IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v135y2016i3d10.1007_s10551-014-2452-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green Microfinance in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Forcella

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB))

  • Marek Hudon

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB))

Abstract

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are alternative financial providers offering financial services to people typically excluded from the standard banking sector. While most MFIs are active in developing countries, there is also a young and developing microfinance sector in Europe; however, very little literature exists on this MFI segment. In this paper, we analyze the environmental performance of 58 European MFIs. Our results suggest that the size of the MFI, investor concern for environmental performance and, to a lesser extent, donor interest, are closely related to the institution’s environmental performance. Moreover, providing loans larger than microcredits is linked to better environmental performance. This could suggest that the additional revenues generated from these loans, also called cross-subsidies, could help MFIs to strengthen their environmental bottom line. Finally, no evidence suggests that profit status explains environmental performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Forcella & Marek Hudon, 2016. "Green Microfinance in Europe," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 445-459, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:135:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2452-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2452-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-014-2452-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-014-2452-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marion Allet & Marek Hudon, 2015. "Green Microfinance: Characteristics of Microfinance Institutions Involved in Environmental Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 395-414, February.
    2. David Williamson & Gary Lynch-Wood & John Ramsay, 2006. "Drivers of Environmental Behaviour in Manufacturing SMEs and the Implications for CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 317-330, September.
    3. Marek Hudon, 2009. "Should Access to Credit be a Right?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 17-28, January.
    4. X. Meng & S. Zeng & C. Tam & X. Xu, 2013. "Whether Top Executives’ Turnover Influences Environmental Responsibility: From the Perspective of Environmental Information Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 341-353, May.
    5. Shameek Konar & Mark A. Cohen, 2001. "Does The Market Value Environmental Performance?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(2), pages 281-289, May.
    6. Susan Johnson, 1998. "Microfinance north and south: contrasting current debates," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(6), pages 799-810.
    7. Anastasia Cozarenco & Ariane Szafarz, 2013. "Women’s Access to Credit in France: How Microfinance Institutions Import Disparate Treatment from Banks," Working Papers CEB 13-037, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. Francesc Prior & Antonio Argandoña, 2009. "Best Practices in Credit Accessibility and Corporate Social Responsibility in Financial Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 251-265, April.
    9. Marion Allet, 2011. "Measuring the environmental performance of microfinance," Working Papers CEB 11-045, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Kathy Babiak & Sylvia Trendafilova, 2011. "CSR and environmental responsibility: motives and pressures to adopt green management practices," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), pages 11-24, January.
    11. Marion Allet, 2014. "Why Do Microfinance Institutions Go Green? An Exploratory Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 405-424, July.
    12. Anastasia Cozarenco & Ariane Szafarz, 2013. "Female Access to Credit in France: How Microfinance Institutions Import Disparate Treatment from Banks," Working Papers halshs-00874448, HAL.
    13. Henriques, Irene & Sadorsky, Perry, 1996. "The Determinants of an Environmentally Responsive Firm: An Empirical Approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 381-395, May.
    14. Komatsu, Satoru & Kaneko, Shinji & Ghosh, Partha Pratim, 2011. "Are micro-benefits negligible? The implications of the rapid expansion of Solar Home Systems (SHS) in rural Bangladesh for sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4022-4031, July.
    15. Bert Scholtens, 2009. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the International Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 159-175, May.
    16. Scholtens, Bert & Dam, Lammertjan, 2007. "Banking on the Equator. Are Banks that Adopted the Equator Principles Different from Non-Adopters?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1307-1328, August.
    17. Tzu-Kuan Chiu, 2014. "Putting Responsible Finance to Work for Citi Microfinance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 219-234, January.
    18. Robert Cull & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Jonathan Morduch, 2009. "Microfinance meets the market," Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, in: Moving Beyond Storytelling: Emerging Research in Microfinance, pages 1-30, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    19. Alessia D'amato & Nigel Roome, 2009. "Leadership of organizational change toward an integrated model of leadership for corporate responsibility and sustainable development: A process model of corporate responsibility beyond management inn," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/164611, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    20. Fabrizio Botti & Marcella Corsi, 2010. "A Social Performance Analysis of Italian Microfinance," Working Papers CEB 10-020.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    21. Hayam Wahba, 2008. "Does the market value corporate environmental responsibility? An empirical examination," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 89-99, March.
    22. Fabrizio Botti & Marcella Corsi, 2011. "Measuring the Social Performance of Microfinance in Europe," Working Papers CEB 11-037, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    23. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Polluting Industries: Does Religion Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 485-507, October.
    24. Marion Allet, 2012. "Why do microfinance institutions go green?," Working Papers CEB 12-015, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Niels Hermes & Marek Hudon, 2018. "Determinants Of The Performance Of Microfinance Institutions: A Systematic Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(5), pages 1483-1513, December.
