the principal features of this study with MSEs in other regions within Kenya. The conclusions drawn from this study could inform efforts in designing different knowledge transfer supportive actions for different   manufacturing MSEs based on their product knowledge gaps within the wider innovation policy initiatives. Keywords: Small and medium-sized enterprises, Manufacturing, knowledge transfer and  spillover,  Product Innovativeness, Keny

The Moderating Effects Of E-Government On The Relationship Between Administrative Decentralization And Service Delivery In County Governments In Kenya

This study sought to explore the relationship between the devolved governance aspect of administrative decentralization and service delivery in county governments in Kenya. The study also tested the moderating role of e-government on the relationship between administrative decentralization and service delivery in county governments in Kenya. The study used a sample size of 275 respondents, who are government officials drawn from 8 county governments in Kenya. The study used bivariate regression analysis and moderated multiple regression (MMR) to analyze the association between administrative decentralization, e-government, and service delivery variables. Based on the findings, a significant positive relationship between administrative decentralization and service delivery was established. However, the study found the moderating effect of e-government on the relationship between administrative decentralization and service delivery in county governments in Kenya to be insignificant. Finally, the study drew its conclusion and provided recommendations for future researchers

Forecasting Precipitation Using SARIMA Model: A Case Study of Mt. Kenya Region

Precipitation estimates are an important component of water resources applications, example, in designing drainage system and irrigation. The amount of rainfall in Kenya fluctuates from year to year causing it to be very hard to predict it through empirical observations of the atmosphere alone. Our objective was to determine the forecasted values of precipitation in Mt. Kenya region and also to determine the accuracy of the SARIMA model in forecasting precipitation in the same region.  This research considers a univariate time series model to forecast precipitation in Mt. Kenya region. We fitted the SARIMA model to our data and we picked the model which exhibited the least AIC and BIC values. Finally, we forecasted our data after following the three Box-Jenkins methodologies, that is, model identification, estimation of parameters and diagnostic check. Having three tentative models, the best model had two highly significant variables, a constant and  with p-values< 0.01 respectively. This model passed residual normality test and the forecasting evaluation statistics shows ME= -0.0053687, MSE=0.96794, RMSE=0.98384 and MAE= 0.75197. Indeed, SARIMA model is a good model for forecasting precipitation in Mt. Kenya region Keywords: SARIMA, Precipitation, Forecast, Mt. Kenya, AIC and BI

Size As a Determinant of Choice of Source of Entrepreneurial Finance for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Thika District

Abstrac

Technical efficiency of rainfed and irrigated rice production in Tanzania

Tanzania produces rice from two major ecologies, namely irrigated and rainfed lowland. Currently most of the rice is produced from the rainfed lowland but the country's National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS) hopes to reverse this trend. The NRDS aims to increase the rice production area for irrigated lowland ecology from 200 000 ha in 2008 to 390 000 ha by 2018, with productivity increasing from 2.13 t ha−1 in 2008 to 3.5 t ha−1 in 2018. This study evaluated the performance of irrigated and rainfed lowland rice production using technical efficiency. This paper estimates the technical efficiency of rice production in Tanzania for the irrigated and rainfed lowland ecologies. Data were collected from an irrigated site in Bagamoyo and a lowland rainfed site, Dakawa in the Morogoro area. The study found that the average technical efficiency of the irrigating farmers is 96% compared to an average 39% for the rainfed lowland system. For the irrigated system, there are no farmers with technical efficiency less than 80%. This high technical efficiency indicates that in order to achieve the rice production targets aspired to, the opportunity for increasing production therefore lies in changing the production technology.La Tanzanie produit du riz pluvial irrigué. Actuellement, la majeure partie du riz provient des plaines pluviales, mais la stratégie nationale de développement du riz (NRDS) du pays aspire à inverser cette tendance en augmentant la superficie rizicole irriguée de 200 000 ha en 2008 à 390 000 ha d'ici 2018, pour une productivité passant de 2,13 tonnes par ha en 2008 à 3,5 tonnes par hectare en 2018. Cette étude a évalué la performance des plaines irriguées et pluviales -qui correspondent à deux écosystèmes bien distincts- en utilisant l'efficacité technique,. Les données ont été recueillies à partir d'un site irrigué à Bagamoyo et d'un site pluvial, Dakawa dans la région de Morogoro. L'étude a révélé que l'efficacité technique moyenne des agriculteurs irrigués était de 96 %, et de 39 % en moyenne pour les systèmes de la plaine pluviale. Il n'y a pas d'agriculteurs irrigants ayant une efficacité technique inférieure à 80 %. L'efficacité technique élevée indique que, pour atteindre les objectifs de production de riz, l’augmentation de la production réside donc par la modification de la technologie de production.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1531-03612019-04-01hj2019Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS