School of Business and Management Studies
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Item ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS INFLUENCING E PROCUREMENTADOPTION BY SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES IN NYERI COUNTY – KENYA(2023-11-01) GITONGA, PETERWorldwide, SMEs have been seen as catalysts of economic growth and empowerment more so in emerging economies such as Kenya where they constitute more than 80% of all business entities. Growth in technology and huge technological advancements led to innovations such as e-procurement which is the application of information systems and usage of electronic means such as internet in carrying out procurement activities and process leading to numerous benefits. However, previous studies have shown that SMEs in unindustrialized nations have not fully adopted e-procurement or there is no adoption at all. Similarly, there is little literature on implementation of e-procurement by SMEs in emerging economies. Objectives of the study were assessment of organizational, technological and environmental factors as factors that influence e-procurement adoption by SMEs in Nyeri county as well as establishing the moderating effect of government policies on the relationship between factors affecting e procurement adoption and the adoption of e-procurement by SMEs in Nyeri County. The study was premised on Diffusion of innovation thery and the Technological Organizational Environmental (TOE) adoption framework theory in assessing e-procurement implementation by SMEs. This study applied inferential statistics so as to inference the population and enable generalization of the research findings. Descriptive statistics were used to measure variability and provided data summaries and results presented in tables. The study sampled 195 respondents from a target populace of 377 firms by use of stratified sampling method. Data gathering was by use of questionnaires where 128 responses were gotten from the sample. SPSS system was used for data analysis. A pilot study was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the study which yielded a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.72 (72%) with an internal consistency of 99.2% hence the tools of data collection was deemed reliable. The study through logistic regressions analysis found that organizational, technological and environmental factors had no significant relationship on adoption of e-procurement. It also found that government policies had no moderating effect on independent variables that influence acceptance of e-procurement by SMEs. The research concluded that e-procurement implementation by SMEs was still very low and recommended that SMEs should be sensitized and encouraged to use e-procurement. It also recommended further studies to establish barriers that could still be hindering adoption and also the best forms of e-procurement technologies that SMEs can comfortably adoptItem STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT UNIT, EMPLOYEE OUTCOMES, AND PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA(Technical University of Kenya, 2023-07) RUGA, STEPHEN NJUGUNA MWAURAABSTRACT The main objective of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between SHRMPs and performance of public universities in Kenya, and whether any such relationship was influenced by the human resource management units in the universities on one hand, and by employee outcomes, on the other. The study sought to address the gap that despite empirical evidence that public universities in Kenya implemented SHRMPs. in their operations, which ought to positively impact their performance, the universities appeared to continually perform poorly, not only in terms of their financial prospects, but also in terms of their core mandates, including research, learning and teaching, graduation of learners, and staff welfare among others. Moreover, the reviewed literature did not seem to address human resource management units, and employee outcomes. Seven objectives were set; to examine whether SHRMPs combined influence performance of public universities in Kenya, to establish the extent to which rigorous recruitment influences performance of the universities, to determine if staff training influences performance of the universities, to examine whether reward management affects performance of the universities, to determine how performance management influences university performance, to establish the extent to which implementation of SHRMPs by the human resource management unit moderates the relationship between SHRMPs and performance of the universities, and to determine whether employee outcomes intervene on the relationship between SHRMPs and performance of the universities. Hinged on the positivist ontology, and, leaning towards the Resource Based Theory, the study adopted a descriptive mainly quantitative research design, in a census approach, using a sample of 155 respondents drawn from a target population of approximately 75,000 academic and none-academic employees of 31 public universities in Kenya. After an initial pilot of the instruments was undertaken using a random sample of 30 respondents from six universities, which did not take part in the main study, a self-administered five-point Likert type questionnaire data was collected, and analyzed, based on a 110 (74%) response rate. The data was descriptively and inferentially analyzed using tables, graphs, means and standard deviations, and a combination of linear and multiple linear regression. The results showed that the four SHRMPs investigated (rigorous recruitment, staff training, reward management, and performance management), collectively and individually had a positive and statistically