| dc.description.abstract | The study sought to investigate factors influencing adoption and utilization of different banking innovations among consumers in banks in Nakuru town. The study was motivated by the steady rise of banking institutions in Nakuru in the last five years. The remarkable gains made towards mobile phone access have seen a steady progress in the scope of innovations emanating from exploitation of these fairly new technologies. What has characterized the Kenyan banking industry landscape is a rapid uptake of various innovations key among them the internet based products. Online banking, Automated Teller Machine and Mobile banking are some of the notable innovations which have progressively rendered themselves in pervasive ways cutting across numerous sectors of economy and industry.
An appropriate banking environment is considered a key pillar as well as an enabler of economic growth. With the continuously emerging wave of information driven economy, the banking industry in Kenya has inevitably found itself unable to resist technological indulgence. The need for convenient ways of accessing financial resources beyond the conventional norms has seen the recurrent expansion and modernization of banking patterns.
The main objectives of the study were: to establish the extent to which ease of use, cost of innovation, access to innovation, risk of innovation and flexibility of innovation influence adoption and continued usage of banking innovations among consumers. The study used innovation-diffusion model to provide theoretical grounding which is composed of four basic theoretical approaches, each focusing on a different element of the innovation process. Data was collected by the use of questionnaires. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data. Descriptive statistics saw the use of percentages, frequencies and tables to analyze the stated objectives. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Scientists where quantitative data analysis approaches were applied appropriately.
Data analysis and presentation in for of tables was used to interpret and discuss the findings through data cross tabulation. This brought out the relationship between the different bank innovations and each of the independent variables. From the findings of the study the researcher made some conclusions which included: access to innovation was the top most factor that influenced consumers in adoption and continued use of bank innovation. This was followed by flexibility, cost, risk and ease of use of innovation in influencing consumers' decisions in their choice and continued use of the different bank innovations. This meant that convenience, which results in time saving, was of paramount importance to the consumers.
The recommendations of the study included need for policy balance by all the stakeholders in order to achieve stability of the financial system, efficiency, broader access, financial integrity and consumer protection and choice.Secondly banks needed to sensitive their customers through training on how to use new innovations that they introduce to promote their uptake and continued use.
Challenges faced by consumers in adoption of bank innovation with a focus on online banking are a study area that needs to be looked at. This is following the slow uptake of this innovation despite its benefits such as convenience and speed. Therefore, understanding the reasons for this resistance would be useful for bank managers in formulating strategies aimed at increasing online banking use. It was from this study that it was confirmed that ease of use of innovation was not the prime determinant of adoption and continued usage of bank innovation. Instead, the findings showed that access to innovation was the first priority to the consumers followed by flexibility, cost, risk and ease in that order. | en_US |
