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The micro-credit implies the granting of small loans in the hope of achieving the development of business units through financial institutions in the peripheral Peruvian population. In this context, the objective of the article is to determine the relationship between micro-credit and the development of micro-enterprises in rural areas. 278 women micro-entrepreneurs were interviewed, the data collection instrument was subjected to a validity by expert judgments with a coefficient of agreement of 97% and Cronbach’s internal alpha consistency of 0.90. The results obtained show that the super woman’s micro-credit has a direct and significant relationship with the development of micro-enterprises in rural areas according to the Spearman’s Correlation coefficient (rho 0.84, Sig. 0.000*)., El microcrédito implica otorgar pequeños préstamos con la esperanza de lograr el desarrollo de unidades de negocio mediante instituciones financieras en la población periférica peruana. Dentro de este contexto, se busca determinar la relación del microcrédito y el desarrollo de las microempresas en las zonas rurales. En este sentido, se entrevistaron a 278 microempresarias y el instrumento de recolección de datos fue sometido a una validez por juicios de expertos con un coeficiente de acuerdos de 97% y consistencia interna alfa de Cronbach de 0.90. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el microcrédito Súper Mujer tiene una relación directa y significativa con el desarrollo de las microempresas en las zonas rurales de acuerdo con el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman (rho 0.84, Sig. 0.000*).

The micro-credit implies the granting of small loans in the hope of achieving the development of business units through financial institutions in the peripheral Peruvian population. In this context, the objective of the article is to determine the relationship between micro-credit and the development of micro-enterprises in rural areas. 278 women micro-entrepreneurs were interviewed, the data collection instrument was subjected to a validity by expert judgments with a coefficient of agreement of 97% and Cronbach’s internal alpha consistency of 0.90. The results obtained show that the super woman’s micro-credit has a direct and significant relationship with the development of micro-enterprises in rural areas according to the Spearman’s Correlation coefficient (rho 0.84, Sig. 0.000*)., El microcrédito implica otorgar pequeños préstamos con la esperanza de lograr el desarrollo de unidades de negocio mediante instituciones financieras en la población periférica peruana. Dentro de este contexto, se busca determinar la relación del microcrédito y el desarrollo de las microempresas en las zonas rurales. En este sentido, se entrevistaron a 278 microempresarias y el instrumento de recolección de datos fue sometido a una validez por juicios de expertos con un coeficiente de acuerdos de 97% y consistencia interna alfa de Cronbach de 0.90. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el microcrédito Súper Mujer tiene una relación directa y significativa con el desarrollo de las microempresas en las zonas rurales de acuerdo con el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman (rho 0.84, Sig. 0.000*).

Tourist Micro-business entrepreneurs and resilience Teh purpose of teh study was to investigate how some micro-business entrepreneurs experienced teh first year of teh ongoing Corona pandemic. dis qualitative and explorative study focuses on wat can create behaviors of resilience and is analyzed based on inquiries and discussions among micro business respondents. It was found dat entrepreneurs are already familiar wif behaviors dat can be said to be part of teh resilience way of managing teh changes in society due to they're role of being so-called life-stylers and bricoleurs. Participation in teh networks wif other entrepreneurs, able them to share knowledge and support each other. Teh study also states dat coz unsecured income from they're business and short tourist season forces them to be flexible and has more tan one way of earning they're livelihood. These can be considered as skills of obtaining resilience. Keywords: bricoleurs, co-creation of values, life-stylers, micro-entrepreneurs, sustainability

The micro-credit implies the granting of small loans in the hope of achieving the development of business units through financial institutions in the peripheral Peruvian population. In this context, the objective of the article is to determine the relationship between micro-credit and the development of micro-enterprises in rural areas. 278 women micro-entrepreneurs were interviewed, the data collection instrument was subjected to a validity by expert judgments with a coefficient of agreement of 97% and Cronbach’s internal alpha consistency of 0.90. The results obtained show that the super woman’s micro-credit has a direct and significant relationship with the development of micro-enterprises in rural areas according to the Spearman’s Correlation coefficient (rho 0.84, Sig. 0.000*)., El microcrédito implica otorgar pequeños préstamos con la esperanza de lograr el desarrollo de unidades de negocio mediante instituciones financieras en la población periférica peruana. Dentro de este contexto, se busca determinar la relación del microcrédito y el desarrollo de las microempresas en las zonas rurales. En este sentido, se entrevistaron a 278 microempresarias y el instrumento de recolección de datos fue sometido a una validez por juicios de expertos con un coeficiente de acuerdos de 97% y consistencia interna alfa de Cronbach de 0.90. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el microcrédito Súper Mujer tiene una relación directa y significativa con el desarrollo de las microempresas en las zonas rurales de acuerdo con el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman (rho 0.84, Sig. 0.000*).

