Grameen Bank's social performance disclosure : responding to a negative assessment by Wall Street Journal in late 2001

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to establish a linkage between negative global media news towards Grameen Bank (GB), the largest microfinance organisation in the developing world, and the extent and type of annual report social performance disclosures by GB, over the nine-year period 1997-2005. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis instruments are utilised to analyse GB annual report social disclosure. Findings – The study finds that GB's community poverty alleviation disclosures account for the highest proportion of total social disclosures in the period 1997-2005. The results of this study are particularly significant in relation to poverty alleviation – the issue attracting severe criticism from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ?) late in 2001. The community poverty alleviation disclosures by GB are significantly greater over the four years following the negative news in the WSJ than in the four years before. The results suggest that GB responds to a negative media story or legitimacy threatening news via annual report social disclosures in an attempt to re-establish its legitimacy. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature because in the past there has been no research published linking global media attention to the social disclosure practices of major organisations in developing countries

Reassessing Grameen Bank's micro credit programme for poverty alleviation in bangladesh : a new perspective

Rural finance has been a mltior policy in alleviating poverty in developing countries. Of specific interest are the micro credit programmes that target the poorest segment of the population. Despite some successes in particular settings, the efficacy of micro credit programmes has been a mltior concern in recent years. This paper evaluates the success of the Grameen Bank, the premier micro credit provider in rural areas in Bangladesh in the context of contemporary development philosophies. Only a few studies have evaluated the performance of the Grameen Bank from a poverty alleviation perspective. Many have evaluated the efficiency of the Grameen Bank's micro credit programmes using attributes such as the repayment rate. In this paper, we add a new dimension to the literature by arguing that if poverty alleviation is the ultimate objective, then the bank's micro credit programme should be assessed from the borrowers' perspective. Rural credit should be conceptualised not as just an input to production but as a mechanism for rural transformation. Our analysis reveals that while Grameen Bank is an efficient provider of micro credit in rural Bangladesh, its programmes fall short of achieving poverty alleviation for a multitude of borrowers and reshaping the process is hence a critical imperative.

Grameen Bank's social performance disclosure : responding to a negative assessment by Wall Street Journal in late 2001

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to establish a linkage between negative global media news towards Grameen Bank (GB), the largest microfinance organisation in the developing world, and the extent and type of annual report social performance disclosures by GB, over the nine-year period 1997-2005.

Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis instruments are utilised to analyse GB annual report social disclosure.

Findings: The study finds that GB's community poverty alleviation disclosures account for the highest proportion of total social disclosures in the period 1997-2005. The results of this study are particularly significant in relation to poverty alleviation – the issue attracting severe criticism from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ?) late in 2001. The community poverty alleviation disclosures by GB are significantly greater over the four years following the negative news in the WSJ than in the four years before. The results suggest that GB responds to a negative media story or legitimacy threatening news via annual report social disclosures in an attempt to re-establish its legitimacy.

Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature because in the past there has been no research published linking global media attention to the social disclosure practices of major organisations in developing countries.

Análisis de los alcances y limitaciones de los programas de microcrédito como instrumentos mundiales para superar la condición de pobreza. Caso de estudio : aplicación de la metodología del Banco Grameen en Colombia

La presente Monografía tiene por objeto realizar un análisis respecto a los alcances y las limitaciones de los programas de microcrédito, desde la teoría institucionalista neoliberal y teniendo presente la cooperación internacional Sur – Sur, como instrumentos mundiales para superar la condición de pobreza en cumplimiento del Primer Objetivo de Desarrollo del Milenio de Naciones Unidas. Toma como caso de estudio la aplicación de la metodología del Banco Grameen en Colombia

Microfinance outcomes in the Philippines

Recent reports from Bangladesh about the Grameen Bank (GB) having to seriously review its policies and restructure its procedures have not stopped countries like the Philippines from making a success of Grameen Bank Replicas (GBRs). Women across Asia continue to benefit from microfinance initiatives and are motivated to move out of poverty through the influence of the GB and other microfinance institutes. This paper addresses specifically the microfinance activities in the Philippines and reports on some of the issues surrounding the successes and setbacks of programs in that country.

