Abstract
This special issue will enhance scholarly understanding of whether and how microfinance fosters entrepreneurial activity. Microfinance encompasses a wide range of financial services, including microcredit loans, savings accounts, and insurance, especially designed for poor households in emerging economies. Although the management literature on microfinance and entrepreneurship is growing (Bruton et al., 2011), and a small number of studies have begun to examine whether and how microfinance contributes to the creation and development of new ventures (Banerjee et al., 2015; Newman et al., 2014; Shahriar et al., 2015), our knowledge in this area is still limited. More specifically, there is a lack of research at both the level of the entrepreneur and that of the microfinance institution that identifies the factors that foster entrepreneurial outcomes amongst borrowers. Extant research, primarily in economics, has typically focused on how microfinance lending influences broad development outcomes such as poverty alleviation rather than its effects on entrepreneurial outcomes such as venture growth, performance and survival (Chliova et al., 2015).
The special issue will advance our theoretical understanding of the processes by which microfinance influences entrepreneurial performance amongst borrowers, and the role of institutional and cultural factors. It will also examine why some borrowers are more entrepreneurial than others and the influence of microfinance institutions on the development of new ventures. In addition, by assessing the effectiveness of different models of microfinance, it will also provide insight to policy makers and microfinance lenders looking to configure models of microfinance to better foster business activity at the bottom of the pyramid.
We welcome submissions from a variety of disciplines including sociology, development studies, finance, strategy and psychology. Both conceptual and empirical work will be considered. We would like this special issue to offer a series of articles that encourage theoretical development and empirical examination of topics including:
The influence of microfinance on entrepreneurial outcomes such as venture growth, performance and survival, and entrepreneurial wellbeing.
The processes by which microfinance influences such outcomes i.e. resource acquisition and capability development.
The influence of borrower characteristics on access to microfinance and entrepreneurial outcomes.
The role of microfinance institutions in fostering entrepreneurship.
The effectiveness of different models of microfinance, including ‘credit-plus’ services in supporting entrepreneurship.
The importance of the cultural and institutional environment to the success of microfinance.
Differences between for-profit and not for-profit lenders in supporting the growth of entrepreneurial leaders.
Critical evaluations of gender, women and microfinance.
In addition to such suggestions, the editors welcome informal enquiries related to other proposed topics. Please email all special issue enquiries to Professor Alex Newman at:
The paper submission deadline is