New Perspectives on Institutional Intermediaries and Small Business in Developing Countries

Abstract

Joy and pain are commonly said to be the two sides of the same coin and may come along the way, depending on the choice of projects we make in life and the method used to accomplish these projects. I experienced this life reality when I dreamed to do a PhD at a prestigious university; when after completing my Research Master in 2011, I was only able to start my PhD in 2017 and many circumstances have delayed this dream. But God has always been by my side and put on my way good people to whom I am greatly indebted for their support, during my search period for funding and my PhD study period. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings! I am overwhelmed with joy and satisfaction after achieving this life project.My PhD journey has been an exciting but also challenging and arduous adventure. There are several great people who played a tremendous role in helping me to complete this dissertation successfully. I want to express my gratitude for their invaluable support.First of all, I would like to express profound gratitude and admiration to my supervisors, Jordi Surroca, Clemens Lutz, and Pere Arque-Castells. Looking back on the past five years, I have received countless help and support from you in my training in becoming an independent researcher. I am deeply grateful to Jordi for being such an unforgettable academic advisor to me. The time I spent with you reminds me of the popular thinking that "a good iron, that of quality, must go to the forge". Your legendary academic rigor has transformed me in how to approach research problems and develop relevant theoretical arguments in framing a research paper. Thank you for this precious support! Clemens, many thanks for your guidance and mentoring both technically and mentally, especially with your comforting words always when times become difficult to navigate. I still remember our first online meeting in 2014 when I had the intention to join the University of Groningen for my PhD. Through that interview, you gave me the opportunity to start thinking seriously about joining Groningen and I became eager to pursue that goal. From then onwards, vii through my first stay in Groningen in 2015 to improve my research proposal to search for funding, with the difficulties I experienced in the entire search process, you have been patient, kind, and supportive until I was awarded the scholarship and was notified one of the last days preceding the Christmas celebration of 2016. For me, you are more than a supervisor, providing all the care and attention that go beyond the regular expected support. Your openness and availability during the whole PhD study allowed me to have meetings with you anytime I wished, which helped me to make progress in my research. In addition, and more importantly, your academic experience of developing countries and small business was so useful. It allowed you to quickly understand and provide practical guidance to, some of my thinking and intellectual choices that I considered are rooted in the challenges these businesses are facing and how to address them.Per...