Business practices, strategy, competition, and performance of microfinance institutions in Nigeria

In Nigeria, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have gained acceptance not only as important financial institutions but are also being recognized for their economic and social contributions to the country. Despite their important role in the financial industry in Nigeria, the theoretical and empirical contributions in the area of MFIs remained limited. The literature indicates that as a field of study, MFIs have not received much research emphasis. Given the limited research in this area of study, this study attempts to examine microfinance institutions (MFIs) from the strategic management perspective. More specifically, this study investigates the relationships between business practices, business strategy, competition and performance of MFIs in Nigeria from the contingency perspective. The study was based on a sample survey consisting of 121 MFIs that were registered with the Central Bank of Nigeria. The MFIs that were involved in the study were located in 27 states in Nigeria. The data for the study was collected from the MFIs by using a structural questionnaire. Based on the analyses of the data collected from the MFIs, the results of the study suggest significant positive relationships between business practices and the performance of MFIs. In addition, the results indicate that business strategy and competition moderate the relationships between business practices and the performance of the MFIs that participated in this study. As a whole, the findings of this study indicated that strategic management is relevant and applicable to MFIs as it is to large firms. This study suggests opportunities for researchers interested in further exploring the concept that strategic management can influence the performances of MFIs