Determinants of auctioneers participation in auctioneering industry: A case of Nyanza / Western chapter of Kenya Auctioneers

Abstract

Business opportunities will always remain a top most desire for the world population. As population increases, there is always need to create more jobs to cater for the growing population as they get into employment age bracket. Auctioneers make money out of auctioning items and by that are not only able to earn good living but also able to employ other people in their firms. Kenyan population is served by approximately only 294 licensed auctioneers for the year 2013 (KALB-20l3, Appendix 3). This means that this industry is not yet fully exploited by the people of Kenya, yet it can be an excellent opportunity for the many people who are jobless and may want to engage in some meaningful business that may lift them and their employees from poverty levels to good living. It is this revelation that led to the study on the determinants of participation of auctioneers in the auctioneering industry, specifically in the Nyanza /Western chapter of Kenya Auctioneers. The purpose of this study was to examine the various factors influencing participation of auctioneers in the industry in the Nyanza and Western regions of Kenya. The study was guided by four major objectives as follows: to establish the extent to which socio-cultural-factors influence participation of auctioneers in auctioneering industry, to explore how economic implications influence involvement of auctioneers in auctioneering industry, to determine how government regulations and policies influence participation of auctioneers in auctioneering industry and to examine how the use of technology influences their involvement in auctioneering industry in the Nyanza/Western chapter of Kenya auctioneers. Primary and secondary data was collected using questionnaires. Questionnaires were issued to all the 28 auctioneers in Nyanza/Western area to collect data which was organized in key thematic areas in line with the study objectives. SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) was utilized to code open ended data, enter, clean, analyze and interpret the data to come up with frequency distribution tables and percentages. The study revealed that majority of the respondents were middle aged, business culture contributed negatively to auctioneers involvement in the industry as family members did very little to support the respondents, the venture is also male dominated with the study revealing that only 4.2% of the respondents are women. Finances is a hurdle to overcome in this industry because for one to acquire a license, an individual needs not less than ksh 100,000, government regulations are not favorable to respondents, and though computer literate 87% of the respondents are not aware of the existence of an auctioning website in Kenya, meaning that the respondents do not embrace e commerce, a factor that can to see to it that their operations are made easy in the industry. The study therefore recommends that auctioning schools be established to enhance auctioneering knowledge and activities, Banks should offer loans to auctioneers, The Government should relax some of the requirements for and during practice of auctioneering and auctioneers ought to embrace ecommerce by using the internet and having an auctioneering website to boost their activities. This would see many people engaging in auctioneering as a business venture. Further research is suggested on the impact of technology in advancing auctioneers participation in auctioneering industry, the role of auctioneering industry in facilitating economic transformation in Kenya and the challenges facing potential auctioneers' participation in auctioneering industry.