European Journal of Social Sciences

Volume 61 No 3
March, 2021
Impact of Microfinance on Women's Entrepreneurship: A Study from Nigeria
158-174
Musiliu Okesina
 
Abstract:
Microfinance is considered as one of the most important strategies, for poverty alleviation and entrepreneurship development in developing countries. However, the impact of microfinance on women's entrepreneurship development is still a subject of research, considering the fact that, women have less opportunities and minimal ownership and control over resources, especially in patriarchal societies. Therefore, this study examined the linkage between access to microfinance credit and women's entrepreneurship development in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted a critical perspective and qualitative method of data collection and analysis with the aid of NVivo 12 computer software. The study found little evidence to support claims that microfinance funds provided are used for business development and scaling up enterprises. The study further revealed that women borrowers tend to rely on microfinance to fund household consumption, particularly in absence of social provision, especially when other sources of incomes are constrained (e.g., male unemployment). The attendant impacts lead to a vicious cycle of debt and transfer of household subsistence unto women. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.
Keywords: Women, Microfinance, Enterprise development, Household consumption, Nigeria
 
 
Differentiation Strategy and Organizational Growth of Manufacturing Firm in Ebonyi State, Nigeria
175-181
Anekwe Rita Ifeoma, Onudugu Vincent, Ndubuisi Okolo Purity and Grace Akaegbobi
 
Abstract:
This article explores the relationship between the differentiation strategy and organizational growth of manufacturing in Ebonyi state but specifically seeks to ascertain the relationship between product differentiation and market share and to examine the effect of personnel differentiation and competitive advantage. The study was guided by a Strategic Balance Theory by David Deephouse (1999). Correlational research design was employed to examine the relationship between differentiation strategy and organizational growth of manufacturing firms. Data were elicited through questionnaire structured on five-point Likert scale. The target population was 126 staff. The sample of 63 was derived using Taro Yamane formula. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and simple regression were used to test the hypotheses. The result revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between product differentiation and market share also personnel differentiation has a significant positive effect on competitive advantage. It was recommended that organizations should deploy work practices that encourage the development of employee skills and foster social connections across employees to raise productivity and enhance organizational growth.
Keywords: Differentiation strategy, Product differentiation, Personnel differentiation, Competitive advantage.
 
 
The Long-Lasting Impact of Long-Term Feedback on Waste Management
182-197
Sebastien Meineri, Isabelle Dangeard and Mickaël Dupré
 
Abstract:
Waste reduction is an important concern for local authorities and could be enhanced by feedback strategies. A field experiment focused on the impact of feedback on household waste reduction is presented. Residents living in single-family houses were sorted by per capita waste generation rate, phoned, and asked their email addresses. The 236 resulting households were then alternatively assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: Feedback and Control. Households in the Feedback condition received weekly emails for two months, followed by monthly emails during the rest of the experimental year. Each email included the household waste generation rate (kg per week), its past generation rates, and, depending on the household size, mean generation rates and objectives of the local authorities; detailed tips about waste reduction were added. The weight data were recorded during collection, using the electronic tags of the wheeled containers, and covered three years: the experimental year, the previous year, and the following year, during which no feedback was provided. Results revealed that the two experimental conditions become significantly different during the feedback year and are still significantly different during the post-feedback year. The results are interpreted through a two-step process combining different theories, suggesting directions to build an encompassing framework.
Keywords: Social influence, feedback, waste reduction, cognitive dissonance
Declaration of interest: none
 
 
The Impact of Organizational Agility on Customer Relationship Management in Kuwaiti Commercial Banks
198-212
Fhaid Abdulrahman Almutairi and Shaker Jaralla Alkshali
 
Abstract:
The study aimed to investigate the impact of the organizational agility by its dimensions: employee empowerment, organic organizational structure and organizational learning on customer relationship management with its dimensions: customer attracting, customer interacting, customer knowing, customer value and customer retaining. The study was conducted on a sample of (159) managers working in (5) commercial banks in the State of Kuwait.
The study found that there are high levels of two dimensions of organizational agility, namely: employee empowerment and organizational learning, while the level of organic organizational structure was medium. As for the level of customer relationship management dimensions, they were all high.
The results indicated that there is a significant impact of organizational agility on customer relationship management, especially with regard to employee empowerment and organic organizational structure, while organizational learning did not have a significant impact on customer relationship management.
Keywords: Organizational Agility, Customer Relationship Management, Commercial Banks, State of Kuwait.