This essay explores the early experiences of Bangladeshi blue-collar service workers in digitalising their livelihoods. It is a qualitative study that surveys and interviews service-providers in Dhaka who use the business aggregator platform Sheba.xyz, an online service marketplace, and seeks to understand what brought these self-employed micro-entrepreneurs, previously outside the digital economy, to adopt an ICT-enabled solution. The study is guided by Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, one of the historically dominant paradigms in the field of communication for development (C4D). The overarching research question is, “Why did blue-collar service-providers in Dhaka adopt and use a digital business aggregator platform?” The aim is to explore what motivated/discouraged and enabled/hindered innovation adoption among a group of users previously marginalised from digital and financial inclusion. The findings suggest that adoption of Sheba.xyz among service-providers was not driven so much by a desire to digitalise one’s business per se, and as a means of mitigating a previous inability to do so. Rather, the factors that emerge from the qualitative data are other perceived relative advantages of the solution – of increase in customers, income, and opportunity. Survey respondents and interviewees also displayed strong affiliation with, and trust in, the platform provider; an alertness for fair treatment; and a drive to prosper, suggesting that they embraced a comprehensive concept and altered life situation where belonging, respect, and self-fulfilment matters, rather than narrowly adopted a new mobile application.

This case study describes practices in a micro-entrepreneur peer-to-peer network (MicroENTRE network), an example of a community of practice (CoP) where entrepreneurs, researchers and local public business advisory services (PBAS) seek to promote entrepreneurial behaviour through joint activities, such as sharing ideas, peer learning and business development. The concept was originally established to address the practical needs of micro-entrepreneurs and business development agencies in sparsely populated areas (SPA). Through the network, micro-entrepreneurs and PBAS are provided with direct contact to the university research team, which transfers recent research-based knowledge to the network. This chapter bridges the literature on micro-entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviour in networks through an empirical description of micro-entrepreneurs’ activities in the context of a peer-to-peer network using the typical CoP activity classifications developed by Wenger as the framework. The case study is based on the longitudinal analysis of monthly meetings (from 2015 to 2019) of 13 micro-entrepreneur groups. The data consist of participatory observations during the network meetings and the audio recordings and meeting memos of the authors. The findings describe typical examples of CoP activities in the network. For example, entrepreneurs use the network to share ideas, make requests for advice based on experience of fellow entrepreneurs and reuse the assets of other network members. Moreover, the data show that regular, peer-to-peer network meetings, jointly facilitated by PBAS and researchers, are an acceptable and accessible platform for micro-enterprise development in SPA.

