Situational analysis of the BDS Market : empirical evidence from Kenya

Published in the African Journal of Business and Economic Research (AJBER) Volume 8, Number 1, 2013 Pp 33-60The paper analyses the situational forces in the Business Development Services (BDS) market in Kenya showing how BDS Providers’ (BDSPs) strategically respond to the forces in their environment. The study was done through the use of grounded theory methodology on eleven BDSPs, four micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and two BDS facilitators in Kenya over twelve months between May 2008 and August 2010. The study established that BDSPs operate under weak regulatory framework which encourages unfair competition longside donor agencies who continue to give free and/or subsidized services. The study also revealed that BDS services are largely unappreciated by MSEs many of who are operating under serious resource constraints. In addition, some of the MSEs do not appreciate professionalism. BDSPs respond to the situational forces in their environments using a number of strategies which evolve over time namely: client, product, differentiation, price, self-regulation diversification, and a simultaneous competition and collaboration. The study revealed paradoxical relationship between donor agencies and BDSPs showing how on one hand, BDSPs perceive donor agencies negatively as distorting the market by compromising small scale entrepreneurs’ willingness to pay for services and on the other hand, benefiting from the donor support.The paper analyses the situational forces in the Business Development Services (BDS) market in Kenya showing how BDS Providers’ (BDSPs) strategically respond to the forces in their environment. The study was done through the use of grounded theory methodology on eleven BDSPs, four micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and two BDS facilitators in Kenya over twelve months between May 2008 and August 2010. The study established that BDSPs operate under weak regulatory framework which encourages unfair competition longside donor agencies who continue to give free and/or subsidized services. The study also revealed that BDS services are largely unappreciated by MSEs many of who are operating under serious resource constraints. In addition, some of the MSEs do not appreciate professionalism. BDSPs respond to the situational forces in their environments using a number of strategies which evolve over time namely: client, product, differentiation, price, self-regulation diversification, and a simultaneous competition and collaboration. The study revealed paradoxical relationship between donor agencies and BDSPs showing how on one hand, BDSPs perceive donor agencies negatively as distorting the market by compromising small scale entrepreneurs’ willingness to pay for services and on the other hand, benefiting from the donor support

Sustainabillty of business development services : gaps analysis of the Kenyan market

Published paper.A key challenge in entrepreneurship and private sector development is the provision of sustainable Business Development Services (BDS). particularly for microand small enterprises. This study investigates how sustainability of BDS can be achieved, and how some providers manage to develop sustainable BDS and not others. using Grounded Theory. The .findings suggest that there are at least nine specific demand-and-supply-side gaps in the BDS market which providers need to identify and fiil if they are to become sustainable. The gaps relate to awareness. value, trust, quality, capacity, unwillingness to pay, appreciation, inability to pay and perception. How providers identify and fill these gaps depends on their strategic orientation, which is in turn shaped by their capabilities, their motivation to sustain the business and e:xternal factors. The findings have both theoretical and practical implications. Success in the industry requires a high level of dedication, commitment and patience than is typicaliy needed in other industries. It takes time and personal sacrifice to invest in building relationships and trust with clients and incremental learning and innovation to fiil the gaps. Filling some of the gaps requires collaboration among service providers. Some others require the action of the industry as a whole. The implications for policy is that BDS development endeavours should take into account the specific demands of the industry and take a holistic view that encourages the right kind ofpeople to join the sector andfor the gaps to be addressed at alllevels.A key challenge in entrepreneurship and private sector development is the provision of sustainable Business Development Services (BDS). particularly for micro and small enterprises. This study investigates how sustainability of BDS can be achieved, and how some providers manage to develop sustainable BDS and not others. using Grounded Theory. The .findings suggest that there are at least nine specific demand-and-supply-side gaps in the BDS market which providers need to identify and fill if they are to become sustainable. The gaps relate to awareness. value, trust, quality, capacity, unwillingness to pay, appreciation, inability to pay and perception. How providers identify and fill these gaps depends on their strategic orientation, which is in turn shaped by their capabilities, their motivation to sustain the business and e:external factors. The findings have both theoretical and practical implications. Success in the industry requires a high level of dedication, commitment and patience than is typically needed in other industries. It takes time and personal sacrifice to invest in building relationships and trust with clients and incremental learning and innovation to fill the gaps. Filling some of the gaps requires collaboration among service providers. Some others require the action of the industry as a whole. The implications for policy is that BDS development endeavors should take into account the specific demands of the industry and take a holistic view that encourages the right kind of people to join the sector and for the gaps to be addressed at all levels

Motives for starting and sustaining BDS : empirical evidence Kenya

Paper presented at the 8th Annual London Business Research Conference, 8th -9th July, 2013, at the Imperial College, London, UKThe paper explains what motivates Business Development Services Providers (BDSPs) in Kenya to venture into and sustain their businesses. The study was done through the use of grounded theory methodology on eleven BDSPs in Kenya over twelve months between May 2008 and August 2010. The start-up motives were classified into three: extrinsic, intrinsic and philanthropic. Contrary to the dominant view that small business start-ups are driven principally by economic necessity, the study revealed that some BDSPs venture into and sustain their businesses mainly for intrinsic and philanthropic motives. These findings suggest that evaluation of sustainable BDS business should not be limited to the traditional economic theory of recovering costs but should take into account intrinsic and philanthropic rewards as well. The study enhances our understanding of “start-up motives” and “success” and in particular in the context of small firms. This knowledge is invaluable to scholars, teachers and policy makers involved in promoting small firms.The paper explains what motivates Business Development Services Providers (BDSPs) in Kenya to venture into and sustain their businesses. The study was done through the use of grounded theory methodology on eleven BDSPs in Kenya over twelve months between May 2008 and August 2010. The start-up motives were classified into three: extrinsic, intrinsic and philanthropic. Contrary to the dominant view that small business start-ups are driven principally by economic necessity, the study revealed that some BDSPs venture into and sustain their businesses mainly for intrinsic and philanthropic motives. These findings suggest that evaluation of sustainable BDS business should not be limited to the traditional economic theory of recovering costs but should take into account intrinsic and philanthropic rewards as well. The study enhances our understanding of “start-up motives” and “success” and in particular in the context of small firms. This knowledge is invaluable to scholars, teachers and policy makers involved in promoting small firms

