Consumer Perception and Attitude on Mobile Phone Market in Tanzania

Over the past era expansions in telecommunication technology have created opportunities for new and interactive electronic marketing channels, such as the mobile phone. In particular, the omnipresent and personal nature of this device suggests strong potential for its use as an advertising and direct marketing platform. Despite of several concerns surround the use of this device for marketing purposes, and as such, consumer acceptance of mobile phones as an electronic marketing medium remains relatively low. This study explores Tanzania consumers’ perceptions of mobile phone marketing, defined here as an electronic marketing innovation. From the theory of Innovation attribute of Rogers (1995), this research study makes an important contribution of   understanding how consumer perceptions of the attributes related with this innovation affect their acceptance of mobile phone marketing operations. In the research, three attributes were tested: relative advantage, compatibility and complexity. Statistical analysis using a multiple hierarchical regression model discovered that consumers’ perceptions of compatibility and relative advantage were considerably associated with their perceptions of mobile phone marketing. The identification of compatibility as the key driver of acceptance supports previous research which identified control, delivery of message, permission and privacy, as vital drivers of mobile phone marketing acceptance. However, consumers’ perceptions of the complexity related with mobile phones had a positive rather than negative relationship with their acceptance of this marketing strategy

Adaptation and Barriers of E-commerce in Tanzania Small and Medium Enterprises

E-commerce has been predicted to be a new driver of economic growth for developing countries. The SME sector plays a significant role in its contribution to the national economy in terms of the wealth created and the number of people employed. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania  represent the greatest share of the productive units of the Tanzanian economy and the current national policy directions address ways and means of developing the capacities of SMEs. Many factors could be responsible for the low usage of e-commerce among the SMEs in Tanzania. In order to determine the factors that promote the adoption of e-commerce, SMEs adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce were asked to indicate the factors inhibiting the adoption of e-commerce. The results show that technical barriers are the most important barriers followed by legal and regulatory barriers, whereas lack of Internet security is the highest barrier that inhibit the implementation of e-commerce in SMEs in Tanzania followed by limited use of Internet banking and web portals by SMEs. Also, findings implied that more efforts are needed to help and encourage SMEs in Tanzania to speed up e-commerce adoption, particularly the more advanced applications Key words— e-commerce adoption, e-commerce adoption barriers, Small and Medium Enterprises, e-commerce adoption in SMEs in Tanzania

Higher Education System and Jobless Graduates in Tanzania

The Tanzania’s higher education institutions haven’t raised much of expectations the graduates lack the skills required by the labor market and this trend results in mass graduate unemployment, otherwise this would have assisted them to be more self-reliant. The study explores the importance of higher-level business education human resources development for youth empowerment and national development in Tanzania. The nonstop-increasing pace of technological changes in the fields of business and economy mostly has rendered the teaching of business skills and the training of skilled manpower ever more challenging. The ever-increasing pace of technological changes in the fields of business and economy generally has rendered the teaching of business skills and the training of skilled manpower ever more challenging. The problem caused by this development, is the search for graduates and competent business educators with the knowledge and skills needed by employers of labor in business offices, industry and public sector. This paper will explore why large numbers of University graduates go jobless do for months or even years, while labor complain of lack of skilled workers; and how can the Universities assist in training skilled business graduates for the Tanzania economy? The task of creating skilled human resources development for youth empowerment, productivity, and efficiency in society lies with skillful and experienced trainers and the quality of the training institutions. The implications of the development of a virile higher-level skilled work force for the economy is critically analyzed and recommendations are made to relevant publics, especially the universities and its tutors. Keywords: Higher Education, Youth Graduates, Unemployment and Tanzania