Disclosures of social value creation : a case study of three global social enterprises

This study seeks to fill in gap in the existing literature by looking at how and whether disclosure of social value creation becomes a part of legitimation strategies of social enterprises. By using legitimacy reasoning, this study informs that three global social organizations, Grameen Bank, Charity Water, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provide evidence of the use of disclosures of social value creation in order to conform with the expectations of the broader community—the community that wants to see poverty and injustice free world.

Disclosures of social value creation and managing legitimacy: A case study of three global social enterprises

This study seeks to fill the gap in the existing literature by examining at how and whether disclosure of social value creation becomes a part of legitimation strategies of social enterprises. By using Suchman’s (1995) moral dimension of legitimacy theory this study sets out that three global social organizations, Grameen Bank, Charity Water, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, disclose social value creation as if they conform to expectations of the broader community. The study finds that there is an apparent disconnection between disclosure and actions by social enterprises. With references to few incidents highlighted in this study, social enterprises, use disclosures as their managerial efforts, rather than creating moral legitimacy. The notion of apparent disconnection between disclosure and real action by the case social enterprises is common with the notion of the motivation behind disclosure practices by corporations as captured in extant disclosure literature. The finding suggest that when an organisation (whether it is a corporation or a social enterprise) face legitimacy crisis, it appears to disclose good news than bad news questioning organizational moral legitimacy.

Mohammad Yunus and microfinance: The creation of a glocal marketspace

This paper reveals how Grameen has been following a Glocal vision in microfinance and defends that following such will ultimately benefit the social and financial objectives of microfinance institutions. Furthermore, this study identified that microfinance institutions are facing various environmental and organizational constraints in the implementation of a Glocal approach. The research follows a case-study methodology and makes a comparison between Grameen Bank, two of its replicator programs in Pakistan and India and two microfinance organizations in Portugal and France.

Good practice in microfinance: the challenges of a poverty focus in an evolving industry

The awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace prize to Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus has further highlighted how microfinance has come to be regarded as a significant and effective tool in making finance available to the poor. However, much debate still centres on both how microfmance should be delivered and its effectiveness measured. Microfinance funding is not something that should be undertaken lightly, and an awareness of all the cogent issues is essential for any donor looking to undertake effective microfinance programming. This chapter will outline some of the key arguments in the contested debate on effective microfinance programming. It will focus on a discussion of poverty and impact assessments and argues that the effective funding of microfinance is dependent on the ability of an NGO to recognise the many forms which micro finance can take and direct their funding accordingly.

Advances in self-engagement research method : the case of disadvantaged female migrant entrepreneurs in Auckland, New Zealand

The “self-engagement research method” is a set of research procedures, which aims to search latent (hidden) attitudes within a given group of individuals, such as disadvantaged women. This method also examines the research participants practises through an intensive involvement in the process of research. Research on self-regulation has also tended to emphasize having personal control over an event as the primary determinant of whether individuals can effectively monitor and alter their behaviour to attain a desired end state (W. Britt, 1999, 699).

The “self-engagement procedure” originated from fieldwork of social research, especially from the present author’s experiences as a researcher and practitioner on women’s empowerment under the micro-finance programme in Women’s Empowerment Foundation, Auckland and in Grameen Bank Micro-finance programme (Nobel prize winner Professor Mohammed Yunus on poverty reduction through micro-finance).

This technique is based on the oft-cited phenomenon of discrepancies between what research Participants say what they often believe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participant_observation). This follows on Gabriel (1991:123-126) namely that participant observation is a useful technique for gaining insight into facts and is also useful for the rural poor or marginal groups, who are unable to communicate their problems. The problem is that since the 1980s, some anthropologists and the social scientists have questioned the degree to which participant observation can give truthful insight into the minds of other people (Geertz, Clifford,1984 & Rosaldo, Renato, 1986).

This paper discusses the difficulties found in using participant observation to discover discrepancies between what participants say and what they really believe. It also discusses self-engagement research procedures which the author has developed through the long-term research experiences with disadvantaged groups of women in Auckland. These procedures discover the discrepancies between what participants say and what is in their mind.

