Since 1990, microfinance has gained universal recognition as an essential and useful tool to address the economically productive poor and provide them with a way to come out of the vicious circle of poverty, by delivering loans and credit on flexible terms in contrast to commercial banks. Many studies from different parts of the world have shown significant economic and social uplift of recipients (both men and women) of microfinance programs. However, in recent years, some studies argue against the positive influence of microfinance and stresses that microfinance is commercialized, and it has become more of a profit generation activity than uplifting of the economically productive poor, which is one of many core objective of microfinance organizations. Many empirical studies have been done to know the effects of microfinance on the welfare of households. They are well documented, e.g., in Bangladesh and India, but only a few studies assess the microfinance effect on rural female entrepreneurs of Pakistan. The present study was carried out to empirically analyze the outcome of microfinance on Pakistan’s female entrepreneurs. Women’s empowerment is gauged using income and consumption as welfare indicators. The difference in difference method is applied to investigate the effects of microfinance on its recipients, which is considered a useful tool to tackle the selection bias problem. Our study result shows that microfinance programs that target women not just only increase income and consumption of female borrowers, making them financially stable, but in fact, many local stakeholders also get benefited from it, and in turn, it creates opportunities for the whole local community. However, our results also show that it does not reach to the poorest of poor women (extremely poor) and thus does not serve the purpose of many of its core objectives, i.e., poverty reduction of extremely poor and henceforth should not be relied upon in this perspective.

Dynamic Capabilities, Organizational Culture and Competitive Advantage : Evidence from Agriculture Cooperatives in China

Dynamic Capabilities: Evidence from Agriculture Cooperatives in Indonesia

Some scholar that differentiation strategic and organizational culture is one of the key in searching for competitive advantage and performance in strategic management. The differentiation strategy and organizational culture stands out as one of the components that are important to sustaining competitive advantage, performance, and a good reason for becoming a great institution and company. This paper aims at exploring contributions of differentiation strategy and organizational culture in competitive advantage and performance of Semarang State University (UNNES). 150 sample were collected from lecturer and employee functionaries of Semarang state University, and this sample using simple random sampling method. Samples were measured using Likert attitude scale and then the data were analysed using Structural Equation Model (SEM) AMOS 20.0 programme. Result shows that hypothesis one, two and three is accepted. Study finds that differentiation strategy do significantly positively affect competitive advantage, and performance. The better differentiation strategy and organizational culture will be enhance the competitiveness advantage and performance of Semarang state University.