Journal ArticleDOI
On operations and marketing in microfinance-backed enterprises: Structural embeddedness and enterprise viability
TLDR
In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of micro-finance access on marketing infrastructure and operational scale of women entrepreneurs in the context of structural embeddedness in the network, and found that the structural embeddings have a weakening effect on this relationship for operational scale while having a strengthening effect on the relationship for marketing infrastructure.Abstract:
Financial inclusion remains one of the most promising avenues to bring about development for the poorest segments of society. A substantial body of work has looked into financial inclusion, especially in terms of microfinance, but much of it has been anecdotal and case-based. There is little scholarship that broadly investigates how microfinance-funded businesses choose to use the loans, especially given the ever-present competition for resources that such businesses face regarding which investment priority to pursue. In addition, the efficacy of these investments in terms of subsequent profitability remains unexplored, and so too does the influence of the entrepreneur’s embeddedness in the local community. The paper aims to discuss these issues.,This study reports the results from a field investigation of 927 women entrepreneurs who received a microfinance loan from a leading Indian microfinance institution. Logit and OLS regression models are employed in a moderation analysis by way of hierarchical regression.,Results indicate that access to microfinance increases the likelihood that the enterprise invests in marketing infrastructure and operational scale. In addition, structural embeddedness has a weakening effect on this relationship for operational scale while having a strengthening effect on the relationship for marketing infrastructure. Finally, operational scale is related to enterprise profitability, while marketing infrastructure is not. These findings suggest that embeddedness in the community is associated with the entrepreneur making sub-optimal choices regarding microfinance utilization.,To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the simultaneous marketing and operational impacts of microfinance access. It is also the first study to relate these measures to the profitability of the enterprise, especially in the context of structural embeddedness in the network.read more
Citations
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On entrepreneurial resilience among micro‐entrepreneurs in the face of economic disruptions… A little help from friends
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On packaging and product returns in online retail—Mailing boxes or sending signals?
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Supply chain management at the base of the pyramid
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compile a set of articles tackling supply chain issues in BOP contexts that address both demand and supply, and present ideas for businesses that help address the needs of the global poor while enhancing global sustainability performance.
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Evaluating supply chain constructs in the base of the pyramid environment
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate applicability of established supply chain management related constructs in base of the pyramid market setting and evaluate business-to-business interactions among micro-entrepreneurs in the base of pyramid markets employing a survey methodology.
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On Ethical Violations in Microfinance Backed Small Businesses: Family and Household Welfare
TL;DR: In this article, the authors find that high dependency ratios in the family are correlated with such ethical violations, and also find that ethical violations have a significant economic cost, consistent with prior scholarship in family-business domain.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
How does microfinance enhance entrepreneurial outcomes in emerging economies? The mediating mechanisms of psychological and social capital
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual framework and research propositions are developed to explain how micro-finance provision can translate into new venture creation and existing venture growth in an emerging economy context by engendering higher levels of psychological and social capital in clients.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microfinance revolution: its effects, innovations, and challenges
Hisaki Kono,Kazushi Takahashi +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the extent to which the micro finance revolution is truly revolutionary and explored the impact of micro finance on the poor, the mechanisms underlying high repayment rates and their innovations, and the new challenges micro finance institutions are currently facing.
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Saving Rates and Poverty: The Role of Conspicuous Consumption and Human Capital
Omer Moav,Zvika Neeman +1 more
TL;DR: This article showed that if human capital is observable and correlated with income, then a signalling equilibrium in which poor individuals tend to spend a large fraction of their income on conspicuous consumption can emerge.
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Entrepreneurial human capital and the long-run survival of firms in India
E. Wayne Nafziger,Dek Terrell +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the characteristics of entrepreneurs that contribute to firms' survival in less-developed countries (LDCs) were analyzed and found that entrepreneurial human capital greatly influences firm survival.
Journal Article
Understanding Leakages in the Public Distribution System
Jean Drèze,Reetika Khera +1 more
TL;DR: The main source of leakages is the above the poverty line (APL) quota, which is due to be phased out under the National Food Security Act (NFA).