Islamic microfinance in Mauritania: an investigation into involuntary factors affecting usage

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vatimetou Mokhtar Maouloud ◽  
Salina Kassim ◽  
Anwar Hasan Abdullah Othman
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Specific Dimension ◽  
Islamic Microfinance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to identify the involuntary barriers of financial inclusion which are affecting the usage of Islamic microfinance services in PROCAPEC institution located in Nouakchott-Mauritania. Subsequently, it also examines the effect of gender as a moderator in the model. Design/methodology/approach Primary data was collected through a cross-sectional questionnaire from 381 beneficiaries of PROCAPEC – a major Islamic microfinance provider in Mauritania. In methodology, the study uses confirmatory factor analysis to identify relevant involuntary factors affecting usage, followed by structural equation modelling to test the impact of these factors on the usage of Islamic microfinance (IsMF) products. Findings Two of the four factors are statistically significant in affecting the usage of IsMF products, namely, affordability and eligibility. Gender is a moderator in the relationship between affordability and usage, as well as eligibility and usage. Practical implications Policymakers, practitioners and managers of Islamic microfinance institutions can consider these factors and focus on strategies, including pricing and promotion, which aim to further develop the Islamic microfinance industry in Mauritania. Also, reducing documentation required from clients and adopting lenient rules to provide suitable products will enhance the use of IsMF products, which may lead to more customers’ attraction. Originality/value Although several researchers have articulated financial inclusion, this study sheds light on a specific dimension of financial inclusion to determine the factors impacting IsMF products’ usage. In Mauritania, there are few studies about microfinance. This study will be amongst the pioneer contribution to the geographical gap.

Measuring impact of financial inclusion on rural development through cooperatives

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-376
Author(s):  
Tarsem Lal
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Inclusive Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of financial inclusion on rural development through cooperatives.Design/methodology/approachThe primary data were collected from 540 beneficiaries of Cooperatives banks operating in three northern states of India, i.e., J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab using purposive sampling during January to June 2016. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, ANOVA,t-test and structural equation modelling were used for scale purification and data analysis.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that financial inclusion through cooperatives has direct and significant impact on rural development. Further, the results support the notion that financial inclusion is a strategy of inclusive growth, but inclusive growth itself is a subset of a larger set of inclusive development which means that the benefit must reach the all, particularly the women and the children, minority groups, the extremely poor and those pushed below the poverty line by natural and human-made disasters.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has certain inescapable limitations. First, the in-depth analysis of the study is restricted to three northern states of India only because of time and resource constraints. Second, the study is confined to the perception of financial inclusion beneficiaries only, which in future could be carried further on the perception of other stakeholders such as SHGs, banking correspondents, etc. Third, possibility of subjective interpretation in some cases cannot be ruled out.Originality/valueThe study makes contribution towards financial inclusion literature relating to sustainable rural development and fulfils the research gap to some extent by assessing the impact of financial inclusion on rural development through cooperatives.

Impact of social media usage on performance of construction businesses (CBs) in Abuja, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi ◽  
Olufemi Seth Olorunyomi ◽  
Richard Ajayi Jimoh ◽  
James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Interest ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Many construction businesses are currently building and keeping social media pages for their enterprises to be visible to the public to improve their social interaction, promote business interest, build trust and relationships with their targeted audience on social media. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of social mediausage on performance of construction businesses (CBs) in Abuja, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative research approach by identifying constructs that reveal three aspects of organisation’s physiognomies that impact the process of espousing, implementing and using technological innovations in conducting businesses. Well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from 113 purposively sampled building materials’ merchant operating in Dei-Dei Market, Abuja, Nigeria. This study used partial least squares structural equation modelling technique to establish the relationship among the constructs. Findings The results of this study indicated that technology has significant relationship with social media adoption, whereas social media adoption has a very strong positive impact on organisation’s performance (P < 0.001) with respect to improved customer relations and services and enhanced information accessibility. Research limitations/implications This study has implications for CBs that wish to adopt social media to promote their businesses by presenting to them the opportunity to understand the impact of technology, environment and organisational potential in improving business performance. This study is cross-sectional in nature, and this calls for caution in interpreting the results. Originality/value This paper developed and tested a conceptual framework presented to understand the interrelationships amongst the constructs, which would be of great significance to business owners in developing their social interaction and promote business interest via social media. The outcome of this research is beneficial to researchers to further study how the different social media tools could help in influencing business decisions.

