Impact Assessment using Path Models of Microentrepreneurs developed by a Business Corporation in India
For scores of years now, several microfinance
organizations, non governmental organizations and other welfare
organizations have, with a view to aiding the progress of
communities rooted in poverty have been focusing on creating
microentrepreneurs, besides taking several other measures. In recent
times, business corporations have joined forces to combat poverty by
taking up microenterprise development. Hindustan Unilever Limited
(HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever Limited exemplifies this
through its Project Shakti. The company through the Project creates
rural women entrepreneurs by making them direct to home sales
distributors of its products in villages that have thus far been ignored
by multinational corporations. The members participating in Project
Shakti are largely self help group members. The paper focuses on
assessing the impact made by the company on the members engaged
in Project Shakti. The analysis involves use of quantitative methods
to study the effect of Project Shakti on those self help group
members engaged in Project Shakti and those not engaged with
Project Shakti. Path analysis has been used to study the impact made
on those members engaged in Project Shakti. Significant differences
were observed on fronts of entrepreneurial development, economic
empowerment and social empowerment between members associated
with Project Shakti and those not associated with Project Shakti.
Path analysis demonstrated that involvement in Project Shakti led to
entrepreneurial development resulting in economic empowerment
that in turn led to social empowerment and that these three elements
independently induced a feeling of privilege in the women for being
associated with the Project.
[1] C.K. Prahalad, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating
Poverty through Profits, Wharton School Publishing: Pearson Education
Inc., 2005 pp 3-4;12-13.
[2] M. S Banga, Chairman - HLL, Text of speech delivered at the
Company-s Annual General Meeting, Mumbai on June 29, 2004, The
Economic Times, June 30, 2004.
[3] R Srinivasan, R and M.S. Sriram, "Microfinance in India: Discussion",
Management Review,15(2), Reprint 03206b, pp 52-86, June 2003.
[4] H. Cha, P.Cline, L.Lily, C.Meek and M.Cillagomez, "Direct Selling and
Economic Empowerment in Brazil: The Case of Avon." Edited by A.
Dayal- Gulati, Kellog School of Management, 2003.
[5] The Financial Express, Web edition.. Vol. No. REGD No.DA 1589. May
15, 2006.
[6] The Economic Times, Chennai edition, February 11, 2007.
[7] D. Hulme, "Impact assessment methodologies for microfinance: Theory,
experience and better practice", World Development, 28(1), pp 79-98,
January 2000.
[8] J. Shaw, "Microenterprise occupation and poverty reduction in
microfinance programmes: Evidence from Sri Lanka", World
Development 32(7), pp 247-1264, July 2004.
[9] D. Kobb, "Measuring Informal Sector Incomes in Tanzania - Some
Constraints to Cost-Benefit Analysis" Small Enterprise Development
8(4), pp 40-48, December 1997.
[10] Sebstad, Jennifer, Catherine Neill, Carolyn Barnes, and Gregory Chen,
"Assessing the Impacts of Microenterprise Interventions: A framework
for analysis" USAID, Managing for results, Working Paper 7,
Washington, DC.: USAID-s center for Development Information and
Evaluation, March 1995.
[11] P. Kantor, "Women-s Empowerment Through Home-based Work:
Evidence from India", Development and Change. 34(3): pp 425-445.
2003.
[12] Chen, M.A. (1996). Beyond credit. Ottawa, Canada: Aga Khan
Foundation.
[13] M.A.Chen, and D. R. Snodgrass, "Managing resources, activities and
risk in urban India: the impact of Microfinance", USAID-s Assessing the
Impact of Microenterprise Services (AIMS) Paper. Washington, D.C.
:Management Systems International, September 2001.
[14] E. Dunn and J.G.Arbuckle, "Microcredit and microenterprise
performance:impact evidence from Peru", Small Enterprise
Development 12(4), pp22-33, December 2001.