These self-engagement procedures were used from the beginning of the fieldwork to locate research areas and get access to the study settings. It was found there are gaps in this method. For example, there are no systematic processes in which researchers can gain access into the community or be welcomed by research participants. It was also difficult to discover the insight into the facts that cause disempowerment and how micro-finance impacts everyday life on research participants. McCracken (1988 cited in Mertens, 1998:321) argued that researchers collect data directly through observation, but it is not possible to imitate, repeat involvement in the experiences of research participants.

This research draws on and extends the long traditional of participant observation in social research. In field research practises, participant observation was used in different ways for gaining insight into different aspects. A good example is the use and mis-use of the “field journal” in this type of research. The journal typically explained and analysed experiences and understanding of participant observation, in-depth interviews and group discussions on the impact of micro-finance on women’s lives. However, researchers later realised that there were gaps in collected knowledge that needed to be filled. This led to “self-engagement procedures” which developed greater confidence that collected data could truly give insight into patterns of behaviour.

This paper addresses sensitive issues of women’s empowerment under the micro finance programmes and makes a contribution to the literature. The “self-engagement method” detects the “silent facts” of women’s lives. In research conducted amongst disadvantaged women in Auckland, New Zealand and Grameen Bank micro-finance programme in Bangladesh. The method of self-engagement led to better data when participants (both research and subjects) clearly perceived the purpose of the research, when participants have control over providing personal information, and when subjects can build trust with researchers. One overall lesson of this research is that research data and findings are more generalisaable and valid when the participants in the research process understand the relevancy to his/her disadvantaged position and the causes of this, and when participants perceive that it is an opportunity to voice his/her disadvantages and causes.

The “self-engagement research method” involves a variety of behavioural activities. This paper also attempts to discuss in detail, these activities. This paper attempts to discuss the process of the “self-engagement method” in a systematic way. This has been addressed in the research process, in which research participants and researchers become self-engaged to detect the reality of the impact of micro finance to empower the disadvantaged. The stages of self-engagement procedures were developed and followed throughout field research into entrepreneurial behaviour of disadvantaged women in Auckland.

Research on self-regulation has also tended to emphasize having personal control over an event as the primary determinant of whether individuals can effectively monitor and alter their behaviour to attain a desired end state (W. Britt, 1999, 699).

A suitable research method could identify the empowerment/disempowerment of a disadvantaged group of individuals. The self-engagement procedures create a process, in which research participants and researchers become ‘self-engaged’ and gain insight into facts.

For profit social entrepreneurship: milestones to develop an efficient social venture

Inúmeras questões terríveis e alarmantes são ainda mal resolvidas, apesar da mobilização de ONGs para aliviá-los. Por muito tempo, o setor privado deu as costas a preocupações tal qual estas. Ate que um novo tipo de empreendedor revolucionário apareceu com um novo conceito para combater a pobreza. Mohamed Yunus desbravou empreendedorismo social quando criou a Grameen Bank 36 anos atrás: ele desafiou regras convencionais e estritas alugando dinheiro para Bengalis desmerecidos de credito, tudo isso obtendo lucro no mesmo tempo. Hoje, empreendedorismo social esta um fenômeno mas a maioria dos empreendedores do setor dos e meia ainda enfrentam dificuldades. A pesquisa acadêmica sobre o empreendedorismo social com fins lucrativos ainda está hesitante. O presente trabalho é uma modesta tentativa de analisar quais são os desafios que um empreendedor social com fins lucrativos enfrentará ao longo do caminho para criar seu empreendimento e sustentar os seus objetivos. O exame da literatura mostra que as dificuldades enfrentadas pelos empreendedores são devido a vários fatores, compreendo questões diretamente relacionadas a incerteza do mercado e o contexto local, questões organizacionais, de financiamento, de ética e questões relacionadas a resistência do modelo de negocio. As proposições derivando do exame da literatura foram confrontadas a casos concretos através de entrevistas com empreendedores sociais, investidores de impacto e instituições de apoio. Resultados da pesquisa corroboram as proposições do inicio mas enfatizam necessidade de resolver, com consideração cuidadosa, as questões relacionadas a incerteza do mercado e ao desenho duma governança adequada. A respeito da incerteza do mercado, a identificação das partes interessadas no empreendimento social e a adoção duma mentalidade eficaz para ajustar suposições iniciais para a realidade local, são um padrão chave de sucesso para o empreendimento social. No nível organizacional, a constituição dum time perito e comprometido junto com o desenho duma governança certa para equilibrar o desejo de obter lucro e a necessidade de sustentabilidade financeira é uma garantia de sucesso para o empreendedor social.

