The Potential of Social Media as a Communication Tool among Co-Operatives in Kenya: A Review of Literature

Whereas the growth of Kenya"s cooperative movement is steady and of prosperity, the sector is impeded by the limited use of technology, and business ideas involving Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are being taken on by corporations and individual business people; a missed opportunity for the co-operative movement in Africa (Nyaga, 2014).It is documented that the Kenya"s cooperative business model is the best in Africa and 7 th best in the Globe Further, the cooperative movement in Kenya mobilizes and controls over Kenya"s 45% of the GDP with about 84% of Kenyans deriving their livelihoods either directly or indirectly form the cooperatives (ICA, 2014).Research has shown that the benefits of ICTs to cooperatives are numerous.Through fully utilizing the Social Media, cooperatives can cultivate new markets by reaching out to different customer bases on the online; they can keep up-to-date with developments and new innovations and receive training remotely.New Media can help transform the management of co-operatives by improving, communication, marketing and management practices, financial information and reporting and records management as well as create an online presence.These improvements help increase efficiency and lower operating costs (Tom, 2015).Broadly, it is important to note that social media are defined as technologies that facilitate storage, retrieval, communication and the processing of information by electronic means, and include everything from: radio, satellite, television, telephones, computers, smart mobile/wireless phones, laptops, iPads, and the Internet (Manovich, 2001).It is also acknowledged that the role of ICTs in improving efficiency in the cooperative movement is enormous.Also, on the other hand, the challenges and barriers brought by and associated with ICT implementation are also tithing in the Cooperative development hence hindering the uptake (Kobia, 2011).According to the UN International year of Cooperatives in June, 2012, it was postulated that, "ICT's are transforming co-operatives by expanding the scope of potential networks and deepening existing networks through more consistent communication.".The importance of building connections and communication among members and across organizations was stressed throughout the discussions by also highlighting the scale and uniqueness of cooperatives (UN, 2012): "Co-operatives are a clearly identifiable group with an existing community of over a billion people and growing.They have unifying cooperative principles such as democratic member Abstract: Social Media has reshaped modern day public lives in communication by transforming and expanding the scopes of new potential networks and deepened existing networks.For the Co-operative movement to rejuvenate itself in the new communication era, adoption of new media may not be an option.To a large extent, and, globally, the Co-operative movement provides a platform for entrepreneurship, savings, credit facilities, job opportunities and further mechanisms for governance, innovations and trainings to the youth.The objectives of this study is to assess the potential of social media as a communication tool used by the Co-operatives in Kenya.Survey design was used backed by the Social Construction of Technology.The study found out that social media is a key communication tool with potential to revolutionize how cooperative societies operate.