Banks are the pillars of entrepreneurship expansion and economic development. In developing countries, where there is little public financial support for entrepreneurs, it is clear that banks, among other financial institutions, should be part of the solution to the problem of financing economic activity. As financial intermediaries, commercial banks need to enjoy good perception among entrepreneurs to improve their profitability. To achieve such objective, banks sometimes adopt social responsibility strategies to influence public perception of banks’ behavior. How do Haitian entrepreneurs perceive Haitian banks’ social responsibility? To answer this question, we collect empirical data among entrepreneurs of all size (micro, small and large). The findings help interesting discussions of banks perception among entrepreneurs divided by demographic (gender, location) and economic (sector, size, assets) characteristics. Among the main conclusions, we find that banks enjoy very bad perception among entrepreneurs (all size). Also, the special concessions given by the Government and other international institutions to the banking industry in Haiti help very few to increase the financial services for Haitian entrepreneurs. From our conclusion arise questions for future research to study the relations between entrepreneurs’ own practices of corporate social responsibility and their perception of banks social responsibility.
Empowering service employees: A case study of banking industry
