Drivers and Success Factors of Entrepreneurial Spin-Offs; A Case of Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIS) In Ghana
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Date
2015-07
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University of Ghana
Abstract
In the past decade, Ghana has witnessed a significant development and expansion in the
micro-finance sector and it has been identified that many of these new microfinance
institutions have been setup by people who resigned their positions in the traditional banking
sector to set them up (spin-offs). The overall objective of this study is to investigate the
drivers and success factors of these individual spin-off companies within the Ghanaian
microfinance sector. Spin-off ventures are seen as a vehicle for transferring knowledge,
hence have attracted a wide range of studies, including academic/university spin-offs,
corporate spin-offs, research-based spin-offs and entrepreneurial spin-offs. This research
project is a case study of the phenomenon of spin-off businesses in the banking sector in
Ghana, particularly microfinance institutions, their drivers and success factors with the view
of proposing its replication in other sectors of the economy, while contributing to literature
on the topic, especially from the perspective of a developing country. The study employed the
qualitative method to seek a detailed and in-depth analysis to understand the issue by way of
in-depth interviews. The purposive, non-probability sampling approach was used to select the
microfinance spin-off firms, whereas the snowballing was used to identify more spin-offs
within the sector. The case study research strategy was adopted to consider cases of
microfinance institutions. Five respondents were interviewed, due to theoretical saturation
and difficulty in finding any more spin-offs. Three major themes emerged from the study as
drivers of spin-offs in the micro-finance sector. These are necessity, opportunity and need for
self-actualization. Success factors themes yielded sub-themes such as personnel and
organizational factors. The drivers of spin-offs and success factors were observed to provide
successful spin-off firms. However, this joint effect is regulated by efficacy factors like
industry experience, ambition, position and conditions in previous employment. It is
recommended that the spin-off phenomenon should be encouraged to accelerate
entrepreneurship and innovation in the Ghanaian economy. Results from this study have
implications for research, education and policy.
Description
Thesis (M Phil) University of Ghana - 2015
Keywords
DRIVERS, SUCCESS FACTORS, ENTREPRENEURIAL, SPIN-OFFS, MICRO-FINANCE INSTITUTIONS, GHANA