| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
The small and micro enterprises (SMEs) have to date remained the driving engines of
several countries including those in the European Union (EU), where they make up
57.4% of value added in the non-financial sector. In South Africa, they contribute
over 36% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Locally, these
establishments account for 92.2% of employment in Kenya. In spite of this,
performance of the SMEs in a majority of the counties have not been that robust with
over 71% of them closing down in their third anniversaries. This has led to several
interventions from state and none state actors including their preferential treatment in
public procurement activities. However, there is little information on success of these
interventions on the performance of the SMEs in the country. Hence, the purpose of
this study was to assess the contribution of public procurement access on the financial
performance of small and micro enterprises in Homa Bay County, Kenya. Specific
objectives were to; establish the extent to which tendering costs; winning a tender and
public procurement regulations contribute to the financial performance of SMEs in
the CBD of Homa Bay Town. The study was anchored on the contingency theory and
adopted a descriptive survey design. Target population was 350 SMEs in the CBD of
Homa Bay Town. Sample size was 187 and a total of 191 questionnaires were
received back. Primary data was obtained through structured questionnaires.
Reliability test was ascertained through Cronbach’s Alpha determination at a
coefficient of 0.7 and above. Face, construct and content validity tests were done
using expert reviewers. Descriptive analysis revealed that mean for amount incurred
and if the amount was justified were found to be 4.0681 and 3.8586 respectively
meaning that majority of the respondents agreed that tendering costs contribute to the
financial performance to a high extent. Contract value=4.1047 and Number of
contracts= 3.6911 implying that majority of the respondents felt that winning a tender
contribute to the financial performance to a high extent. Public Procurement
Regulations contribute to the financial performance to a little extent ( no bribery
mean=2.2304, justified pay period mean=1.8848). Based on conclusion that tendering
costs and winning a tender contribute to the financial performance to a high extent,
the study recommends that devolved units should give tendering costs prominence
since they contribute highly to financial performance. The study recommends that
devolved units should give winning a tender due consideration since it contributes
highly to financial performance. The study recommends that devolved units should
work on ways of adjusting public procurement regulations since it contributes to their
financial performance to a little extent. The study would be of great significance to
devolved governments since they would know the extent of implanting tendering
costs, winning tenders and public procurement regulations in order to improve on
their financial performance. | en_US |
