PERCEIVED ROLE OF BUSINESS NETWORKING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF WOMEN OWNED ENTERPRISES IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF KENYA ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS

Abstract

This study investigated the role of business networking in women owned enterprises in the context of the developing world and in Kenya in particular. There is hardly any evidence of studies undertaken on the role of business networking in women owned enterprises in Kenya and this study intended to fill this gap. The study used a case study research design. The target population of the study was women owned enterprises in Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample from the accessible population. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. To pilot the research instrument, the study adopted face validity and Cronbach alpha reliability estimate. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze data. This study was expected to contribute to knowledge in the area of business networking of women business owners. The study results was expected to indicate if there were any significant relationships between structure of networks, relations in networks, in networks and performance of women owned enterprises in Kenya. Data was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows version 21.