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Boards in microfinance institutions: how do stakeholders matter?

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  • Mori, Neema
  • Mersland, Roy

Abstract

Microfinance Institutions provide financial services to poor people. Governance of these organizations is important so that they can operate efficiently and sustainably. This study analyzes the influence of stakeholders (donors, employees, customers, and creditors), on board structure (board size and CEO duality), and on organizational performance. We use a global data set of 379 microfinance institutions from 73 countries, collected from rating organizations. Supported by stakeholder theory, agency theory and resource dependence theory, we find stakeholders to be important and have various influences on microfinance institutions. We find donors to be associated with small boards, non-duality and better performance. Employees are associated with large boards, while customers are associated with duality and good financial performance. Creditors opt for duality and better social performance. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.

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  • Mori, Neema & Mersland, Roy, 2014. "Boards in microfinance institutions: how do stakeholders matter?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(1), pages 285-313.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:324000
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    Cited by:

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    2. Iqbal, Sana & Nawaz, Ahmad & Ehsan, Sadaf, 2019. "Financial performance and corporate governance in microfinance: Evidence from Asia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-13.
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    4. Aminat Olayinka Olohunlana & Ngozi Bosede Adeleye & Somod Dapo Olohunlana & Hauwah K. K. AbdulKareem, 2022. "Gender heterogeneity and microfinance sustainability in Sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 232-243, June.
    5. Goodell, John W. & Goyal, Abhinav & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2020. "Comparing financial transparency between for-profit and nonprofit suppliers of public goods: Evidence from microfinance," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Ahmad Nawaz & Sana Iqbal & Sadaf Ehsan, 2018. "Does Social Performance Drive Corporate Governance Mechanism In Case of Asian MFIs? An Issue of Endogeneity," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 19(4), pages 988-1012, August.
    7. Nawaz, Ahmad & Iqbal, Sana, 2015. "Financial Performance And Corporate Governance In Microfinance: Who Drives Who? An Evidence From Asia," MPRA Paper 65327, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Neema Mori, 2015. "Access to Business Development Support Services and Performance of Youth-Owned Enterprises in Tanzania," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 11(2), pages 57-81.
    9. Sujani Thrikawala & Stuart Locke & Krishna Reddy, 2017. "Dynamic endogeneity and corporate governance-performance relationship," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 44(5), pages 727-744, October.
    10. 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.
    11. Tristan Caballero-Montes & Cécile Godfroid, 2025. "Governing professional microfinance associations: the Tanzanian case through the prism of institutional design," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 623-648, February.
    12. Daudi Pascal & Leif Atle Beisland & Roy Mersland, 2016. "The origin of CEOs and its influence on microfinance performance and risk-taking," Working Papers CEB 16-046, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    13. Kwame Ohene Djan & Roy Mersland, 2022. "Are NGOs and cooperatives similar or different? A global survey using microfinance data," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(2), pages 641-683, June.
    14. Nawaz, Ahmad & Iqbal, Sana, 2015. "Does Social Performance Drives Corporate Governance Mechanism in MFIs? An Issue of Endogeneity," MPRA Paper 65312, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. 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.
    16. 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).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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