Creating blended value: Sri Lankan women micro-entrepreneurs and their ventures
Publication Name
Research Handb. of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Value Creation
Abstract
Blended value creation occurs when businesses develop social and environmental value beyond financial value, benefitting society as well as the owners of the businesses. Despite positive claims for the value of microfinance, microfinance-enabled businesses are often criticized for not contributing to society in a broad way. Our chapter provides evidence to counter this criticism. We apply the triple bottom line concept of blended value - the combination of economic, social and environmental value - to analyse narratives collected from three women entrepreneurs in rural Sri Lanka who used microfinance loans to start and develop their ventures. The results demonstrate that the women created not only economic wealth but important social-economic and economic-environmental outcomes. They also created personal value beyond financial outcomes, improved their business processes, and created benefits for their families, employees and the wider society.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access
First Page
132
Last Page
146