Journal ArticleDOI
On operations and marketing in microfinance-backed enterprises: Structural embeddedness and enterprise viability
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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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The Microfinance Business Model: Modest Profit and Enduring Subsidy
Journal ArticleDOI
Pilferage from opaque food subsidy programs: Theory and evidence
Aashish Mehta,Shikha Jha +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a theoretical model of pilferage which predicts that: (i) pilferages from opaque programs is likely to rise more than proportionately with per capita food allocations; (ii) pilfage of inferior goods may be lower in poorer communities; (iii) pilftage rates need not rise as price subsidies are increased; and (iv) pilfferage may rise as the relative quality of subsidized food is reduced.