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In the last few years, considerable attention has been paid to microfinance as a relevant participant in the formal financial system, whose target audience is people who are otherwise at risk of financial exclusion. In parallel, sustainability and the promotion of Sustainable Development (SD) are imposed as the theoretical frame when facing any study. This, connected with cultural and organizational dimensions theories, are the analytical framework for the analysis of the relationship between the context of performance in which Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) operate and their activity in promoting sustainability. A holistic approach is necessary to make operational these concepts; for that reason, financial, environmental, social and governance dimensions (FESG), and the balance among them, have to be considered. The main objective of the paper is to explore to what extent MFIs are fostering SD, and how this promotion is performed by region. For the analysis, two different sources of information have been studied: sectoral academic literature that focuses on the different sustainability dimensions, and MIX Market sustainability data obtained from the MFIs. A keyword analysis of the selected papers has been executed to be conscious of the most investigated aspects by region; on the data provided by the institutions, a Kruskal-Wallis H test has been performed to learn what the main Sustainability Indicators (SIs) are that are reported affirmatively. To obtain comprehensive research, a comparative study of the results offers the convergences, divergences and gaps of information in each of the regions. The findings show significant differences depending on the region, and confirm that operationalization should be adjusted at the regional context of the MFIs. The paper, with the inherent limitations due to data quality, also offers recommendations for the better promotion of sustainability in each of the regions.
Icíar García-Pérez; María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo; María Jesús Muñoz-Torres. Microfinance Institutions Fostering Sustainable Development by Region. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2682 .
AMA StyleIcíar García-Pérez, María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo, María Jesús Muñoz-Torres. Microfinance Institutions Fostering Sustainable Development by Region. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (7):2682.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIcíar García-Pérez; María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo; María Jesús Muñoz-Torres. 2020. "Microfinance Institutions Fostering Sustainable Development by Region." Sustainability 12, no. 7: 2682.
Icíar García Pérez. Sustainability in Microfinance Institutions. 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleIcíar García Pérez. Sustainability in Microfinance Institutions. . 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIcíar García Pérez. 2019. "Sustainability in Microfinance Institutions." , no. : 1.
The microfinance sector is considered an important contributor to the expansion of formal financial systems. It plays a significant role in sustainable development. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) as key actors in the microfinance sector require an organizational management framework that facilitates sustainable growth. The objective of this study is to define a balanced MFI sustainability approach that considers financial, environmental, social and governance dimensions as equally important. Through a clustering process, this research establishes the relationship between the various sustainability indicators provided by MixMarket, and it determines different MFI sustainability profiles. This research uses the Kruskal–Wallis method to characterize each group based on outreach, financial and risk indicators. The results show that there is no balance between the different sustainability areas, and lead to the conclusion that it is necessary to promote an integrative approach to foster sustainability management practices in the microfinance industry.
Icíar García-Pérez; María Jesús Muñoz-Torres; María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo. Microfinance institutions fostering sustainable development. Sustainable Development 2018, 26, 606 -619.
AMA StyleIcíar García-Pérez, María Jesús Muñoz-Torres, María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo. Microfinance institutions fostering sustainable development. Sustainable Development. 2018; 26 (6):606-619.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIcíar García-Pérez; María Jesús Muñoz-Torres; María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo. 2018. "Microfinance institutions fostering sustainable development." Sustainable Development 26, no. 6: 606-619.
Since the early microcredit programs up to the present, microfinance has grown exponentially, as it has the academic interest on it as a research subject. Considering that this sector has impact in terms of sustainability, any research in the field requires an analysis with wide criteria, which should include the economic, environmental, social, and governance dimensions (EESG), as well as their interrelationships. The objectives of this survey are, to investigate the contributions of microfinance sectoral scholarly research to sustainability, through a systematic literature review using content analysis method, contextualizing the scientific production and studying its terminology according to the EESG criteria and under Global Reporting Initiative framework, and finally, to identify research gaps and to propose future research paths.The authors wish acknowledge the financial support received from P1•1B2013-31 and P1•1B2013-48 projects through the Universitat Jaume I, the predoctoral funding PREDOC/2015/04 included in the Universitat Jaume I Plan for the Promotion of Research, and the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Master Degree (UJI–UNED). The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions
Icíar García-Pérez; María-Jesús Muñoz-Torres; María-Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo. Microfinance literature: A sustainability level perspective survey. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 142, 3382 -3395.
AMA StyleIcíar García-Pérez, María-Jesús Muñoz-Torres, María-Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo. Microfinance literature: A sustainability level perspective survey. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2017; 142 ():3382-3395.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIcíar García-Pérez; María-Jesús Muñoz-Torres; María-Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo. 2017. "Microfinance literature: A sustainability level perspective survey." Journal of Cleaner Production 142, no. : 3382-3395.