Abstract:
With the rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies (lCTs) use in public and private
sectors and the fast growing Internet access, Institutions of higher learning have no choice but to adopt these
technologies if they have to be relevant in this information age. This study aimed at examining the
organizational determinants affecting the adoption of open source software in institution of higher learning in
Kenya with special reference to Inoorero University. The specific objectives of the study were; to find out how
organizational size affects the use of OSS, to examine the effect of organizational structure on the adoption of
OSS, to assess the effect of organizational culture on the adoption and use of OSS in the institution of higher
learning and lastly to assess the role of the management in the adoption of OSS in institution of higher learning
in Kenya. The study used descriptive survey in carrying out the investigation. This study adopted comprehensive
qualitative analysis where a careful and complete scrutiny and understanding of the situations in the institutions
was done. The target population of the study consisted of; students, teaching staff and management at Inoorero
University, School of Information Technology who were 500 in total. The study used both the stratified sampling
techniques and the simple random sampling in the determination of the sample. A sample of 150 respondents
was selected from whom data was collected. The study used the questionnaire to collect the data of which 137
were returned and analysed. The Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient was used to test the reliability of the
instruments which yielded a value of 0.891, hence the instruments were considered reliable. The data collected
was summarized and presented using both descriptive such as frequencies and percentages and inferential
statistics such as the correlation and regression analysis. The results show that the adoption of OSS in the
institutions of higher learning was determined by organizational size, organizational structure, role of
management and the organizational culture. The correlation analysis showed that organizational size had the
highest influence in the adoption of OSS in the learning institution. From the regression analysis it showed that
the four factors considered in the study influenced the adoption of OSS by only 22.5%. The study recommends
that if the results of this research are implemented by the government of Kenya they can be beneficial to the
students and staff of the university and shall form a basis for more research involving the public and private
sectors in Kenya. The results would also help in ensuring quality and standardization of the various educational
programs at the university level.
