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Today, the sustainability and outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are crucial to the success of microfinance and the sector’s potential to make a lasting impact. The ability of MFIs to operate financially well without sacrificing their social goals has come under scrutiny. This study aims to identify the kind of relationships between the two objectives of MFIs in Ethiopia.

This study investigated the association between the outreach and financial sustainability of Ethiopian MFIs from the years 2012 to 2021 using a balanced set of panel data. The study used secondary data and employed a descriptive research design and a quantitative research approach. To this end, random and fixed effects estimation models, as well as three-stage least squares, with the model of seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) are used.

According to the study, outreach performance enables MFIs to achieve sustainability/financial performance. On the other side, MFI that are financially sound improve social performance. There was therefore no trade-off between the two objectives.

As Ethiopia’s microfinance sector shifts away from government and non-government backing and toward commercialization, such research is crucial. This aspect of the Ethiopian microfinance industry has gotten little consideration in research. The SUR model was used in the study together with random and fixed effect estimators, and the most reliable estimation result was chosen based on the necessary tests.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a scientometric analysis of the body of literature contained in international peer‐reviewed journals, university publications, reports of development organizations and conference publications on the performance management of the microfinance institutions.

A total of 71 research papers (1995‐2010) published in international peer‐reviewed journals, reports of developmental organizations, university reports and international conference publications, which aim to provide insights into the assessment of the microfinance institutions, was reviewed. The review was done along different parameters, namely financial performance, social performance, outreach, sustainability, efficiency, productivity, institutional characteristics and governance.

Based on the literature review, a new conceptual model is proposed that focuses on the overall performance of the MFIs. The study also documents the various dimensions of the performance measurement of the MFIs done so far. It is expected that this study would help turn the attention of microfinance researchers, microfinance practitioners, and various rating agencies to the various dimensions affecting the overall assessment of microfinance institutions.

Attempt was made to make the sample as inclusive and exhaustive as possible, but some research work may inadvertently have not found a place in this study.

A scientometric analysis of the MFI performance measurement is done in terms of longitudinal spread as well as geographical spread focusing the various performance dimensions of microfinance institutions.

Earlier studies on employee turnover have invested enormous scholarly mileage to understand and address human resource challenges. Considering the substantial evidence on the negative and non-linear relationship between employee turnover and firms’ performance, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of employee turnover on the social outreach (e.g. breadth of outreach) of microfinance institutions (MFIs), also known as the financial inclusion agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals.

To achieve the study objective, the authors collected unbalanced panel data of 1,391 MFIs, covering a total of 96 economies and a period of 2010–2018. The organizational and macroeconomic data were obtained from the World Bank’s Mix Market and World Development Indicators databases, respectively, and subsequently analysed using the pooled ordinary least squares, random effects model, fixed effects model and generalized method of moments.

Overall, the authors found that employee turnover has a positive impact on the social outreach of MFIs, which suggests that employee turnover reduces organizational blindness and groupthink, potentiates efficiency gains and minimizes retention costs. On the contrary, this study does not find evidence of a non-linear effect of employee turnover on the outreach objectives of MFIs. Meanwhile, these effects were observed to vary depending on the proxy, sub-samples and techniques used in the analysis.

Motivated by the paucity of literature, the study has uniquely investigated the effect of employee turnover on the social outreach objective of MFIs by using relatively recent and global-level data. The study findings can help managers and the human resource departments to make optimum decisions about employee turnover management.

The goal of this paper is to examine the use of the major social networking tools in academic libraries in the USA. As college students are heavy users of social networking, such efforts provide academic libraries with outreach possibilities to students who do not use the physical library. The paper also seeks to examine the concerns about their use both from students and within the academic library.

The paper summarizes findings from articles published since 2006 found in the Library Literature and Information Full Text database. The first author also examined librarian blogs and library accounts in various social networking sites.

Social networking can be an effective method of student outreach in academic libraries if libraries take care to respect student privacy and to provide equal coverage for all subject areas.

Most information about social networking is anecdotal with very little statistical analysis of its effectiveness. The popularity of the various social networking sites can change quickly.

Academic libraries should consider using social networking as an outreach effort but take care to avoid the potential negative consequences.

This paper provides a snapshot on the use of social networking in academic libraries through a thorough review of the available literature and an examination of the libraries' presence on the most popular social networking sites. It also provides help for academic libraries wishing to implement social networking.

Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being integrated into recruiting and outreach activities across the US universities. Despite their popularity among staff, resources on best practices in higher education remain sparse. As new communication tools evolve and transform higher education, researchers must adapt their approaches to understand these tools and collect relevant data. This study presents and tests new methods for conducting research in higher education communications. The author presents digital ethnography as a relevant methodological approach for researching and understanding online communities in higher education. Using an exploratory online survey distributed through online social networks as an example, the author gathers data on the use of social media in international higher education recruiting and outreach. The exploratory survey sought information on which social media tools were being used by university staff, the perceived benefits and drawbacks of social media use in international recruiting and outreach, and how universities measured social media for international recruiting purposes. Using a digital ethnographic approach, the author gathered relevant, timely data from international higher education professionals and gained insight into the norms, rules, and workings of social networking communities. Results point to new methods for understanding the evolution of higher education communications for researchers and university staff alike. Data from the exploratory study of international higher education communications are presented as an example of the rich amount of data obtained through the approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of microfinance programs in three Malaysian development finance institutions (DFIs). Its main concerns revolve around how these DFIs measure and manage their social performance and how they reconcile their competing social and commercial objectives which are driven by particular logics.

