Comparative Analysis of Technology Adoption Behaviour between Rural and Urban-based Micro and Small Food Manufacturing Enterprises in Kenya.

Abstract

The study purpose was used to examine whether geospatial conditions had effect on technology adoption behaviour of micro and small entrepreneurs engaged in food manufacturing in Kenya. The setting was in both rural and urban area; that is Busia and Nairobi counties respectively. Sampling frame consisted of 2096 MSEs manufacturing foods listed in the two county registers. A sample of 180 Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) was reached using fisher techniques for Nairobi and snowballing for Busia. Out of the 180 MSEs, 132(73%) correctly participated in the study. A seven-point survey tool containing Likert Scale questions was used to measure the MSEs’ gradation in opinion, attitude and adoption behaviour (anxiety) towards agro-food technology adoption. The data was analyzed using Mann-Whitney U statistics at a corresponding 5% level of significance using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study found that there was no significant difference in technology adoption between urban and rural agro-food manufacturing micro and small enterprises (Mann-Whitney U=722.2, p=0.465813, sig≥.05, 2-tailed). However, the mean ranks disclosed significant regional difference in complexity, production function, agro-processor’s experience with technology, level of compatibility and cost of maintenance/repairs. The study contributes to the understanding of the technology adoption behaviour in response to contextualization of innovation research and theory. It also serves as a platform for developing regional development policies.