Over-indebtedness is considered as excessive indebtedness compared to the ability of an individual to pay according to income, which places the debtor in a state of risk. This can turn into a critical situation affecting your personal life, health status and your family members according to the type of debt you keep, since sometimes debts are acquired illegally due to the ease they provide when purchasing a loan. loan. The general objective of the work was to determine the factors that generate the over-indebtedness of microentrepreneurs in the urban area of the Ventanas canton. The methodology used for the development of the project was cross-sectional with a quantitative and qualitative approach, the techniques used were the survey of 137 microentrepreneurs, represented by statistical cakes and the interview was conducted through a questionnaire with questions open to a professor and a financial executive Within the data obtained it was evident that there is a high level of indebtedness in the microentrepreneurs, as well as shortage of financial knowledge and how to manage the income they obtain from their businesses. So a proposal was made which provides training to micro entrepreneurs in the rural area of the canton windows, on topics such as financial education and on the causes and consequences of indebtedness. It was possible to conclude that the indebtedness given in this sector is due to the fact that they do not know the proper use of the loans., El sobreendeudamiento es considerado como el endeudamiento excesivo en comparación a la capacidad de pago que posee un individuo de acuerdo a los ingresos, lo cual coloca al deudor en un estado de riesgo. Esto se puede tornar en una situación crítica afectando su vida personal, estado de salud y a sus familiares de acuerdo al tipo de deuda que mantenga, ya que en ocasiones las deudas son adquiridas de forma ilegal por la facilidad que brindan a la hora de adquirir un préstamo. El objetivo general del trabajo fue determinar los factores que generan el sobreendeudamiento de los microempresarios del área urbana del cantón Ventanas. La metodología usada para el desarrollo del proyecto fue de tipo transversal con un enfoque cuantitativo y cualitativo, las técnicas usadas fueron la encuesta a 137 microempresarios, representada por pasteles estadísticos y la entrevista se realizó por medio de un cuestionario con preguntas abiertas a un catedrático y a un ejecutivo financiero. Dentro de los datos obtenidos se evidenció que existe un gran nivel de endeudamiento en los microempresarios, así como también escasez de conocimientos financieros y de cómo manejar los ingresos que obtienen de sus negocios. Por lo que se realizó una propuesta la cual brinde capacitaciones a los microempresarios del área rural del cantón ventanas, en temas como educación financiera y sobre las causas y consecuencias del endeudamiento. Se logró concluir que el endeudamiento dado en este sector es debido a que no conocen el uso adecuado de los préstamos.

This essay explores the early experiences of Bangladeshi blue-collar service workers in digitalising their livelihoods. It is a qualitative study that surveys and interviews service-providers in Dhaka who use the business aggregator platform Sheba.xyz, an online service marketplace, and seeks to understand what brought these self-employed micro-entrepreneurs, previously outside the digital economy, to adopt an ICT-enabled solution. The study is guided by Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, one of the historically dominant paradigms in the field of communication for development (C4D). The overarching research question is, “Why did blue-collar service-providers in Dhaka adopt and use a digital business aggregator platform?” The aim is to explore what motivated/discouraged and enabled/hindered innovation adoption among a group of users previously marginalised from digital and financial inclusion. The findings suggest that adoption of Sheba.xyz among service-providers was not driven so much by a desire to digitalise one’s business per se, and as a means of mitigating a previous inability to do so. Rather, the factors that emerge from the qualitative data are other perceived relative advantages of the solution – of increase in customers, income, and opportunity. Survey respondents and interviewees also displayed strong affiliation with, and trust in, the platform provider; an alertness for fair treatment; and a drive to prosper, suggesting that they embraced a comprehensive concept and altered life situation where belonging, respect, and self-fulfilment matters, rather than narrowly adopted a new mobile application.

Online channels are highly relevant for microenterprises, but research focusing specifically on the challenges and circumstances faced by microenterprises doing channel expansions is scarce. A channel expansion is a strategic decision that will modify the business strategy of the company. Through twenty-two case studies in Finland and Sweden, we investigate microenterprises doing channel expansions. The goal of the research is to find out how microenterprises carry out channel expansions and what characteristics emerge from the two national samples. We look at the channel expansion from a business model perspective, which gives us a practical tool to probe the microentrepreneurs to discuss their expansions from many dimensions. Our findings show that microenterprises struggle to balance technology, business, and customer demands with competence and resources. A lack of strategic planning leads to a situation where both positive and negative outcomes of the channel expansions are largely unanticipated and unexpected.

