| dc.description.abstract | This study was intended to establish the role of innovation and service marketing in the
development of the meeting, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE) industry. The
study outlined and discussed the pitfalls of innovation implementation and how the key players
can be able to improve on innovation adoption. The study was done at the Kenyatta International
Convention Centre (KICC). The case study method was used and the research tool used was an
interview guide. Data was collected from nine respondents, and this was analysed using content
analysis and presented in frequency tables. The study found out that some of the roles of
innovation and service marketing in the MICE industry was the creation of employment and the
sustainability of MICE industries. The other importance of innovation that came out from the
study was the addition of value to destination areas, ensuring repeat clients and retaining the
existing ones and making products tangible by making them new every time. The study also
highlighted the challenges facing KICC in the adoption of innovation and service marketing as;
inadequate funds, lack of enthusiasm from the staff in embracing innovative ideas. Being an old
structure it suffers obsolescence in terms of equipment, technology and the meeting rooms
require urgent refurbishment and modernization. The other challenges that were revealed from
the study includes; bureaucracy, volatility of tourism industry, government interference, lack of
proper knowledge of the facilities mandate by both the public and staff and resistance to change.
The study recommended the need to look for alternative ways of sourcing funds to ensure
implementation of innovation projects and service marketing initiatives. It also recommended
restructuring to minimize red tape in order to ensure a smooth flow of processes and timely
approval of innovation proposals. The study also called for the training of management team on
the importance of change management especially on the roles of innovation and the advantages
associated with it to reduce incidents of resistance to change | en_US |