[15] A.Simanowitz, "From event to process: Current trends in microfinance
impact assessment", Thematic Report No.5, www.ImpAct.org,
December 2001.
[16] M.A. Chen and E. Dunn, "Household Economic Portfolios", USAID-s
Assessing the Impact of Microenterprise Services (AIMS) Paper.
Washington, D.C. :Management Systems International, June 1996.
[17] P. Kantor, "Determinants of women-s microenterprise success in
Ahmedabad, India: Empowerment and economics", Feminist Economics
11(3), pp 63-83, November 2005.
[18] K. V. Rangan and R. Rajan, "Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever-s
Project Shakti -Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer", Harvard
Business Review 9, pp 505-556, June 2006.
[19] Annual General Meeting Speech, 2008,
www.hll.com/mediacentre/mediacentrespeeches.asp
[20] N. K. Denzin and Y. S.Lincoln, (Eds). (1998). Strategies of qualitative
inquiry , Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA
[21] Byrne, BM (2001). Structural Equation Modeling with Amos. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
[22] Kline, RB (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation
Modeling, 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Guilford Press
[23] Guba, E. G., & Y. Lincoln, Competing paradigms in qualitative research.
In: N.K.Denzin & Y.S.Lincoln (Eds), The landscape of qualitative
research, theories and issues, pp 211, Thousand Oaks, C.A: Sage, 1998
[24] Skoufias, Emmanuel, Sanchez, Susana, Olinto, Pedro, Karlan Dean and
CrediAmigo of Banco de Nordeste, Brazil, "An evaluation of the impact
of CrediAmigo and the expansion of access to financial services in
Brazil" Research Proposal, November 2004.
[25] M. A. Chen and D. Snodgrass, "An Assessment of the Impact of SEWA
Bank in India: Baseline Findings", Washington, Management Systems
International, August 1999.
[1] C.K. Prahalad, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating
Poverty through Profits, Wharton School Publishing: Pearson Education
Inc., 2005 pp 3-4;12-13.
[2] M. S Banga, Chairman - HLL, Text of speech delivered at the
Company-s Annual General Meeting, Mumbai on June 29, 2004, The
Economic Times, June 30, 2004.
[3] R Srinivasan, R and M.S. Sriram, "Microfinance in India: Discussion",
Management Review,15(2), Reprint 03206b, pp 52-86, June 2003.
[4] H. Cha, P.Cline, L.Lily, C.Meek and M.Cillagomez, "Direct Selling and
Economic Empowerment in Brazil: The Case of Avon." Edited by A.
Dayal- Gulati, Kellog School of Management, 2003.
[5] The Financial Express, Web edition.. Vol. No. REGD No.DA 1589. May
15, 2006.
[6] The Economic Times, Chennai edition, February 11, 2007.
[7] D. Hulme, "Impact assessment methodologies for microfinance: Theory,
experience and better practice", World Development, 28(1), pp 79-98,
January 2000.
[8] J. Shaw, "Microenterprise occupation and poverty reduction in
microfinance programmes: Evidence from Sri Lanka", World
Development 32(7), pp 247-1264, July 2004.
[9] D. Kobb, "Measuring Informal Sector Incomes in Tanzania - Some
Constraints to Cost-Benefit Analysis" Small Enterprise Development
8(4), pp 40-48, December 1997.
[10] Sebstad, Jennifer, Catherine Neill, Carolyn Barnes, and Gregory Chen,
"Assessing the Impacts of Microenterprise Interventions: A framework
for analysis" USAID, Managing for results, Working Paper 7,
Washington, DC.: USAID-s center for Development Information and
Evaluation, March 1995.
[11] P. Kantor, "Women-s Empowerment Through Home-based Work:
Evidence from India", Development and Change. 34(3): pp 425-445.
2003.
[12] Chen, M.A. (1996). Beyond credit. Ottawa, Canada: Aga Khan
Foundation.
