Is Employee- Client Matching Good for Firms Targeting the Bottom of the Pyramid? A Study of Microfinance Institutions

International Journal of Development Issues, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 1-23, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-04-2020-0069

33 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2022

See all articles by Naome Otiti

Naome Otiti

University of Agder

Kjetil Andersson

University of Agder - School of Management

Roy Mersland

University of Agder

Date Written: 2021

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine whether there exists employee-client matching at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) as well as the most favourable employee- client categorization in terms of employee productivity when serving the BOP market. This is important in a bid to determine how to effectively operate at the BOP given the market’s unique characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach: This study uses two methods depending on the research question. Firstly, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to determine the different employee-client categories based on socio-economic status. Secondly, Fixed Effects analysis are performed based on these categories to determine the most suitable employee-client category.

Findings: The results show the existence of employee-client matching based on similar socio-economic status. However, multivariate testing reveals that the mismatch category, where employees are of higher socio-economic status than the clients, generates more favourable employee productivity. Moreover, this result may be contingent on the geographical location of the firm.

Practical implications: The findings are important for human resource management particularly, the employment strategy of BOP firms. It suggests the need to consider employee profiles as well as client profiles when deciding which new markets to target.

Originality/value: The paper uses a global database of microfinance institutions as a case of BOP firms to investigate employee-client matching at the bottom of the pyramid.

Keywords: Employee-Client Matching, Socio-economic Status, Homophily, Bottom of the Pyramid, Employee Productivity, Microfinance

Suggested Citation

Otiti, Naome and Andersson, Kjetil and Mersland, Roy, Is Employee- Client Matching Good for Firms Targeting the Bottom of the Pyramid? A Study of Microfinance Institutions ( 2021). International Journal of Development Issues, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 1-23, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-04-2020-0069, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4269298

Naome Otiti

University of Agder

Serviceboks 422
N-4604 Kristiansand, VEST AGDER 4604
Norway

Kjetil Andersson

University of Agder - School of Management ( email )

N-4604 Kristiansand
Norway

Roy Mersland (Contact Author)

University of Agder ( email )

Serviceboks 422
N-4604 Kristiansand, VEST AGDER 4604
Norway

HOME PAGE: http://www.uia.no/microfinance

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
23
Abstract Views
181
PlumX Metrics