The Impact of Consulting Services on Small and Medium Enterprises : Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Mexico

Using a randomized evaluation with 432 Mexican small and medium enterprises, this paper shows that access to management consulting led to better firm performance: one-year results show positive effects on return-on-assets and total factor productivity. Owners also had large increases in "entrepreneurial spirit" (an entrepreneurs' managerial confidence index). Using Mexican social security data, the analysis finds a large increase in the number of employees and total wage bill several years after the program. The paper documents large heterogeneity in the specific managerial practices that improved as a result of the consulting, but there is no singular mechanism as a panacea for all firms.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bruhn, Miriam, Karlan, Dean, Schoar, Antoinette
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-06
Subjects:ACCESS TO CREDIT, ACCOUNTING, ACCOUNTING PRACTICES, ACCOUNTS, ACQUISITION, ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, ADVERTISING, ALTERNATIVE FINANCING, ASSETS, BOOKKEEPING, BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS OWNERS, BUSINESS PARTNERS, BUSINESS PERFORMANCE, BUSINESS PROCESS, BUSINESS PROCESSES, BUSINESS TRAINING, COMMERCE, COMPANY, COMPUTERS, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONSULTING SERVICES, CONTACT INFORMATION, CORPORATIONS, COVARIANCE MATRIX, CREDIT MARKET, CREDIT MARKET FAILURE, CREDIT SCORING, DATA ANALYSIS, DATA DEFINITIONS, DATA ENTRY, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, ECONOMIC CRISIS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC SITUATION, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EMPLOYEE, EMPLOYMENT, ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT, ENTERPRISE GROWTH, ENTERPRISE SIZE, ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDES, ENTREPRENEURS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EQUIPMENT, EXPENDITURE, FAMILIES, FINANCES, FINANCIAL ACCESS, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, FINANCIAL LITERACY, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FIRM SIZE, FIRMS, GENDER, GOVERNMENT FUNDING, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN RESOURCE, HUMAN RESOURCES, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, IMPACT EVALUATION, INFORMATION ON ENTERPRISE, INNOVATIONS, INSTALLATIONS, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INTERNATIONAL STANDARD, INVENTORY, JOB CREATION, LACK OF INFORMATION, LIQUIDITY, LOAN, MANAGERIAL SKILLS, MANUFACTURING, MARGINAL PRODUCTIVITY, MARKETING, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, MEDIUM SIZE ENTERPRISES, MICRO ENTERPRISES, MICRO ENTREPRENEURS, MICROCREDIT, MICROCREDIT PROGRAM, MICROENTERPRISES, MICROFINANCE, MICROFINANCE CLIENTS, MISSING VALUE, NATURAL RESOURCE, NEW PRODUCTS, OPEN ACCESS, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, PHYSICAL CAPITAL, POSITIVE EFFECTS, PRIVACY, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTIVITY, PROFIT MARGIN, PROFITABILITY, QUALITY CONTROL, RAW DATA, REPORTING, RESULT, RESULTS, RISK AVERSION, SALES, SIZE OF FIRM, SKILL BUILDING, SMALL BUSINESSES, SMALL ENTERPRISES, SOCIAL SECURITY, SUPERVISION, SUPPLIERS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TIME PERIODS, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY, TRADE FAIRS, TRANSMISSION, USES, VERIFICATION, WAGES, WEB, managerial capital,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/06/17926666/impact-consulting-services-small-medium-enterprises-evidence-randomized-trial-mexico-impact-consulting-services-small-medium-enterprises-evidence-randomized-trial-mexico
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15867
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