[13] M.A.Chen, and D. R. Snodgrass, "Managing resources, activities and
risk in urban India: the impact of Microfinance", USAID-s Assessing the
Impact of Microenterprise Services (AIMS) Paper. Washington, D.C.
:Management Systems International, September 2001.
[14] E. Dunn and J.G.Arbuckle, "Microcredit and microenterprise
performance:impact evidence from Peru", Small Enterprise
Development 12(4), pp22-33, December 2001.
[15] A.Simanowitz, "From event to process: Current trends in microfinance
impact assessment", Thematic Report No.5, www.ImpAct.org,
December 2001.
[16] M.A. Chen and E. Dunn, "Household Economic Portfolios", USAID-s
Assessing the Impact of Microenterprise Services (AIMS) Paper.
Washington, D.C. :Management Systems International, June 1996.
[17] P. Kantor, "Determinants of women-s microenterprise success in
Ahmedabad, India: Empowerment and economics", Feminist Economics
11(3), pp 63-83, November 2005.
[18] K. V. Rangan and R. Rajan, "Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever-s
Project Shakti -Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer", Harvard
Business Review 9, pp 505-556, June 2006.
[19] Annual General Meeting Speech, 2008,
www.hll.com/mediacentre/mediacentrespeeches.asp
[20] N. K. Denzin and Y. S.Lincoln, (Eds). (1998). Strategies of qualitative
inquiry , Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA
[21] Byrne, BM (2001). Structural Equation Modeling with Amos. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
[22] Kline, RB (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation
Modeling, 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Guilford Press
[23] Guba, E. G., & Y. Lincoln, Competing paradigms in qualitative research.
In: N.K.Denzin & Y.S.Lincoln (Eds), The landscape of qualitative
research, theories and issues, pp 211, Thousand Oaks, C.A: Sage, 1998
[24] Skoufias, Emmanuel, Sanchez, Susana, Olinto, Pedro, Karlan Dean and
CrediAmigo of Banco de Nordeste, Brazil, "An evaluation of the impact
of CrediAmigo and the expansion of access to financial services in
Brazil" Research Proposal, November 2004.
[25] M. A. Chen and D. Snodgrass, "An Assessment of the Impact of SEWA
Bank in India: Baseline Findings", Washington, Management Systems
International, August 1999.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:60128", author = "M. J. Xavier and J. Raja and S. Usha Nandhini", title = "Impact Assessment using Path Models of Microentrepreneurs developed by a Business Corporation in India", abstract = "For scores of years now, several microfinance
organizations, non governmental organizations and other welfare
organizations have, with a view to aiding the progress of
communities rooted in poverty have been focusing on creating
microentrepreneurs, besides taking several other measures. In recent
times, business corporations have joined forces to combat poverty by
taking up microenterprise development. Hindustan Unilever Limited
(HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever Limited exemplifies this
through its Project Shakti. The company through the Project creates
rural women entrepreneurs by making them direct to home sales
distributors of its products in villages that have thus far been ignored
by multinational corporations. The members participating in Project
Shakti are largely self help group members. The paper focuses on
assessing the impact made by the company on the members engaged
in Project Shakti. The analysis involves use of quantitative methods
to study the effect of Project Shakti on those self help group
members engaged in Project Shakti and those not engaged with
Project Shakti. Path analysis has been used to study the impact made
on those members engaged in Project Shakti. Significant differences
were observed on fronts of entrepreneurial development, economic
empowerment and social empowerment between members associated
with Project Shakti and those not associated with Project Shakti.
Path analysis demonstrated that involvement in Project Shakti led to
entrepreneurial development resulting in economic empowerment
that in turn led to social empowerment and that these three elements
independently induced a feeling of privilege in the women for being
associated with the Project.", keywords = "Entrepreneurship development, economicempowerment, impact assessment, microentrepreneurs, pathanalysis, social empowerment.", volume = "2", number = "4", pages = "333-14", }