Determinants of Small Enterprises’ Performance in Developing Countries: A Bangladesh Case

Khondoker, Abdul Mottaleb and Sonobe, Tetsushi (2011): Determinants of Small Enterprises’ Performance in Developing Countries: A Bangladesh Case.

Abstract

Family-based traditional microenterprises are abundant in developing countries, and in many cases they are a major source of income and employment for both urban and rural poor. With a few exceptions, however, most these family-based traditional microenterprises in the rural areas of developing countries seldom grow in terms of enterprises’ size and product quality. Thus, they tend to perform poorly relative to their growth potentials. The development of these family-based microenterprises would be instrumental to employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable economic growth in developing countries. Using primary data collected from the traditional handloom industry in Bangladesh, this paper inquires into the development process of family-based traditional microenterprises in developing countries. The paper empirically demonstrates that entrepreneurs’ general human capital acquired by formal education is critically important for the introduction of new and high value-added fashionable products, and, thus, performance of the enterprise.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Family-based business, Handloom industry, Human Capital
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L6 - Industry Studies: Manufacturing > L67 - Other Consumer Nondurables: Clothing, Textiles, Shoes, and Leather Goods; Household Goods; Sports Equipment; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O14 - Industrialization ; Manufacturing and Service Industries ; Choice of Technology

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