significant influence on the universities’ performance, that the implementation role of SHRMPs by the resource management units had a positive and statistically significant moderating influence on the SHRMPs-performance relationship, and that employee outcomes had a positive and statistically significant intervening influence on the relationship between SHRMPs and universities’ performance. It was concluded that strategic human resource management has a significant role to play in the performance of the public universities in Kenya, and, therefore, the universities should consider this as a possible mechanism among others, for influencing their performance prospects in the future. The study recommended that the universities consider revamping their human resource management by innovatively providing the essential physical facilitation, robust policy formulation, and appropriate full-time employee-HR employee balancing. This would not only promote impactful implementation of SHRMPs, but also the realization of value adding employee outcomes with respect to adequate staff motivation, high levels of work role commitment, adequate empowerment and enhanced teamwork. Although delimited to public universities in Kenya, the findings of this study are considered potentially useful to all universities and beyond. Hence, for HR practitioners, policy makers and researchers this study potentially constitutes a source of insightful theory and empirical-oriented knowledge within the wider HRM empirical literature, and, possibly a potential move towards a SHRMPs implementation framework, entailing SHRMPs-OUs-Performance nexus. Further confirmatory and or comparative studies may affirm or otherwise, the results of this study, by comparing private and public universities in Kenya.Item INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND GOVERNMENT POLICY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPLY CHAIN PROCESS INTEGRATION CAPABILITIES AND SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA(2019-11) MILIMO, JUDITH NELIMA WASIKEThe overall aim of the study was to assess the influence of Information Technology Infrastructure (ITI) and government policy on the relationship between supply chain process integration capabilities (SCPIC) and supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya. Specific objectives of the study were: to determine the influence of supply chain process integration capabilities on supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya; establish the influence of SCPIC on ITI of public universities in Kenya; assess the influence of ITI on supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya; establish the mediating effect of ITI on the relationship between supply chain process integration capabilities and supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya; determine the moderating effect of government policy in the relationship between supply chain process integration capabilities and supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya, and to establish the joint effect of SCPIC, ITI and government policy on supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya. The study was underpinned on four theories namely: Resource Based View, Collaborative Network Theory, Agency Theory and Resource Dependence Theory. This study was guided by null hypotheses: H01: SCPIC have no significant influence on SC performance of public universities in Kenya, H02: SCPIC have no significant influence on ITI in public universities in Kenya, H03: ITI has no significant influence on SC performance of public universities in Kenya, H04: ITI has no significant mediating effect on the relationship between SCPIC and SC performance of public universities in Kenya, H05: Government policy has no significant moderating influence on the relationship between SCPIC and performance of public universities in Kenya; H06:The joint effect of SCPIC, ITI and GP on supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya is not different from their individual effects. The study employed cross-sectional survey design. The unit of analysis for the study was public universities. The study was a census. Primary data was collected from 31 public universities using structured questionnaire administered to the heads of procurement and ICT departments. A pilot study was conducted. Validity and reliability tests were done using Cronbach Alpha coefficient. To describe profiles of the universities and research variables, means, standard deviations and coefficient of variations were used. Pearson‟s correlation was used to examine relationships between the variables. To test the hypotheses, linear regression, multiple regression and hierarchical regression were used. The findings of the study indicated that information technology infrastructure mediated the relationship. Government policy moderated the relationship between supply chain process integration capabilities and supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya. The results demonstrated that the joint effect of SCPIC, ITI and government policy on supply chain performance was greater than the effect of individual variables on supply chain performance of public universities in Kenya. By empirically examining the integrated model interconnecting variables, the study has contributed to building of scientific and professional knowledge to policy makers in Kenya and beyond. The study has provided scholars with new insights into the role of government policy as a moderating variable and information technology infrastructure as a mediating variable in the linkage between supply chain process integration and supply chain performance. The study concluded that SCPIC, ITI and government policy enhance supply chain performance