    2. Nadeera Ranabahu & Ananda Wickramasinghe, 2022. "Sustainable Leadership in Microfinance: A Pathway for Sustainable Initiatives in Micro and Small Businesses?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Wei Xu & Hongyong Fu & Huanpeng Liu, 2019. "Evaluating the Sustainability of Microfinance Institutions Considering Macro-Environmental Factors: A Cross-Country Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Liurui Deng & Wentang Xu & Juan Luo, 2021. "Optimal Loan Pricing for Agricultural Supply Chains from a Green Credit Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Marek Hudon & Marc Labie & Patrick Reichert, 2020. "What is a Fair Level of Profit for Social Enterprise? Insights from Microfinance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 627-644, March.
    6. Dawood Ashraf & Muhammad Suhail Rizwan & Barbara L’Huillier, 2022. "Environmental, social, and governance integration: the case of microfinance institutions," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 837-891, March.
    7. Galletta, Simona & Mazzù, Sebastiano & Naciti, Valeria, 2022. "A bibliometric analysis of ESG performance in the banking industry: From the current status to future directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Md. Ali Rasel & Sandar Win, 2020. "Microfinance governance: a systematic review and future research directions," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 47(7), pages 1811-1847, April.
    9. Simon Zaby, 2019. "Science Mapping of the Global Knowledge Base on Microfinance: Influential Authors and Documents, 1989–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-21, July.
    10. Gregor Dorfleitner & Eva-Maria Oswald & Rongxin Zhang, 2021. "From Credit Risk to Social Impact: On the Funding Determinants in Interest-Free Peer-to-Peer Lending," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 375-400, May.
    11. Hermes, Cornelis & Hudon, M., 2018. "Determinants of the Performance of Microfinance Institutions: A Systematic Review," Research Report 2018008, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Davide Forcella & Marek Hudon, 2014. "Green Microfinance in Europe," Working Papers CEB 14-020, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Marion Allet & Marek Hudon, 2015. "Green Microfinance: Characteristics of Microfinance Institutions Involved in Environmental Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 395-414, February.
    3. Sergio Manrique & Carmen-Pilar Martí-Ballester, 2017. "Analyzing the Effect of Corporate Environmental Performance on Corporate Financial Performance in Developed and Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-30, October.
    4. Marion Allet, 2014. "Why Do Microfinance Institutions Go Green? An Exploratory Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 405-424, July.
    5. Lauren Kleynjans & Marek Hudon, 2016. "A Study of Codes of Ethics for Mexican Microfinance Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 397-412, March.
    6. Tzu-Kuan Chiu, 2017. "Factors Influencing Microfinance Engagements by Formal Financial Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 565-587, July.
    7. Marek Hudon & Marc Labie & Patrick Reichert, 2020. "What is a Fair Level of Profit for Social Enterprise? Insights from Microfinance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 627-644, March.
    8. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Spatial Dynamics between Firm Sales and Environmental Responsibility: The Mediating Role of Corporate Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Lwanzo Lusambo, 2017. "On The Two-Way Relationship between Corporate Reputation and Financial Performance in Microfinance: A Stakeholder Approach," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(11), pages 149-149, October.
    10. Giuliana Birindelli & Paola Ferretti & Mariantonietta Intonti & Antonia Iannuzzi, 2015. "On the drivers of corporate social responsibility in banks: evidence from an ethical rating model," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(2), pages 303-340, May.
    11. X. H. Meng & S. X. Zeng & X. M. Xie & G. Y. Qi, 2016. "The impact of product market competition on corporate environmental responsibility," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 267-291, March.
    12. Kishore Kumar & Ajai Prakash, 2020. "Managing sustainability in banking: extent of sustainable banking adaptations of banking sector in India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5199-5217, August.
    13. Labie, Marc & Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Mersland, Roy & Szafarz, Ariane, 2015. "Discrimination by microcredit officers: Theory and evidence on disability in Uganda," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 44-55.
    14. Yu‐Xiang Yen, 2018. "Buyer–supplier collaboration in green practices: The driving effects from stakeholders," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1666-1678, December.
    15. Gregor Dorfleitner & Eva-Maria Oswald & Rongxin Zhang, 2021. "From Credit Risk to Social Impact: On the Funding Determinants in Interest-Free Peer-to-Peer Lending," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 375-400, May.
    16. Ibrahim Sameer, 2021. "Impact of corporate social responsibility on organization’s financial performance: evidence from Maldives public limited companies," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, December.
    17. Rafael Moser & Davide Forcella & Lauro Emilio Gonzales Farias, 2016. "Microfinance and climate change: threats and opportunities, the case of Brazil’s largest rural MFIs, Agroamigo and Cresol," Working Papers CEB 16-010, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    18. Mariana Hatmanu & Christiana Brigitte Sandu & Elisabeta Jaba, 2019. "A Comparative Study on Drivers for Corporate Environmental Responsibility, EU15 vs. EU-NMS13," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-27, November.
    19. Nandini Bhalla, 2022. "Examining the Impact of Issue Salience, Issue Proximity, Situational Motivation, and Communicative Behaviors on Environmental CSR Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-15, February.
    20. Adolfo Carballo‐Penela & Juan Luis Castromán‐Diz, 2015. "Environmental Policies for Sustainable Development: An Analysis of the Drivers of Proactive Environmental Strategies in the Service Sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 802-818, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:135:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2452-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.