This paper analyzes the ways in which the DFIs selected for this study measure and manage their social performance. The data were acquired from two sessions of focus group interviews, a series of semi-structured interviews, and extensive reviews of documentaries. The institutional logics perspective is used to explore the interplay between social and commercial logics in shaping the view and use of social performance measures in the three studied DFIs.

Although these DFIs have consistently offered formal microfinance programs to designated target groups, their ultimate focus has been on measuring financial as opposed to social performance. Hence, performance appraisal is mainly aligned with the breadth of outreach, rather than its depth. Nevertheless, there appear to be conflicts between the need to accommodate both breadth and depth, due to the competing demands of the two objectives. The rivalry between these two competing demands, which represents the interplay between social and commercial logics, is resolved through reconciliation, that is, by making one objective compatible with the other.

This paper examines the ways in which the DFIs in the study measure and manage their social performance, a topic that is, currently, not widely explored. This study contributes to advancing the knowledge on the link between institutional logics and organizational practices, particularly in understanding the extent to which the Malaysian DFIs assign importance to social performance when designing and offering microfinance programs.

Over the last few decades, microfinance industry is argued to have played a constructive role in alleviating poverty level and providing the underprivileged with access to financial services. Statistics from the World Bank reveal that, currently, only 4% of the underprivileged have been served out of the 3 billion+ potential clients. Such results are due to several claims, particularly the operational and financial challenges faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the constant flux inviting more attentions towards its performance. While explicit attention is given by many researchers towards mobile banking and information and communication technology (ICT) in improving the MFIs’ performance, the study on how social media, as a rapidly growing online phenomenon, can impact on the MFIs’ performance remains scarce. As such, this study aims to investigate this impact based on four dimensional performance indicators: efficiency, financial sustainability, portfolio quality and outreach.

A model is proposed and tested to ascertain the relationship between social media applications and organisational performance. In so doing, web-based questionnaires have been used to collect data from MFI employees in developing countries. Results reveal a significant influence of the social media over the MFIs’ performance, offering valuable insights into both researchers and practitioners in the domain of microfinance, as well as social media—conforming that the adoption of social media as marketing, advertising and communication tools may significantly improve the MFIs’ performance.

The results demonstrate that there is a positive and significant impact of social media use within microfinance on the key indicators of MFIs. They also show that the highest impact of social media usage within the microfinance is on the portfolio quality. In addition, it was found that marketing and advertising; communication and sales and distribution are the main areas where social media is able to support while social networking websites are the most popular platforms employed in MFIs.

This study adds to the existing literature few theoretical and practical aspects. First, this study developed a model for assessing the value of social media as a new phenomenon within this type of organisation. Second, it offers microfinance sponsors, managers and policy makers with a frame of reference to understand what social media platform can be deployed for each purpose. Third, with the identification of the main MFIs’ performance indicators, this research provided a reference of performance measurement guide for microfinance industry when assessing different technological employment.

The purpose of this chapter is to present an overview of two school-based outreach initiatives geared toward the promotion of psychological well-being in borderland children. This chapter discusses first Cruzando Fronteras, an outreach initiative that provided support to children impacted by the violence in the US-Mexico border through the use of liberation psychology and narrative approaches. This chapter then presents an overview of the Kimochis program, a social skills program focusing on the promotion of social–emotional learning and resilience in children Pre-K through third grade. This chapter also includes a reflection of my experience as a social justice advocate and concludes with a discussion of rewards and challenges inherent to social justice work.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how an academic library at one of the most diverse universities in the country responded to the 2016 election through the newly formed Inclusion and Equity Committee and through student outreach.

This paper details the context of the 2016 election and the role of social justice in librarianship. It offers ideas for how library diversity committees can address professional development, recruitment and retention efforts and cultural humility. It highlights student outreach efforts to support marginalized students, educate communities and promote student activism. Finally, it offers considerations and suggestions for librarians who want to engage in this work.

This paper shows that incorporating social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion requires individuals taking action. If institutions want to focus on any of these issues, they need to formally include them in their mission, vision and values as well as in department goals and individual job descriptions. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries fully supports this work, but most of the labor is done by a small number of people. Unsustainable practices can cause employee burnout and turnover resulting in less internal and external efforts to support diversity.

Most of the previous literature focuses either on internal activities, such as professional development and committees, or on student-focused activities, such as outreach events, displays and instruction. This paper is one comprehensive review of both kinds of activities.

The successful story of microfinance institutions is often tied to the practice and methods of credit delivery as evidence among international world class microfinance institutions across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of practice and methods of credit delivery employed by “non- profit” and “for-profit” microfinance institutions on financial sustainability and outreach programmes of the microfinance institutions in Nigeria.

The study adopts the survey research design and multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure to collect data from 372 senior management staff, managing directors and board members of microfinance institutions of both groups in Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions analysis.

The findings suggest that the current practice and methods of credit delivery of microfinance in both “non-profit” and “for-profit” microfinance institutions have an inverse relationship with the financial sustainability and outreach programmes of the institutions. This study provides empirical evidence for the incessant failure of microfinance institutions in Nigeria.

The study therefore recommends an immediate overhaul of the methodology and practice of microfinance institutions in the country to align with international best practice.

In spite of the huge literature on microfinance in Nigeria, there is not enough evidence to empirically prove that the practice of microfinance has affected the performance of the industry in Nigeria. This study sets out to fill that gap in the literature. The paper examines the practice of microfinancing in Nigeria vis-à-vis the performance of the microfinance institutions, categorized into NGO and microfinance bank “for-profit” institutions using international best practices from countries where microfinance is highly successful as a benchmark for deployment of microfinance in Nigeria, in order to proffer policy direction to stakeholders on steps to take to ensure viability in the microfinance subsector in Nigeria.