of public universities. The research recommends replication of the study in different service sectors and national contexts to enhance understanding of the relationship between SCPIC and supply chain performances.Item HEALTH FOOD PRODUCTS AS A TOOL FOR MARKET GROWTH AMONG RESTAURANTS IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA(TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KENYA, 2019-06) CAROLYNE, KHASOA WASIKEThough research shows that pro i. ion of nutririon informa tion on menus increases the number 01 pcople \\ ho use it to cl 'ct healthier mea l choices. the effect of healti1 fo oe! products on growt h of the h alth food market is not known. Research also shows that bealth eaLing is about fat end energy content of fo d. he re is, however. e idence that health rood market trends have long shift d from fat and energy lev Is in food to other components Ihal ar hased on cu:-wmers' ideas of what constitut es hea lth earing. TI1is srudy sough! to in\'cstigate heald l food produ cts a il t oj fl [ growing th market amo ng restaurant . The study adopt ed a cro , eClioJlal analytical design wl!u~e sample wa~ drawn u:-.i ng r allllofJl and purpo ivc sampli ng procedures for restaw-an ts, head. of department alld targeted customers. Ot t of thc L47 healrh food restaurants in airobi City County , 74 wcre randomly ~a.tnpled and included ill the study. Re pondents for the study entailed 296 heads of department and 382 customers yiclding a total of 6 8 resp onden s. Data was cull ct cl using structured questionna ires anti observation checkli (S . The coneeted data was screened an d analysed by irequencles. perce ntages. correlation, cross tabu atlOn. chi-square and multiple logistical regression. Data was presented by u se of tables. graphs anti prose explanations. W hereas 678 ljll s[ionnai res were administe red to respondents. a respon,: e rate of 97c k was achieved, accounting for (15 7 respondents. On the othe r hand. observation checklists that 74 health food product reo(aurants had 84o/r rc:spon se rate (6 2 health food product restaurants). Results of the study I'll w that the products on orfer perceived by restaurant cu to mers as health were: traditional foods, III di cinaL products cooked using health cooking methods (59%); vege tarian food products (19. 2%): gluten free products ( 12.2%) and sea food (9.6%). The tu dy eSLablished that a sign ificant relationship existed beLwee n health food products on offer jn restaurants in N airobi City and customer needs (a Pearson carrel ati on r value of -0 093 , a regression p valu =OOOL Li near logistic r value of 0.000 and X2. 0.443; a= 0.05 ). actors tha t signi ficantly in fluenced custom r needs for h alth food products were: desire to lead a hea lth hfestyle. family culture ; medical prescription: media, school and book ' (con-el ation p 'JlLlc of 0.001 ; o. = 0.( 5) Variables uf the . LUd y lhat were fOLlnd to be significant in growth If the he alth food product market were : capacity- menus (p =00(0), equipmetlt (p = OOOU ), rr duct quality (p == 0.000), raw ma terials (p = 0.01 3) and trained -taft' (p = 0.05); cllsromcr ,.Itisfaction- salisfied (p =0.(00). dis.-atisfied (p = 0.00 1). cmd vel') d issatisfied (p = 0.000). Oln r va riab l ~ [hat were significant iT marke t growth we re : loyal ty- non loyallY (p =0.0(0) ,mJ minimal 10 'aity (p = 0.( 15); intcrv lu ng factors-meeling frien Is (p == 0.(02) and l.Ul1\enience of restau ra nt locati on (p =0.000); ma rket re::;pon'ie: amI 'orlo-economic fac tors -(1r HOD and cm:tomers. The sLudy further fou nd th at marke t growth depended on the '1e~llt hy tood products on offer. It was. however, e stablished [ha t only 3.5 '70 (R:' = 0.035) of rlJrk l growth of the sampled restauranb could be accounted for by the health food product.s , lrfer. Tn order to significantly grow the hea.l th food market in reslauranb, there is need to I -.:rease the number of res aurants that offer he althy food products as well as restaurant .: _pa 'ity (inte nsify training of staff in health food and ss i t restaurants to source for _~[ ro li ate equipment) to offer this cadre of products. The study further concluded that _..11th f) d products 011 offe r in rc taurants in tl is ru l1~t category shoul cl cnt. it traditional. l~dkl L rroduc(s co k'd lIsillg he( Ith coo ing me thods, v get. rian, glute n i'ree and sea pr1 1duct.- tLlne vari tIes (l , lOw~ er. be pnJ vld tl hased 011 lli P r 'ei ve r! cus!omerItem l.\FLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND GOVERNMENT POLICY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPLY CHAIN PROCESS INTEGRATION CAPABILITIES AND SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORl\IIANCE OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA(TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KENYA, 2019-08) JUDITH, NELIMA WASIKE MILIMOItem EFFECT OF FIRM SIZE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRATEGIC PLANNING DIMENSIONS AND PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA(2017-07-20) ALI, MAHAMUDStrategic planning has been regarded as a prerequisite to successful organizational outcomes and while the contexts of strategic planning differs by sector and geographical orientation, there is renewed interest in strategic planning- performance linkage in developing economies, this, due in part to the realization of the role of firm based factors such as strategic planning dimensions. This study aimed to determine the relationship between strategic planning dimensions and firm performance in the manufacturing sector in Kenya and to establish, the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between strategic planning and firm performance in the manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study was informed by not only the low performance of the manufacturing sector over the past two decades, but also, by the mixed results and contentious debate on the effect of strategic planning dimensions of management participation, functional integration, strategic orientation and strategic control on performance. The study has adopted the use of multidimensional constructs to study strategic planning dimensions and performance linkage. The study utilized a cross sectional survey design, while stratified simple random sampling were used to obtain the sample comprising 191 firms in twelve subsectors among manufacturing firms in Nairobi and its surroundings. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire for key managers involved in the strategy formulation and implementation. Out of the 191 questionnaires administered, 111 were returned and found usable questionnaires, representing 58% which is adequate for this stream of research. SPSS Software was utilized to analyze data. Inferential data analysis was carried out by use of correlation analysis. Regression models were fitted using multiple regression analysis and hypothesis testing were done using standard F and T-tests. The study revealed that strategic planning analyzed through the dimensions of management participation, functional integration, strategic orientation and strategic control were significant and positively related to firm performance. However, firm size, was not found to moderate the relationship between strategic planning dimensions and firm performance in the manufacturing firms in Kenya. Thus, emphasis on specific strategic planning dimensions contribute positively to both large firms and small firms despite their difference in resources and development levels. The study contributes to the strategic planning performance discourse in the context of developing countries and furthers the discussion on the factors moderating in the relationship between strategic planning dimensions and firm performance. The study confirms that, firm size is neither a prerequisite nor a factor for successful application of strategic planning dimensions in both small and medium and large firms in the manufacturing sector in Kenya. The study recommended high participation and involvement of top management in the whole process of strategic planning, anchoring of deliberate functional integration processes in the firm, heightened strategic oriented paradigms for market orientation, customer focus and competitiveness and the development, design and customization of management control systems to enhance implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategic planning process outcomes.Item STAKEHOLDER ATTITUDES TOWARDS TOURISM TRAINING IN MIDDLE LEVEL COLLEGES IN KENYA(2017-05-12) KAMBAGA, DUNSTANABSTRACT Training is critical to human resource development and in the promotion and development of the tourism industry. In Kenya, Middle Level Colleges (MLCs) have been instrumental in manpower training for the tourism sector and national development. Despite this, no comprehensive study has been undertaken to assess the performance of MLC trainees in tourism training under the changing global tourism environment to realize Kenya’s Vision 2030. As such, this study assessed attitudes of key tourism stakeholders towards tourism training in MLCs and their contributions to human capital for the tourism industry in Kenya. Objectives of the study were to assess the types of programmes and management of tourism training offered by MLCs, the attitudes of trainees and trainers towards tourism training in MLCs. The study utilized the descriptive research design and targeted college administrators, tourism trainees and trainers. Twenty (20) MLCs were randomly sampled for this study from Nairobi County. College administrators from 16 MLCs were interviewed to get details on student enrolment in each college, number of staff, and infrastructure and equipment. A sample of 326 trainees out of 4,110 in public and 1,429 from private MLCs were selected using Krejcie and Morgan Table (1970) for the administration of questionnaires. These were composed of 172 trainees from public and 154 from private MLCs. 105 trainers comprising of 45 from public MLCs and 60 from private MLCs were purposively selected. These gave an overall sample of 447 interviewed who participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews, and analyzed using descriptive statistics to generate means, percentages and frequency, while inferential statistics including ANOVA and Chi-square test were used to do further analysis on selected variables. Findings revealed that there were significant differences in the types of programmes and management of tourism trainings offered by MLCs based on college administrators’ attitudes (χ2=8.878, df=15, p<0.05). Diploma courses were rated as excellent for public MLCs and average and good for private MLCs and foreign diploma programmes respectively. Certificate courses in public MLCs were rated as good, while those in private MLCs and foreign certificates were rated as poor and average respectively. Trainees perceived tourism training in public MLCs as above average, while facilities in private MLCs were ranked higher than those in public MLCs. These facilities are used to market respective colleges. Trainers in both public and private MLCs cited tourism training in Kenya as adequate, and satisfactorily utilized radios and televisions as promotional strategies while lack of practical skills within the tourism sector hindered teaching in MLCs. Public MLC trainers complete their syllabi on time and the entry behavior for trainees to programmes is crucial to trainers in these institutions as compared to private MLCs. Middle level