Correspondentes bancários e microcrédito no Brasil: tecnologia bancária e ampliação dos serviços financeiros para a população de baixa renda

Dois importantes fenômenos têm sido observados recentemente nos mercados financeiros: microcrédito e correspondentes bancários. Microcrédito, ressaltado pelo Nobel da Paz que foi concedido em 2006 a Muhammad Yunus pelo seu trabalho no Grammen Bank, está cada vez mais sendo reconhecido como um poderoso instrumento de geração de renda e redução de pobreza nos países em desenvolvimento. Correspondente bancário, que tem tido um recente destaque particularmente no Brasil, está relacionado com a criação de canais de oferta de serviços financeiros em estabelecimentos de varejo, resultando em baixos custos de distribuição e ampliação da penetração dos serviços bancários direcionados à população de baixa renda. Apesar de terem sido ambos, microcrédito e correspondentes bancários, desenvolvidos com foco nas populações de baixa renda, na prática existe pouca interação entre eles. Este estudo apresenta uma investigação sobre o potencial dos correspondentes como canal de distribuição do microcrédito. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa com alguns dos principais atores ligados tanto ao universo dos correspondentes bancários quanto ao das microfinanças. Os resultados sugerem que adaptações ao do modelo dominante atualmente de correspondente pode gerar oportunidades para os bancos, as organizações de microfinanças e para a população de baixa renda no Brasil.

Social entrepreneurship, microcredit and development challenges: a case study analysis of Banco Pérola

The term “social entrepreneurship” has been attracting growing interest from different sectors in the past years, driven by the possibility of employing business techniques to tackle recurrent social and environmental issues. At the forefront of this global phenomenon is microcredit, seen by many as an effective anti-poverty tool and having the Grameen Bank as its flagship program. While the prospects of social entrepreneurship seem promising, the newness of the concept and its somewhat confusing definition make conditions difficult to analyze this contemporary phenomenon. Therefore, the objective of this study was to discuss the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs and alternatives of development for social businesses through a case study on a Brazilian microcredit institution and inclusive business, Banco Pérola. The case addresses a growing need for case studies designed for teaching in the field of social entrepreneurship. It was focused mainly on understanding the development challenges within Banco Pérola, and built based on interviews carried out with top management, credit officer and clients of the institution, as well as on secondary data collected. An analysis of the case study was performed under a Teaching Notes. As illustrated by the Banco Pérola case, the main difficulties encountered by social entrepreneurs relate to the systematization of processes and creation of operational routines, including for performance evaluation (impact assessment tools); to the capture and management of both financial and human capital; to scaling up the business model and to the need of forging closer and more personal relationships with customers as against in traditional banking practices. In spite of certain limitations, such as the fact that the case might soon become outdated due to the fast-changing environment surrounding Banco Pérola, or the fact that not all relevant stakeholders (e.g. partners) were selected for interviews, the research objective has been achieved and the study can be seen as a contribution to spreading the concept of social entrepreneurship.

Economie locali, mondi globali. Per un'etnografia del microcredito in Italia

Local worlds, global economies. For an ethnography of microcredit in Italy. The research main purpose is to provide an anthropological analysis of a microcredit project targeting migrant women in Venice, Italy. Microcredit is a globally widespread financial strategy. Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank success in Bangladesh was pivotal in promoting microfinance as one of the most important poverty alleviation strategies in the Development Countries. Post Industrial Countries adopted microcredit to foster “non bankable” categories – notably immigrants, women and young people - financial inclusion. The history of the Venice project is reconstructed starting from the perspectives of its main characters (promoters, social workers, beneficiaries and local stakeholders). Their positioned representations are analyzed in order to understand how different actors reproduced or renegotiated some of the main rhetorics underpinning the hegemonic “microcredit discourse”. Specifically, keywords such as “sustainability”, “empowerment” and “trust” are critically deconstructed to see how they are meant and translated into practice by different actors. Fieldwork data allows some considerations on the Italian way to microfinance.