Microfinance aims to develop a financial ecosystem that serves the various financial needs of the poor, in hopes of providing them with the tools to sustainably elevate their economic and social well-being. This paper observes the evolution of financial inclusion over the past 40 years. Although considerable strides have been made to increase the impact of microfinance services, inherent challenges continue to plague the success of the industry. These fundamental deficiencies in microfinance initiatives (MFI’s) include the inability to scale, operate profitably and contribute to their clients’ economic and social betterment. This paper observes two fundamental changes that need to be made in order to insure the longevity and success of the industry. First, the industry needs to better integrate the use of innovative technology, which will allow organizations to be increasingly dynamic and targeted in their implementation. Businesses are quickly evolving to be data-centric to increase their profitability and customer base; if MFI’s were able to better understand their clients, they would be able to develop product offerings, delivery mechanisms and outreach efforts that are specifically focused to the needs of their target markets. The second fundamental change essential to success is that microfinance services need to be more fully integrated into the formal financial sector, and governments need to create an environment that encourages businesses and financial institutions to develop products to serve the poor. Cluster analysis aims to identify natural shapes within high-dimensional data and can be applied to numerous fields. As businesses have become more adept at keeping track of their customer data, a common application has been to conduct customer segmentation to better understand and serve their clients. This paper conducts clustering analysis on borrower data from The Lending Club, an online market place for micro-credit in order to better understand the various customer segments.

Using a combination of interviews of social entrepreneurs and secondary research, this paper investigates the strategies that social entrepreneurs use to overcome tension and conflict between the two distinct goals of financial sustainability and mission fulfillment. The results suggest that although some social entrepreneurs can simultaneously achieve revenue generation and mission fulfillment, thus almost entirely eliminating any tension or misalignment, it is the creative responses of social entrepreneurs who have achieved one of these objectives and are attempting to achieve the other that prove the unique value of the practice. Additionally, the results gesture towards the conclusion that different kinds of profit-purpose tension are differentially challenging to overcome. Ultimately, this paper suggests that it is only by interrogating the past experiences of social entrepreneurs that answers to the most difficult questions in the field can be obtained.

Firstly, this thesis reviews the literature on the application of microcomputer-based Management Information Systems (MISs) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). It is found that the hardware platform today is already sufficient for SMEs. However, information regarding successful implementation of MISs for SMEs is scarce and largely fragmented. DSS requires more focused and dedicated use of information to support managerial decision making. Unfortunately, the development of DSSs for SMEs is even more backward. Yet, there is an emerging need for SMEs today because business operations have become more sophisticated under intensified competition. With this scenario in mind, the author undertook intensive questionnaire and case surveys to find out the current development and trends for the effective applications of MISs and DSSs. In 1987, the author was awarded the Oshikawa Fellowship by Asian Productivity Organisation in Tokyo and started the present research. 446 completed questionnaire survey sheets from U.K. and Hang Kong have been received and analysed. 67 SMEs and related organisations in 6 developing/developed countries were also visited. This forms the knowledge for the development of expert systems (ES) for effective applications of MIS. The approach for DSS is based on a carefully selected business game which has most of the common business decision parameters. Intensive experiment with over 100 subjects was conducted in running the game, with an average time contribution of about 20 hours/person. The findings are again consolidated and structured into an ES. Longitudinal research was conducted in 5 representative SMEs. With the use of action learning and participation of the researcher, more in-depth firsthand information were obtained and analysed. These form part of the input to the ES as well. Both ES have been validated and further improved. The experimenters find these as keys to develop MIS/DSS for SMEs. A marketing plan is suggested to launch these two products so that they can become more easily available. Finally, recommendations are made on the effective use of the ES and for further development.

The networking relationships provided by microenterprise development (MED) organizations foster sustainable and scalable Bulgarian small businesses. Some Bulgarian MED leaders lack the strategies to help sustain small businesses in Bulgaria. Guided by the actor network theory, the purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies MED leaders use to help sustain small businesses in Bulgaria. Data were collected through a semistructured focus group comprised of MED Bulgarian business leaders (n = 4) in Rhodope Mountain Region and company data consisting of financial reports, marketing presentations, and company business plan. The data analysis included using keyword frequency comparisons, coding techniques, and cluster analysis. Three themes emerged from the findings: access to financial and nonfinancial capital, networking and relationships, and sustainability and scalability. According to the study results, strategies and scalability impede the ability to expand and service more small business owners. The recommended change in business practices of MED leaders included the formalization of networks of other MED leaders and partner organizations to efficiently meet the demands of the Bulgarian small business market. The implications for social change include the need for networks to aid entrepreneurs in gaining market access, obtaining capital resources, and maintaining sustainability that contributes to the economic and social development of Bulgaria.