Entrepreneurship has become a fundamental theme in Latin America. In recent years, public and private institutions have invested in training entrepreneurs in order to contribute to economic growth, develop work and reduce poverty. In the presented research, it is compared the self-appraisal as innovators, of micro-entrepreneurs who have attended training during the last five years, with micro-entrepreneurs without training, and additionally, it is studied if the micro-entrepreneurs that self-perceive themselves as innovators are more prone to hiring workers and obtain higher profits. The methodology used is hypothesis testing with Chi2 statistic and descriptive statistics. The results exhibit that trained micro-entrepreneurs call themselves innovators in greater proportion and that this relationship is more relevant in some training topics, moreover, that innovative self-perception is linked to a greater intention of hiring and profits. The evidence obtained is considered relevant, since it allows orienting training activities in Latin American countries and improving the selection of topics and methodologies to promote their effectiveness., O empreendedorismo tornou-se um tema fundamental na América Latina. Nos últimos anos, as instituições públicas e privadas investiram na capacitação de empreendedores para contribuir com o crescimento econômico, desenvolver o trabalho e reduzir a pobreza. Na pesquisa apresentada, a autopercepção, como inovadores, de microempreendedores treinados nos últimos cinco anos, é comparada com a autopercepção de microempresários sem treinamento, e também é estudado se os microempresários que se auto-percebem como inovadores são mais propensos a contratar pessoal e obter maiores lucros. A metodologia utilizada é teste de hipóteses com estatística Chi2 e estatística descritiva. Os resultados mostram que os microempresários que participam do treinamento se percebem como inovadores em maior proporção, Além disso, essa autopercepção inovadora está ligada a uma maior intenção de contratação e lucros na empresa. A evidência obtida é considerada relevante, pois permite orientar as atividades de treinamento nos países da América Latina e melhorar a seleção de tópicos e metodologias para promover sua eficácia., El emprendimiento se ha transformado en tema fundamental en Latinoamérica. En los últimos años, instituciones públicas y privadashan invertido en capacitación de emprendedores, buscando contribuir con ello, al crecimiento económico, creación de empleo y reducción de la pobreza. En la siguiente investigación, se compara la auto-percepción como innovadores, de micro-emprendedores quehan participado en capacitación durante los últimos cinco años, con micro-emprendedores sin capacitación, y adicionalmente, se estudia si micro-emprendedores que se perciben a sí mismos como innovadores son más propensos a la contratación de trabajadores y a obtener mayores utilidades. La metodología utilizada es prueba de hipótesis a través de estadístico Chi2 y estadística descriptiva. Los resultados muestran que los micro-emprendedores capacitados se consideran innovadores en mayor proporción y que estarelación es mayor en algunos tópicos de capacitación, en forma complementaria, la autopercepción innovadora se relaciona con mayor intención de contratación y utilidades. La evidencia obtenida es considerada relevante, pues permite orientar actividades decapacitación in Latinoamérica, a través de la selección de tópicos y metodologías que promuevan su efectividad.

Entrepreneurship has become a fundamental theme in Latin America. In recent years, public and private institutions have invested in training entrepreneurs in order to contribute to economic growth, develop work and reduce poverty. In the presented research, it is compared the self-appraisal as innovators, of micro-entrepreneurs who have attended training during the last five years, with micro-entrepreneurs without training, and additionally, it is studied if the micro-entrepreneurs that self-perceive themselves as innovators are more prone to hiring workers and obtain higher profits. The methodology used is hypothesis testing with Chi2 statistic and descriptive statistics. The results exhibit that trained micro-entrepreneurs call themselves innovators in greater proportion and that this relationship is more relevant in some training topics, moreover, that innovative self-perception is linked to a greater intention of hiring and profits. The evidence obtained is considered relevant, since it allows orienting training activities in Latin American countries and improving the selection of topics and methodologies to promote their effectiveness., O empreendedorismo tornou-se um tema fundamental na América Latina. Nos últimos anos, as instituições públicas e privadas investiram na capacitação de empreendedores para contribuir com o crescimento econômico, desenvolver o trabalho e reduzir a pobreza. Na pesquisa apresentada, a autopercepção, como inovadores, de microempreendedores treinados nos últimos cinco anos, é comparada com a autopercepção de microempresários sem treinamento, e também é estudado se os microempresários que se auto-percebem como inovadores são mais propensos a contratar pessoal e obter maiores lucros. A metodologia utilizada é teste de hipóteses com estatística Chi2 e estatística descritiva. Os resultados mostram que os microempresários que participam do treinamento se percebem como inovadores em maior proporção, Além disso, essa autopercepção inovadora está ligada a uma maior intenção de contratação e lucros na empresa. A evidência obtida é considerada relevante, pois permite orientar as atividades de treinamento nos países da América Latina e melhorar a seleção de tópicos e metodologias para promover sua eficácia., El emprendimiento se ha transformado en tema fundamental en Latinoamérica. En los últimos años, instituciones públicas y privadashan invertido en capacitación de emprendedores, buscando contribuir con ello, al crecimiento económico, creación de empleo y reducción de la pobreza. En la siguiente investigación, se compara la auto-percepción como innovadores, de micro-emprendedores quehan participado en capacitación durante los últimos cinco años, con micro-emprendedores sin capacitación, y adicionalmente, se estudia si micro-emprendedores que se perciben a sí mismos como innovadores son más propensos a la contratación de trabajadores y a obtener mayores utilidades. La metodología utilizada es prueba de hipótesis a través de estadístico Chi2 y estadística descriptiva. Los resultados muestran que los micro-emprendedores capacitados se consideran innovadores en mayor proporción y que estarelación es mayor en algunos tópicos de capacitación, en forma complementaria, la autopercepción innovadora se relaciona con mayor intención de contratación y utilidades. La evidencia obtenida es considerada relevante, pues permite orientar actividades decapacitación in Latinoamérica, a través de la selección de tópicos y metodologías que promuevan su efectividad.

