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Abstract
Business Development Services (BDS) programmes have become big business for international donors and NGOs. Focusing on small enterprises in developing countries, the current BDS approach assumes that the development of commercial markets is the key to success. Yet many of these programmes continue to have a limited impact. A review of modern theories of innovation and services marketing management suggests that this may be because current BDS support practice reflects a rather limited understanding of how new markets actually develop. Drawing on the insights that these theories offer, the authors suggest that BDS practice should develop a more evolutionary approach, recognising that service innovations develop through active, on-going interaction between suppliers and customers. The article concludes with practical policy guidelines and a discussion about tools that could help BDS to adopt this more successful approach.
Notes
1. Unweighted average, calculated from individual country data. The definition of SMEs includes all people employed in urban economic activities as ‘own account’ workers (excluding professionals and technicians), and unpaid family workers, and employers and employees working in establishments with fewer than six persons engaged. Paid domestic workers are excluded. Data for Latin America are taken from the ILO Regional Database for Latin America and the Caribbean, available at www.ILO.org/public/english/bureau/stat/ (retrieved 10 February 2006). Other statistics are based on national definitions.
2. For examples, see www.seepnetwork.org/bdsguide.html (retrieved 10 February 2006).
3. IDB, MIF Evaluation – Business Development Services, December 2003, published at www.iadb.org/mif/v2/files/ove_busdevcenters_execsum.pdf (retrieved 10 February 2006).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Marjolein C.J. Caniëls
Marjolein C.J. Caniëls teaches in the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Open University of the Netherlands.
Marieke de Ruijter-De Wildt
Marieke de Ruijter-De Wildt is a consultant-researcher at the Center of Rural Development Studies of the Free University of Amsterdam.