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A contingency approach to small business and microenterprise development
01.03.1990
A number of retrospective reviews have derived important lessons from the experience of a wide range of enterprise development organizations. Most concentrated, however, on the experiences of the agency commissioning the particular study, rather than examining what kind of enterprise development strategies organizations should adopt in different situations. In this paper the authors assert that the strategy for enterprise development is contingent upon certain variables which they proceed to define. They then describe the critical tasks which must be addressed to match the requirements of each type of situation, and examine the capabilities an organization must have to address these tasks. -
Compromise and cheating in small enterprise development
01.06.1994
When small enterprise practitioners 'help out' their client businesses by supplying their own labour and project resources free of charge, are they in reality compromising the self-help principle? In a thought-provoking article, the author points to ways in which small enterprise practitioners gloss over the hidden flaws in their projects, and delude themselves about the long-term impact of their work. He forecasts a bleak outlook for the small enterprise development field unless advisers can learn from real businesses. We would welcome comments and responses to the questions raised in this article. -
Reviews
01.03.2014
Microfinance, Debt and Over-Indebtedness: Juggling with Money, edited by Isabelle Guérin, Solène Morvant-Roux and Magdalena Villarreal; reviewed by Thomas Dichter