Financial and social efficiency analysis of Islamic microfinance institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa Fersi ◽  
Mouna Bougelbène
Keyword(s):  
Capital Structure ◽  
Credit Risk ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Social Efficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Microfinance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to investigate the impact of credit risk-taking on financial and social efficiency and examine the relationship between credit risk, capital structure and efficiency in the context of Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs) compared to their conventional counterparts.Design/methodology/approachThe stochastic frontier approach was used to estimate the financial and social efficiency scores, in a first step. In a second step, the impact of risk-taking on efficiency was evaluated. The authors also took into account the moderating role of capital structure in this effect using the fixed and random effects generalized least squares (GLS) with a first-order autoregressive disturbance. The used dataset covers 326 conventional MFIs and 57 Islamic MFIs in six different regions of the world over the period of 2005–2015.FindingsThe overall average efficiency scores are less than 50%, where CMFIs could have produced their outputs using 48% of their actual inputs. IMFIs record the lowest financial (cost) efficiency that is equal to 28% on average. The estimation results also reveal a negative impact of nonperforming loan on financial and social efficiency. Finally, the moderating effect of leverage funding on the relationship between credit risk-taking and financial efficiency was confirmed in CMFIs. However, leverage seems to moderate the effect of risk-taking behavior on social efficiency for IMFIs.Originality/valueThis paper makes an initial attempt to evaluate the effect of risk-taking decision and its implication on efficiency and MFIs' sustainability. Besides, it takes into consideration the role played by the mode of governance through the ownership structure. In addition, this research study sheds light on the importance of the financial support for the development and sustainability of these institutions, which in return, contributes to a sustainable economic development.

scholarly journals FNGOs and financial inclusion: Investigating the impact of microcredit on employment growth in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Yawo Atiase ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Samia Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Employment Growth ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Employment Generation ◽  
The Impact

Financial non-governmental organizations (FNGOs) are regulated microfinance institutions that operate with a social welfare logic in the delivery of microcredit to the financially excluded in Ghana. The microcredit is aimed at supporting the financially excluded individuals to create sustainable micro and small enterprises (MSEs) for the generation of both skilled and unskilled employment. From the institutional theory perspective, this study aims at investigating the impact of microcredit provided by FNGOs on employment growth among MSEs in Ghana. The major contribution of this study is the fact that, there is a little study on FNGOs and their impact on employment growth in the Ghanaian context. Therefore, this is one of the few studies that highlights the role of FNGOs in promoting financial inclusion through the provision of microcredit for employment generation purposes. Through a multiple regression analysis, the study uses primary data collected from 506 MSEs in Ghana. The results show that microcredit which is flexible in repayment mode, accessible and adequate has a positive impact on employment generation among MSEs in Ghana. However, the current cost of microcredit in Ghana has a negative impact on employment growth among MSEs.

Profitability vs Poverty alleviation: has banking logic influences Islamic microfinance institutions?

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-279
Author(s):  
Luqyan Tamanni ◽  
Mohd Hairul Azrin Haji Besar
Keyword(s):  
Mission Statements ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Islamic Microfinance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Primary Mission

