Enterprise growth has been studied by researchers for many years. Different terms have been used by different authors to define the stages of an enterprise growth, but the events through which each enterprise passes remain more or less the same. Most of the researchers suggest that each enterprise has to start, then grow while facing various challenges and crises, and finally mature and decline. There are many factors which will contribute to an enterprise's success. There are many precursors also, which will allow an enterprise to move from one stage to another. There are two sets of thought prevailing among researchers; some suggest that the growth path followed by the enterprise is linear or predictable, and others suggest that the growth is fairly opportunistic or unpredictable. The understanding of the growth of an enterprise depends on the definition of what the firm is, how much has it grown, and what it offers to the market? What assets it controls and what is its legal form. It is critical to study how an enterprise manages its growth transitions and what pattern they follow. In this paper, a framework has been designed to study the path followed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This framework considered the influence of internal and external environmental factor on the growth patterns of SMEs. The paper encompasses literature review on various theories of enterprise growth. It highlights that though there are many studies on the stages of enterprise development, there is a dearth of literature on finding patterns of growth followed by the small and medium enterprises. Also, there is lack of literature on the effect of environmental factors in determining growth path. There is a need of a framework which can help the industry to empirically test enterprise growth patterns under different conditions.

Purpose Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are known for their contribution to the women empowerment and poverty alleviation but it is not clear about the role of gender on the performance of this industry. It is important to explore the representation of both the gender in three levels, namely, decision-making, day-to-day management and implementation of the micro-financial services. This study aims to examine the impact of female board members, female managers and female field officers on the financial and social performance of the MFIs. Design/methodology/approach The authors have used random effect panel data analysis. The study covers 104 MFIs operating in India. The time period of the analysis is from 2010 to 2014. Findings The study has shown that as the number of female directors within the board increase there is an increase in cost per borrower. This is an indication that more female clients are being targeted. The increase in number of female managers leads to an increase in the number of active borrowers. The increase in the number of female staff members leads to an increase of operational self-sufficiency and yield of the gross portfolio. Research limitations/implications The present study has faced a lot of limitation due to the non-availability of the secondary data on the governance system of the microfinance industry. The study could not be undertaken for an extended period because of the unavailability of data for a long period. Practical implications This study has highlighted the role of gender in case of performance of microfinance institutions. The gender diversity at the field level has shown to enhance the financial performance of the MFIs. So, the MFIs should try to bring gender diversity at the operation level. Social implications This study has shown that an increase of woman directors at the board level increase female clients of MFIs. The increase of female managers also enhances number of female clients. So, the gender diversity at the managerial level and director level help MFIs to meet their social performance by reaching to more number of needy female clients. Originality/value The gender diversity at the three levels, namely, board level, managerial level and field operation level has not been analyzed in the Indian context. In India MFIs mainly target the female clients so in this context having gender diversity at the three levels of operation of the MFIs, which can improve both the financial and social performance of the MFIs.

Financial capability (FC) of the households involved in microfinance (MF) activities is better than those who are not. MF model, especially the traditional informal group structure, provides a platform for financial socialization and hence, it enables to build the FC of its members. Socioeconomic factors and behavioral economic variables significantly influence the level of FC of the households involved in MF activities. While designing FC enhancement programs, one should consider social capital structures and behavioral economic aspects.

No abstract

No abstract