The impact of electronic format on purchase and use of Ellen G. White print resources among Seventh-Day Adventist Churches in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Knowledge is important in current society, and that is why this is called the information age. There is so much information in different forms. Information materials are now available in print and in electronic formats. The Ellen G. White (EGW) writings are also available in both print and electronic formats. It has not, however, been empirically established whether the electronic format is affecting the print format in any way. The aim of this study was to find out whether the electronic format of EGW writings has had an impact on the purchase and use of print materials. The study was a cross-sectional causal design, conducted in a non-contrived setting. Seventh-day Adventist Church members, 196 in total, selected from five randomly English churches located in Nairobi CBD participated in the research. From this number, 184 were used for this research. Eighty percent of those who participated in the study were aged 40 and below. Fifty-one percent of all respondents were male,while 49% were female. More than 70% of the respondents had a Bachelor’s Degree and above. In terms of the level of income, the highest category, 43.8%, was that of people who earn more than Ksh 50,000, on the other hand, the second-highest category, 23.1%, was of those who earn less than Ksh 10,000. The data collection instrument for the study was a survey questionnaire that underwent several tests to ensure its reliability and validity. The data collected was then analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis to generate results for the study. The findings revealed that readers in Nairobi County prefer to read EGW writings in both print and electronic formats. It was also found that individual characteristics of age and level of income have an impact on the purchase and use of EGW print materials, while the level of education and gender have no impact. Four other factors were tested: accessibility, readability, belief in authenticity and cost. Of these factors, three of them: accessibility, readability and belief in authenticity showed an impact, while cost came out as having no impact on the purchase and use of EGW print resources. Based on the findings, this research concluded that we cannot confidently say that the electronic format of EGW materials has come to phase out the print format. It is true there is an impact, but it is not big enough to replace the print books entirely. The same study can be done in different settings to compare the results and produce a wider perspective on this matter.