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The Impact Of Microfinance On Gender Equality In India, Alexis Matton Jan 2023

The Impact Of Microfinance On Gender Equality In India, Alexis Matton

Honors Program Theses

This paper explores the impacts of microfinance on gender equality in India by examining its effects through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It begins with an overview of the history of microfinance globally and is followed by an in-depth explanation of the current microfinance landscape in India. This paper then uses a case study approach to collect qualitative data that contributes to this discussion on microfinance and gender equality. By studying the stories of four women and their experiences using the services provided by microfinance institutions, the paper illustrates how microfinance contributes to the advancement of …


Capabilities, Human Development, And Design Thinking: A Framework For Gender-Sensitive Entrepreneurship Programs, Tonia Warnecke Dec 2016

Capabilities, Human Development, And Design Thinking: A Framework For Gender-Sensitive Entrepreneurship Programs, Tonia Warnecke

Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the ways that capabilities and human development theory can guide the creation of entrepreneurship programs, utilizing a framework of human-centered design thinking. It is well known that a variety of institutional factors shape gender outcomes and gender inequality within entrepreneurship, particularly with regard to necessity versus opportunity entrepreneurship and informal versus formal sector entrepreneurship. Failure to understand the diversity of entrepreneurial activity among women, and the connection (or lack thereof) of such activity to human freedom, leads to biased entrepreneurship programs. This paper links social economic theory and practice by: (1) discussing the ways that capabilities and …


Youtube Money: The Impact Of Brand Management On Online Video Companies, Samantha Perry Jan 2016

Youtube Money: The Impact Of Brand Management On Online Video Companies, Samantha Perry

Honors Program Theses

Many YouTube channels today operate not only as miniature media outlets, but as fully functional media companies operating independently through advertising revenue. The top creators of content on YouTube bring in millions of dollars of revenue each year. This thesis seeks to answer the question of how content creators can harness the power of brand management strategy in order to maximize revenue and grow their audiences over time. I overview current trends among content creators industry-wide, and then focus on a group of channels to analyze their brand management habits on- and off-line. I then examine data from brands’ videos …


Influential Factors In Encouraging Or Dissuading Orlando Businesses To Seek Leed Certification, Katrina M. Zdanowicz Jan 2016

Influential Factors In Encouraging Or Dissuading Orlando Businesses To Seek Leed Certification, Katrina M. Zdanowicz

Honors Program Theses

Orlando, Florida, is home to 85 building projects that have received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and 74 projects that are in the process of seeking certification. Over 90 percent of these 159 buildings have been or are being rated by LEED commercial standards. This paper argues that while LEED has played a valuable role in encouraging environmentally sustainable design in the Orlando commercial sector and will continue to be a significant presence in sustainability discussions, local government legislation can assist the end-goals of LEED by promoting more localized initiatives. The benefits of LEED certification include …


Are The Parents To Blame? Predicting Franchisee Failure, Ilan Alon, Michèle Boulanger, Everlyne Misati, Melih Madanoglu Jan 2015

Are The Parents To Blame? Predicting Franchisee Failure, Ilan Alon, Michèle Boulanger, Everlyne Misati, Melih Madanoglu

Faculty Publications

The Small Business Administration (SBA) supports franchising by backing up loans issued by regular lending organizations. However, the SBA does not directly consider firm strategies as part of its lending process. To appreciate how franchisor characteristics influence franchisee failure, we developed a heuristic model using the methodology and power of predictive analytics. We use multi-year data from the World Franchising Council’s surveys on franchisors’ characteristics and from the SBA on franchisee loan defaults. The data cover 271 diverse US franchise chains that are present in both databases. Our model predicts potential defaults of SBA-backed loans issued to American franchisees and …


The Clash Of Missions: Juxtaposing Competing Pressures In South Africa's Social Enterprises, Emmanuel T. Kodzi Jan 2015

The Clash Of Missions: Juxtaposing Competing Pressures In South Africa's Social Enterprises, Emmanuel T. Kodzi

Faculty Publications

Social enterprises seek critical resources to fulfill their mission in a defined domain of action. However, this quest also constitutes a distraction that complicates the operations of any social enterprise. By analyzing the logic of control versus the logic of empowerment for operating scenarios in South Africa, we examine the process trade-offs that enhance or limit social impact. Our findings prioritize efficiency in resolving process trade-offs, since the focus on value creation diminishes the replenishment cycle for value capture. We propose that value chain processes be controlled to the extent that the enterprise acts as a custodian of community empowerment …


Targeting The ‘Invisible’: Improving Entrepreneurship Opportunities For Informal Sector Women, Tonia Warnecke Jan 2013

Targeting The ‘Invisible’: Improving Entrepreneurship Opportunities For Informal Sector Women, Tonia Warnecke

Faculty Publications

In the wake of global economic downturn, policymakers in many developing countries are turning their gaze upon two things: private sector-led strategies for economic growth and women’s potential to contribute to this growth. As a consequence, female entrepreneurship has been an area of particular interest to policymakers, businesses, and non-governmental organizations, and many female-targeted policies and programs have been implemented, ranging from microfinance and subsidized loans to training and incubator programs. However, the focus on entrepreneurship as a development strategy conceptualizes entrepreneurship in a particular way—as opportunity entrepreneurship. Opportunity entrepreneurs can identify available opportunities and exploit them; they are often …


Female Entrepreneurship In China: Opportunity- Or Necessity-Based?, Tonia Warnecke, Lucas Hernandez, Nicholas Nunn Jan 2012

Female Entrepreneurship In China: Opportunity- Or Necessity-Based?, Tonia Warnecke, Lucas Hernandez, Nicholas Nunn

Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Publications

The paper investigates the inequalities within entrepreneurship which are hindering Chinese socio-economic development. We take an institutionalist and gender-based approach. We establish the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development and create a historical framework from which we examine contemporary female entrepreneurship. We find that females in China often engage in entrepreneurship in the informal sector, where average income is lower. Females are more likely than men to engage in necessity-based entrepreneurship rather than opportunity-based entrepreneurship in China. Therefore, the overall increase in female entrepreneurship in China in recent years does not necessarily imply improvement in living standards for those women. …


Tao Of Downfall: The Failures Of High-Profile Entrepreneurs In The Chinese Economic Reform, Wenxian Zhang, Ilan Alon Jan 2010

Tao Of Downfall: The Failures Of High-Profile Entrepreneurs In The Chinese Economic Reform, Wenxian Zhang, Ilan Alon

Faculty Publications

Through historical reviews and case studies, this research seeks to understand why some initially successful entrepreneurs failed in the economic boom of past decades. Among various factors contributed to their downfalls are a unique political and business environment, fragile financial systems, traditional cultural influences and personal characteristics. Notwithstanding that these factors should be further tested through empirical studies, those high-profile entrepreneurs are oblivious but essential actors in the grand theatre of China's economic transformation and their failures have contributed to the swift development of the Chinese entrepreneurship over the last 30 years.