colleges are a critical source of middle level technical human capital in the tourism industry and different types of colleges are critical for healthy competition that leads to better trained graduates. It is recommended that the government coordinates tourism trainings in all MLCs in Kenya through regular training of trainers teaching in MLCs, and review of tourism programmes and curriculums to ensure production of quality graduates who are critical for tourism promotion and development. This can be realized through policy reviews, formulation and regulation of tourism training.Item MODELING AND EVALUATION OF PLATFORM-LEVEL INTEROPERABILITY FOR MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER SYSTEMS(2015-09-14) Micheni, Ellyjoy MuthoniTechniques to expedite money transfer have been perfected over time. The use of Mobile phone to transfer money as an alternative to existing traditional payment systems is one of the evolutions of mobile telephony. Mobile money services offer the most convenient means of transferring money and are constantly evolving and are predicted to become the number one choice for cashless transactions in emerging markets. However, despite these prospects, there are various challenges to the expansion of this technology, cross network money transfer being one of them. For example, it is not possible to directly transact money between the different mobile money service providers in Kenya seamlessly. Although the money will be finally transacted, one has to pass through several agents before being able to transact. The research study was aimed at developing a platform level interoperability model for mobile money transfer systems using the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) money transfer system as a reference model. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data from the four main mobile money providers in Kenya, M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Orange Money and Yu Cash to provide empirical evidence for the study. The study is grounded on two theories of interoperability. The first is Institutional Theory of interoperability which stipulates that organizations respond to pressures arising from both their external and internal business environments and adopt structures and practices that are accepted as appropriate organizational choices. The second one is the Interoperability Theory, which indicates that there is no single form or optimal amount of interoperability that will suit every circumstance and therefore, it should be allowed to evolve naturally. Data was collected using mainly a structured Questionnaire and face to face interview. The study used an interpretative exploratory research approach, simple random sampling to distribute the questionnaires and purposive sampling technique for the interview schedules. Qualitative and quantitative data collected was analyzed using both descriptive (frequencies, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Spearman’s rho and factor analysis). Expert opinion survey was used to develop the proposed interoperability model. The model was validated by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). The interoperability metric was developed based on ISO/IEC 15504-2 standard; the metric was applied to the four main mobile service providers. The model was successfully accepted by experts. The findings of this study are essential to the government in regulating mobile money and also form a basis for future development of interoperability of mobile money transfer systems.Item DECISION QUALITY: THE IMPACT OF PROCESS REDESiGN AS AN INTANGIBLE, BENEFIT ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT DECI SIONS(2015-07-31) Ndede-Amandi, Atieno A.IT investment decisions often focus on tangible costs and benefits such as technical, strategic, and financial issues. Less tangible benefits such as process redesign integration, bave been largely ignored. Decisions makers who rely solely on these tangible costs and benefits for their assessment of IT investment value without integrating intangible benefit consideration may be making sub-optimal decisions and investments. This study looked at rhe important, yet often overlooked, intangible benefits consideration in the IT investment decision process with particular focus on process redesign as an intangible benefit. Survey questionnaires were sent out to a sample of 949 firms in three industries: healthcare, chemical, and insurance to solicit information from the chief information officer (CIo) on the level at which they integrate process redesign consideration in the IT inr-eshnent decision. Several important findings resulted from this research effort. First, the study irm"nr;fied seven component factors of process redesign and used these factors to measure the M of process redesign integration into the IT investment decision. Second, the study mfirmed, empirically, that there was an association between the consideration of tangible and intangible benefits. Those firms that expend large effort or resources towards tangible benef,rts consideration also spend more effort or resources toward intangible benefits consideration than otherwise. Third, it was empiricaliy determined that certain process redesign benefit factors received greater consideration than others. Fourth, it was determined #mr decision makers considered tangible benefits to be more important than intangible hmefits consideration and expended a greater portion of effort or resources towards the mideration of the former. Finally, this study found that the strategic relevance of IT in an organization was associated with the level of effort or resource deployment towards intangible benefits. Additional areas for further research were also identified.Item