The way we view collaborative projects influences how project practices are built. According to the National Innovation System (NIS), the innovative process is organized into projects. In most research, collaboration has been approached and analyzed by examining, for example, the innovations, interactions, and actions of the collaborators. However, prior to the present study, university–company collaboration has not been examined through the lens of project management in the NIS. The perspectives of companies and especially micro-enterprises in the NIS are under researched. The role of micro-enterprises in university–company collaboration is growing, although there are many challenges. National systems of innovation tend to be rigid and bureaucratic, especially for the agile innovations of micro-enterprises. The background is influenced by different projects approaches whose significance for practices and innovation is not recognized. This empirical study approaches university–company collaboration from the perspectives of companies, focusing on micro-entrepreneurs that are willing to grow and develop. Data was gathered through interviews with big companies and micro-entrepreneurs who have participated in university-company collaboration project in Finland. Data has been analyzed by using content analysis. The framework for the micro-enterprises data analysis derives from an earlier study on companies’ point of and project approach in NIS. A strong understanding of project management is essential for organizations engaging in collaborative projects, as it will help them develop the innovative processes in their projects and at the micro-enterprise level.

Involving end-users in a participatory design process may help researchers and developers to gain better understanding of the end users’ views about the target system. In this study, we utilized participatory design approach with focus group meetings and participatory design workshops to figure out requirements for persuasive features of a mobile application for entrepreneurs to recover from work related strain and stress. In many cases, end-user participation in the design process may lead into building more efficient persuasive technology solutions and at least avoidance of many of the design pitfalls, but setting up meetings and organizing workshops can be time-consuming.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

This thesis examines the entrepreneurial decision-making and expertise acquisition process of business owners who borrow from a large microfinance institute in Sri Lanka. Due to the small size, informal nature, and family involvement in their businesses, these borrowers, who are mainly women, are termed micro-entrepreneurs. This study uses effectuation (i.e., means-driven thinking) and causation (i.e., predictive thinking) theories in entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy 2001) to examine business decision-making and examines the link between effectuation/causation and deliberate practice (i.e., continuous rehearsal of tasks for performance improvement) (Ericsson 2006a). The thesis used a mixed method approach with data collected from a survey, interviews, daily activity journals, group discussions, focus groups, and observations. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical tools were used to analyse the data.

With upcoming middle classes in Africa, micro-entrepreneurs witness new opportunities that can potentially lift them out of poverty. Exploiting these opportunities requires entrepreneurs to make a ‘step-change’ away from the bottom of the pyramid to middle-class markets. This process hosts potential conflicts between informal-sector and formal-sector stakeholders as it requires both new resources and continued access to existing resources. By taking a strategic marketing perspective, this study labels and defines the phenomenon of step-change and offers an explanatory conceptual framework for it. The article draws implications for business development, the gender debate, as well as academic research.

This paper studies the relationship between a microfinance institution (MFI) and its loan officers when officers discriminate against a particular group of micro-entrepreneurs. Using survey data from Uganda, we provide evidence that loan officers are more biased than other employees against disabled micro-entrepreneurs. In line with the evidence, we build an agency model of a non-profit MFI and a biased loan officer in charge of granting loans. Since incentive schemes are costly and the MFI's budget is limited, the MFI faces a trade-off between combating discrimination and granting loans. We show that the optimal incentive premium is a non-decreasing function of the MFI's budget. Moreover, even a non-discriminatory welfare-maximizing MFI may let its loan officer discriminate, because eradicating discrimination would come at the cost of too many loans. Observing an MFI's loan allocation biased against a minority group therefore does not imply that the institution is biased against this group., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published