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This study is motivated by recent research suggesting that the funding benefits of using Big Four auditors may not be as uniform as were previously assumed. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between use of Big Four auditors and access to debt capital by applying data from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in emerging countries, a population typically not investigated in accounting research.

The authors apply a unique hand-collected data set from 60 emerging markets and empirically investigate whether access to various debt categories is related to the use of Big Four auditors.

The authors find that access to international commercial debt, international subsidized debt and government agency debt is positively related to the use of a Big Four auditor. For local commercial debt, the authors find no association between auditor type and access to debt capital. The association between auditor choice and access to debt capital is stronger for nonprofit than for-profit MFIs.

This is the first audit quality study to include a broad sample of emerging countries, which in itself is an important contribution. As far as general audit quality research is concerned, the authors take the literature one step further by showing that the benefits of using a Big Four auditor may be dependent on the specific source of debt financing a firm or organization seeks to use. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that the for-profit vs nonprofit dimension influences the relationship between auditor choice and access to capital.

Microfinance – the provision of financial services to the poor – is high on the public agenda. We discuss and evaluate three myths regarding microfinance based on new data from rated microfinance institutions (MFIs). The first myth is that an efficient MFI needs to be shareholder owned; second that its governance should first and foremost address the potential conflict between owners and managers; and third that MFIs are drifting away from their poorer customers towards serving the wealthier. The data do not support any of these myths. We conclude that microfinance is a viable business model.

This volume is the outcome of the 33rd European International Business Academy (EIBA) conference held at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Catania (Italy). This conference brought together more than 300 scholars from around the world to discuss theoretical and empirical issues in international business (IB), as well as their consequences and challenges to IB scholars and policy-makers. Organized around 10 thematic tracks, the conference is the annual forum for discussing major research issues in the IB realm. This volume is a collection of the best papers, which, selected through a blind refereeing process for presentation at the conference, make significant contributions by providing fresh new perspectives on a variety of relevant topics.

Without prejudice to the efficacy of other poverty alleviation mechanisms, micro-financing arguably enjoys relative prominence. However, notwithstanding the remarkable loan repayment rate that the microfinance firms report, they still face the challenge of sustainability. The paper aims to provide insights into how three dimensions of market orientation, namely, customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-function coordination, affect the two aspects of the sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs; management and financial).

To achieve this goal, this study focuses on Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a leading microfinance provider which is also the largest MFI in South East Asia. Data elicited via a survey questionnaire administered on 190 management staff of AIM across Malaysia are subjected to statistical analysis via the partial least square-structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 2.0.

The results provide empirical evidences that indicate that management sustainability is significantly influenced by customer orientation and inter-function coordination. However, only customer orientation affects the financial sustainability of AIM. Nevertheless, competitor orientation has non-significant effects on both aspects of sustainability of AIM.

The result of the paper contributes to the literature in understanding the long-term sustainable financial and social performance-based market orientation.

Findings are useful for policy makers, management of MFIs, practitioners and academics to enhance microfinance system. Managerial implications, limitation of the study and suggestions for future research are also included.

The purpose of this article is to systematically review extant research on the corporate governance (CG) of microfinance institutions (MFIs) from a global perspective. In the process, it discusses scholarly contributions and highlights key issues from the findings of past studies on several governance attributes, in particular, their interconnections and influence on different institutional outcomes of the sector.

Although academic work on microfinance governance is substantial, prior studies lack a comprehensive approach to reviewing the literature on this topic. We adopted a systematic method to review past studies on microfinance CG by applying particular inclusion and exclusion criteria. In this regard, the study developed specific questions and sought to find their answers from the existing literature.

The findings from our research indicate that microfinance governance-performance relationship is the central focus of the majority of our reviewed papers, although a few attempts have been made to explain the interconnection between CG mechanisms at the firm and institutional level. Our findings also show that existing studies have used a variety of techniques to measure MFI performance vis-à-vis their hybrid mission, such as profitability and outreach. Moreover, the study found that common topics discussed in the mainstream literature include board structure, CEO characteristics, audit quality, external governance, disclosure and MFI ownership type.

This review has some limitations that warrant further research. First, we considered only peer-reviewed scientific publications for our systematic review. Second, we omitted non-English journal papers from our sample. In light of these limitations, we provide some future research directions that may shed further light on our current inquiry.

This paper evaluates past relevant studies using a systematic approach (in preference to the commonly used narrative approach) for a span of over eighteen years; thereby contributing significantly to the sectoral governance literature. This study is novel in that it offers new incentives and opportunities for further research in order to meet the shortcomings of reviewed papers from various theoretical, empirical, methodological and geographical standpoints.