In 2012, only 50% of Irish small firms survived in business for more than 5 years. The purpose of this qualitative, explorative case study was to explore strategies some Irish small firm owners use to succeed in business beyond 5 years. The case population consisted of 3 small business owners operating in Lucan, County Dublin, Ireland who had been managing a profitable small business venture beyond 5 years from beginning operations. The conceptual framework was the competitive theory of entrepreneurial orientation. Data collection included semistructured interviews with the 3 participants, which also involved member checking and triangulation with business documents to strengthen credibility and trustworthiness of interpretations. Three broad themes emerged after completing a 5-stage qualitative data analysis: an embedded and consistent entrepreneurial attitude, internal management of firm-specific dynamics, and management of external elements affecting the business' operating environment. The firms' owners developed schemes to counter the effects of consumers' lower purchasing power from economic downturns by enabling customers to purchase products through flexible financing arrangements. The findings of this study may contribute to positive social change by informing the efforts of small business owners to sustain their operations beyond the first 5 years. Increasing the rate of business success can lead to employment of more people, better standards of living for employees, and concomitant benefits for their communities.

With over 11.6 million establishments, women owned small businesses hold a crucial part in supporting the US economy’s wellbeing. However, owning a small business comes with numerous challenges that not all can overcome. This study investigates the challenges of ten women-owned small businesses in Johnson City, Tennessee. The interview results display that women struggle with similar challenges as men; however, they have more difficulty balancing gender roles and societal expectations with owning a small business. This research concludes that men and women do not have equal opportunities when it comes to owning a small business and women are at a disadvantage in specific areas.

In this thesis, I consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses, as they are acutely at risk due to the lack of implicit government insurance that would be available to larger corporations. I will discuss insurance's characteristics using the basic theory of insurance, analyze pandemic insurance's viability in the private market, and critique alternative solutions. While the theory suggests that pandemics are not insurable in the private market, I will perform specific analysis to determine if this is the case or not. Using a simulation of the economic landscape firms face, business owners with varying levels of risk aversion evaluate whether or not to buy pandemic insurance. Specifically, I use the CRRA utility function to model risk aversion and calculate the demand for insurance and the insurance company's viability. I find that while the demand exists for a pandemic insurance product, being the counterparty is a losing proposition in the wholly private insurance market. Future research evaluating alternative solutions, including catastrophe bonds and potential public-private partnerships, is needed to determine the most effective financing for small businesses for future pandemic events.

This paper provides a systematic review of studies and opinions on the debate over whether entrepreneurs are born or made. Attention has been paid to reducing bias and locating as many credible sources as possible. Unfortunately, peer reviewed, quantitative studies and data on this topic seem to be lacking. Research on whether or not secondary, formal education is required in entrepreneurship and if so, the effects are also analyzed. After much review, information on both sides of the argument seems to be well founded and evenly split. An audience polled before and after an argument on the subject was also relatively even and any change in opinion was not statistically significant. The necessity of secondary education was also split depending on the goal. However, capital creation and financial success down the road are two areas in which the results are statistically significant and should be looked into further.

Local retail jewelry leaders of Saudi Arabian (S.A.) small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have struggled to survive through declining profits and increasing business foreclosures, thus threatening the sustainability of the Saudi retail sector and the Saudi economy. A globalization strategy to enhance profitability for jewelry retail SMEs in S.A. is needed, given the limited options for improving profitability. Despite this acknowledged need, leaders in S.A. have refrained from such a strategy because they lack knowledge of economic attraction features to target in the globalization process. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study using discriminant analysis was to examine specific countries' economic attraction features in the historical globalization strategy of a leading U.S. global jewelry company that could facilitate the implementation of a successful globalization strategy for a local Saudi jewelry SME retail company. The study addressed the effects of 6 independent predictor variables of 25 target countries' economic attractions on the dependent grouping variable, which distinguished among 3 order-of-entry groups according to the U.S. company's date of entry in each country between 1972 and 2009. Results indicated that except for the Hofstede index, no other variable had a significant role in the classification of the target countries. Because there was a scarcity of research on this topic, the study is beneficial for its theoretical and academic value, and may be practical for the derivative benefits of catalyzing business growth by empowering leaders of local, successful luxury brands in S.A. to implement their own globalization expansion process and increase employment in the Middle East.

<p>Government efforts to improve the self-employment prospects of persons with disabilities are increasing, yet there is a dearth of information about the outcomes of these initiatives. Further, methodological limitations in the entrepreneurship literature make it difficult to determine the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education more generally. This three-wave, quasi-experimental study provides the first quantitative examination of the outcomes of entrepreneurship education programs for persons with disabilities, indicating that the programs are effective in helping participants to create their own businesses. Contributions are also made to entrepreneurship pedagogy via the first quantitative assessment of the place-train model applied to entrepreneurship development, showing that this approach when combined with financial incentives yields significantly better results than the train-place approach without financial incentives. The study contributes to theory building in entrepreneurship by investigating theory of planned behaviour relationships that have not been adequately assessed, showing significant relationships between intentions and nascent gestation behaviours. The relationship between nascent gestation behaviours and actual business creation is also shown, thus helping to demonstrate the value of utilizing the theory of planned behaviour in examining education interventions designed to promote business creation. Also, the study assesses whether those persons with disabilities who are successful at creating their own businesses have an associated increase in self-esteem, and thus the potential to reap both economic and social psychological rewards, with results indicating it is the activity of trying to start a business, rather than actual business creation, that best predicts increases in self-esteem.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)