MODELING AND EVALUATION OF PLATFORM-LEVEL INTEROPERABILITY FOR MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER SYSTEMS(2015-07-29) Micheni, Elyjoy MuthoniTechniques to expedite money transfer have been perfected over time. The use of Mobile phone to transfer money as an alternative to existing traditional payment systems is one of the evolutions of mobile telephony. Mobile money services offer the most convenient means of transferring money and are constantly evolving and are predicted to become the number one choice for cashless transactions in emerging markets. However, despite these prospects, there are various challenges to the expansion of this technology, cross network money transfer being one of them. For example, it is not possible to directly transact money between the different mobile money service providers in Kenya seamlessly. Although the money will be finally transacted, one has to pass through several agents before being able to transact. The research study was aimed at developing a platform level interoperability model for mobile money transfer systems using the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) money transfer system as a reference model. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data from the four main mobile money providers in Kenya, M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Orange Money and Yu Cash to provide empirical evidence for the study. The study is grounded on two theories of interoperability. The first is Institutional Theory of interoperability which stipulates that organizations respond to pressures arising from both their external and internal business environments and adopt structures and practices that are accepted as appropriate organizational choices. The second one is the Interoperability Theory, which indicates that there is no single form or optimal amount of interoperability that will suit every circumstance and therefore, it should be allowed to evolve naturally. Data was collected using mainly a structured Questionnaire and face to face interview. The study used an interpretative exploratory research approach, simple random sampling to distribute the questionnaires and purposive sampling technique for the interview schedules. Qualitative and quantitative data collected was analyzed using both descriptive (frequencies, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Spearman’s rho and factor analysis). Expert opinion survey was used to develop the proposed interoperability model. The model was validated by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). The interoperability metric was developed based on ISO/IEC 15504-2 standard; the metric was applied to the four main mobile service providers. The model was successfully accepted by experts. The findings of this study are essential to the government in regulating mobile money and also form a basis for future development of interoperability of mobile money transfer systems.Item THE E-GOVERNMENT ARTIFACT IN THE CONTEXT OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: TOWARDS A NOMADIC FRAMEWORK(2009) Muganda, Nixon OThis thesis is concerned with exploring alternative conceptualizations of the e-government artifact relevant to developing countries in Africa. The premise is that e-government, as an artifact of human conception, remains relatively poorly developed at the levels of theory, methodologies and practice. The investigation is focused on two problematic areas of e-government: its conceptualization and its operationalization as an artifact. There is evidence to suggest that conceptualization of e-government takes place at various levels : international, national, local. The thesis therefore explores how e- government is taking form by focusing on the following research question: "How is the e-government artifact conceptualized in the context of a developing country"? The analysis draws on various perspectives; some of which are grounded on empirical results of the study, while others are based on an analysis of literature. Under the alienating conditions of social exclusion, the emergent e-government artifact emerges as an evolving and technical artifact, with strong managerialist orientations of augmenting and reinforcing central governments control over its polity . To achieve this defining logic, the focus or ideology for addressing the social problem of governance is that of information Taylorism with an emphasis on economic rationality and some form of political rationality. Two consequences are highlighted: • an evolution of public administration towards a technocracy, and • increasing the efficiency of the bureaucracy through managerialization. To address the shortcomings of this artifact concept, the study further presents literature and insights from prior analyses to underpin a nomadic e-government model for building information infrastructures (NECE Framework). The emphasis of the framework is on the need to adopt long term organizing visions in building these infrastructures by focusing on using the existing installed base as a foundation. The nomadic framework, anchored on strong modular design borrowed from an information infrastructure perspective, is clustered around three major layers of building confident local communities ; building nomadic networks of governance and building flexible infrastructures . The 'glue', cementing these layers elevates a critical need for building social, human, digital and physical resources targeting the individuals, various organizing forms and formal institutions, services and physical infrastructure respectively. Such an approach to building an e-government information infrastructure is postulated to minimize the unintended negative social implications of its adoption.