Assessment of the Application of Miles and Snow's Analyzer Typology in Microfinance Institutions in Nakuru East Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The Analyzer typology proposed in the Miles and Snow's (1978) typologies is an archetype that more organizations increasingly approximate, or intend to approximate. However, the Analyzer appears as an enigma; the ambivalence of the analyzer typology in firms still persists and the uncertainty of its application in firms still remains largely unresolved. Therefore, the objective of the study was to assess the application of Miles and Snow's Analyzer typology in microfinance institutions in Kenya focusing on MFBs in Nakuru East Sub-County. This study was guided by the Survival-Based Theory and adopted a homogenous purposive sampling design targeting 5 microfinance banks in Nakuru Town from which the accessible population consisted of 10 managers working with microfinance banks. Data was obtained from primary sources through open-ended interview schedules with the management of the MFIs. The data was analyzed using both descriptive statistical methods and content analysis. The findings revealed that the analyzer elements were the most prominently visible characteristics of the MFIs as compared to the other typologies and, therefore, the analyzer typology was the dominant typology in the MFIs based on the highest observed criticality index of 0.702. Therefore, the MFIs in the area were intrinsically analyzer organizations. The study, therefore, recommends that the MFIs invest in and institutionalize rapid performance monitoring and evaluation systems customized to their internal and external operations so as to improve on decision making.