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed some lights on the process of mission drifting or abandoning poverty objective by Islamic microfinance institutions (IMFs). The paper investigates whether the extensive use of banking logic changes IMFs, from focusing on both development and financial objectives to only considering sustainability as their primary mission. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts mixed methods by analyzing 7,200 microfinance data from Microfinance Exchange Market and reviewing annual reports and websites of 25 IMFs to examine their vision and mission statements and other related information. Findings The finding shows Islamic microfinance has not changed, despite increasing adoption of financial or banking performance measures. However, size and age of the institutions may affect the outcome in the future. The authors find that smaller microfinance institutions maintain genuine objective to serve the poor, as the grow larger they would be more inclined toward sustainability objectives. Research limitations/implications The research is limited on the sample size as data on Islamic microfinance globally is limited. However, the paper looked at the global data rather than local data to compensate for this limitation. Future study would be further taking the study through qualitative methods to support the study. Originality/value This paper aims to shed some lights on the process of mission drifting or abandoning poverty objective by IMFIs. The paper investigates how has the extensive use of financing logic has changed IMFIs from focusing on both development and financial objectives to only considering sustainability as their primary mission. Arun and Hulme (2009) argued that the interaction of multiple logic within microfinance institutions, i.e. financial vs social, could pose some serious management dilemmas within microfinance institutions. Further, commercialization puts pressure on the field staffs to achieve financial targets and often neglect their poverty outreach mission to the poor. The well-known crisis in Andhra Pradesh, India where clients of microfinance institutions committed suicide after being shamed by field officers who tried to collect payments of loans (Mader, 2013; Taylor, 2011), provides a powerful case of the impact of financialization to microfinance clients.

Factors influencing the borrower loan size in microfinance group lending: a survey from Indian microfinance institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Sangwan ◽  
Narayan Chandra Nayak
Keyword(s):  
Size Variation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Group Lending ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loan Size ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the cost of microfinance intermediation on borrowers’ loan size. The identified transaction cost and credit risk factors tell about what a lender takes into accounts while screening and allocating loan amounts to the borrowers, where the lender has limited information about the client’s ability to repay. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on the primary data collected from a sample of 498 microfinance institutions (MFI) linked group clients covering two microfinance leading states of India. Findings Empirical findings suggest that the cost of microfinance intermediation has an impact on borrowers’ loan size. To reduce the cost, the MFIs lend big loans to clients having a high income, assets, land size, lower informal borrowings and having longer loan experiences. In MFI lending, the younger and less educated people are the ones who demand bigger loan amounts. The geographical distance of borrowers’ location from MFI offices, group size and interest rate are the other factors that influence the loan size. Originality/value The past empirical works seem to have not focused on how the cost of microfinance intermediation creates loan size variation among the borrowers in joint liability group lending. The endogeneity problem has not been resolved. The present article thus identifies the factors that influence the individual member loan size by using two-stage least squared regression to tackle the issue of endogeneity.

What shapes students' perceptions of group work: personality or past experience?

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1457-1473
Author(s):  
Suzanna Elmassah ◽  
Shereen Mostafa Bacheer ◽  
Reynold James
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Experiences ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Impact

PurposeGroup work (GW) as a collaborative learning method for university students is a much-researched topic in the literature. However, a fairly neglected area is that of students' perceptions of the same. This study purports to bridge this gap in the extant literature via identifying the determinants of these perceptions.Design/methodology/approachUsing primary data gathered from a sample of 443 university students, the study applies the structural equation modeling (SEM) to estimate the impact of both personal traits and past experiences on the students' perceptions.FindingsThe SEM results reveal that students' perceptions of GW are determined by their relevant past experiences not by their personalities. This position is contradictory to other relevant studies undertaken thus far.Practical implicationsAccordingly, the study stresses the need for educators to create positive group experiences among students and to convert their past negative experiences into positive ones.Originality/valueWhilst group work holds significant learning benefits for students, negative perceptions about this rich method could eventuate in students refraining from participating in the same. By isolating the determinants associated with students' negative perceptions of GW, this study provides educationists with a strong case for developing suitable interventions aimed at enhancing students' positive perceptions of GW, and resultantly further maximizing its potential benefits.