Situational forces in the BDS market and BDS providers’ strategic responses : empirical evidence from Kenya

Paper presented at the International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD) Conference, 15th May – 19th May 2012, at El Jadida Polydisciplinary University, El Jadida, MoroccoThe paper presents situational analysis of the BDS market in Kenya showing how BDS Providers (BDSPs) respond in each situational context. The study was done through the use of grounded theory on eleven BDSPs, four small-scale entrepreneurs and two BDS facilitators in Kenya over twelve months between May 2008 and August 2010. The study established that BDSPs operate under weak regulatory framework which encourages unfair competition alongside donor agencies some of which continue to give free and/or subsidized services. BDSPs respond to the situational contexts in their environments using client, product, price, focus, diversification, and simultaneous competition and collaboration strategies.The paper presents situational analysis of the BDS market in Kenya showing how BDS Providers (BDSPs) respond in each situational context. The study was done through the use of grounded theory on eleven BDSPs, four small-scale entrepreneurs and two BDS facilitators in Kenya over twelve months between May 2008 and August 2010. The study established that BDSPs operate under weak regulatory framework which encourages unfair competition alongside donor agencies some of which continue to give free and/or subsidized services. BDSPs respond to the situational contexts in their environments using client, product, price, focus, diversification, and simultaneous competition and collaboration strategies

Factors influencing postgraduate students' university choice in Nigeria.

An understanding of postgraduate students’ choice criteria for universities selection is essential for marketing higher education, securing the long-term success of the universities, as well as its marketing strategy. While previous studies have focused on developed countries and undergraduate students, this chapter explores factors influencing postgraduate students’ decision making. The study recognises that the rapid expansion of the enrolment of undergraduates has also stimulated students’ enthusiasm for postgraduate studies and importantly, postgraduate students have prior experience in a university service environment (compared to undergraduate students). The semi-structured interview was conducted with first-year postgraduate students at a private university in South-West, Nigeria. Some of the participants were new to the university while some did their undergraduate studies there. Findings from the study revealed four key factors which are the desire to study for a postgraduate degree, the facilities of the University, including its geographical location, the courses on offer and influence of other stakeholders like parents, siblings and friends. This influence of stakeholders aligns with the fundamental values in a collectivist culture like Nigeria. This study contributes to literature on higher education marketing, especially in Africa and for postgraduate students. The chapter presents an integral insight into marketing higher education in Nigeria and Africa, as this is an under-researched area

On scoping stakeholders and artifacts in software process

Stakeholder and artifact are regarded as two important elements in software engineering processes, but they are rarely systematically investigated in software process modeling and simulation. Inspired by the Workshop of Modeling Systems and Software Engineering Processes in 2008 at University of Southern California and our previous studies on integrating stakeholders’ perspectives into software process modeling, we undertook a study on the application of these entities in software engineering, through both a systematic review and a complementary web survey within software process research and practice communities. Our results reveal that the portion of studies on process stakeholders and process artifacts in software engineering is unexpectedly small, and there lacks consistent understanding of process stakeholder roles. By further analysis of stakeholder roles and artifact types based on our results, we define the stakeholder and artifact in the lieu of software process engineering, and differentiate stakeholder and artifact in different application scopes

Co-creation of value by universities and prospective students: towards an informed decision-making process

African Universities are making an effort to offer values and enhance the human resources and development of the continent. Also, there are growing demands for higher education places on the continent. This paper offers a theoretical insight into the value delivery systems of the Universities and the factors influencing choice. The chapter is theoretically positioned to recognise the co-creation of value between the University and prospective students. University is delivering value through their teaching, curriculum relevance and development courses. They offer values with regards to education for enhancing human resources of a country and research making impacts in the society. Prospective students engaging with these values through their decision-making process is however essential, presenting a common ground for informed decision making which is anchored on information provided by the Universities and information processing by the students. African Universities must make information readily available to prospective students in order to make an informed decision. This chapter extends theoretical knowledge on value creation, student choice and marketing of higher education. Implications for managers with regards to the value audit, communication and engagement are also presented

Minding the gap: an assessment of the quality of course information available on the websites of African universities

Deciding which university to attend and what course to study are essential choices for prospective students. Given Universities’ websites have been considered a vital source of information for prospective students, this study explores the quality and quantity of information about undergraduate programs available in African Universities. The study adopts the ALARA Model of Information Search on website, a novel methodology, which brings together case study research, stakeholder roleplay and netnography. Taking the role of a prospective student, the research explores the availability, location, accessibility, relatability and actionability (ALARA) of information provided on University websites. The study found that prospective students are short-changed as the Universities are not providing enough information for them to decide. More than 70 per cent of the best Universities in Africa did not provide any information for their prospective students about the programs they intend to study. The study offers both theoretical and managerial implication. It extends knowledge about marketing higher education, understanding student information search. The study also highlights implication for University Managers, Academic staff, Marketing Communication Team, Information and Communications Team and other teams responsible for developing and updating the Universities’ website with current and relevant information about the programs offered by the University