Key informants were drawn from government ministries, state organizations and Internet Services Providers. Interviews with representatives of government ministries included the Information Technology Director and Ministry of Trade and Industry officials. Key informants from state organizations included representatives of the Investment Promotion Centre (IPC), the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Nairobi and the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA). Two individuals from the Internet Service Providers, Wananchi Online and Swift Global (K) Limited, were interviewed. In some cases, these key informants directed the researchers to other organisations that were concerned with B2B e-commerce: e-Sokoni, the National Communication Secretariat, AITEC, Central Bank of Kenya and Barclays Bank of Kenya, the Tele-Communication Services Providers Association of Kenya, Yellow Pages and UUNET. 4. THE SAMPLE FIRMS 4.1 Firm Characteristics The characteristics of the firms in the study are important considerations as these are likely to influence the interviewees’ perceptions of the likely impact of B2B e-commerce. As shown in Table 2, the sample included ‘young’ and ‘old’ firms, the youngest having been founded in 1997 and the oldest in 1950. The firms were producing a wide range of products (Table 2). Four (A, B, G, and K) were making only one product and the other eight were making two or three products. Since previous studies had suggested that medium and large-sized firms were more likely to be using B2B e-commerce because of their involvement in international and regional trade, the sample was biased towards larger firms in the garment sector. As shown in Table 2, the smallest firm had 40 employees and the largest had 2,500 employees. The annual turnover ranged from between Ksh 40 million and Ksh 800 million (US$ 0.5 to 10 million). T-shirts were the most common product (see Table 2). One T-shirt firm (Firm A) combined production of its own shirts with providing embroidery services to other firms. Three firms (C, E and J) were producing under contract for export. They were receiving samples from potential customers, which they were duplicating in a bid to win a contract. Most frequently, they appeared to be winning contracts for fairly standard men’s or women’s sportswear: shirts, shorts, trousers, skirts, and basic dresses. One of the knitting firms (F) was making sweaters and socks. Four firms (D, G, H, and I) were making uniforms and two of these (D and H) were also making safety products. One of the firms (L) was an integrated producer of fabrics and yarn as well as clothing. 12