The mediating effects of psychological contracts on the relationship between human resource management systems and organisational performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1012-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia A. Katou
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human resource management (HRM) systems (expressed by content, process and climate) on organizational performance through the mediating role of psychological contracts (expressed by employer and employee promises fulfilment). Design/methodology/approach – The study examines theoretical relationships in the Greek context, based on structural equation modelling (SEM) estimation, using a sample of employees from both private and public sector organizations. Findings – The study finds that the impact of HRM content on organizational performance is less strong compared to its impact through HRM process. Additionally, the study finds that psychological contract partially and positively mediates the HRM – performance relationship, where the impact of HRM on organizational performance through employee promises fulfilment is stronger than that through employer promises fulfilment. Research limitations/implications – The study does not allow for appropriately investigating dynamic causal inferences due to the cross-sectional nature of data. Additionally, considering that Greece is experiencing a severe economic and financial crisis, the findings from this unique context may not generalize across borders. Practical implications – For improving organizational performance, managers and decision makers should make their HRM systems more visible, understandable, legitimate and relevant. At the same time they should make HRM systems more instrumental, valid and consistent of HR messages. Originality/value – Investigations into the relationship between HRM systems and organizational performance have become increasingly common. Nevertheless, empirical studies that measure the influence of HRM systems, which integrate both content and process, on organizational performance are still rare. This paper partially fills this gap.

A comparative study of retail banking practices in compliance with regulatory standard

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 808-835
Author(s):  
Suman Mittal ◽  
Krishan K. Garg ◽  
Renu Aggarwal
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Standard ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Customer Services ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The Indian banking industry has undergone many changes with the advent of changing economic environment in the country. Many changes have taken place in terms of customer services, work culture, infrastructure, approach to sales and customer relationship management amongst others. This paper aims to attempt to evaluate the adherence of BCSBI code by the banks. Customer perception has been evaluated to analyse the adherence of the code. Also, the authors have tried to evaluate the impact of customer type (mass and class customers) and bank type (based on bank ownership- private and public banks) on the compliance of the code by the bankers or minimum regulatory requirements with respect to customer services. Questionnaire has been developed as per the Banking Code and Standard Board of India (a customer services cell of Reserve Bank of India), and BCSBI has been used as a regulatory standard to compare the level of compliance by the banks. Design/methodology/approach Primary data have been collected from private and public sector banks. In the first step, instrument validity and reliability has been checked by using structural equation modelling; in the second step, descriptive statistics has been used to know the extent of fulfillment of standard by banks; and in the third step, a two-way multivariate analysis of variances has been used to do the comparative analyses of the respondents data. Findings The overall finding of the research shows that overall adherence of the dimension of code are not in sync with the objective of the code. Study also has shown the mindset of the Indian bankers that how they predominantly serve the class customers and push those products to the customers which are target based or earn profitability for the banks and incentives for the banker. Private banks are ahead in compliance with respect to the customer services, but they are also ahead in sales malpractices. Practical implications This study is an eye opener for the regulators, as per BCSBI regulations, surprise supervision take place every year, but this study shows the ineffectiveness of that supervision. Following the BCSBI norms by the banks is just eyewash of regulators, but all the norms are fulfilled only in papers but not in actual practice. Originality/value The research paper is original piece of work; the researcher did not find any study related to BCSBI code in Indian as well as in international literature.

Operational or strategic benefits

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Kumar Tarofder ◽  
S.M. Ferdous Azam ◽  
Abdullah Nabeel Jalal
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internet Adoption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internet Technologies ◽  
Operational Activities

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold: identifying important determinants for effective adoption of internet technologies in an organizational supply chain context and examining and classifying benefits yielded from internet adoption in supply chain. Design/methodology/approach A structured Web-based questionnaire was designed and administered to respondents to collect the primary data. With two reminders, this study managed to obtain 236 respondents from different industries in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the seven hypotheses. Findings Four of five factors were significant for successful implementation of internet technologies in organizations. In addition, results suggested that internet technologies contribute more to operational activities rather than strategic initiatives, which would be one of the main contributions of this study. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its being based on organizational perception rather than absolute value for measuring the benefits of internet adoption. Moreover, this study applied the cross-sectional technique which may limit generalizability of the findings. Practical implications This study provides in-depth knowledge about internet adoption and benefits for the organization by combining both theoretical and empirical knowledge. It helps managers to understand the importance and process of internet adoption. Originality/value Organizations who are interested in adopting the internet in their supply chain may feel that these results will guide them in making their final decision.

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