Microfinance from Information Systems perspective – A review

The increasing importance of Information Systems (IS) in the global economy prompts microfinance researchers to view the industry from an interdisciplinary perspective. A review paper for microfinance from the IS perspective will create a firm foundation for advancing knowledge. It will facilitate theory development, close areas where a plethora of research exists, and uncover areas where research is needed. The objective of this paper is to propose a framework with the help of demonstration of organization of microfinance literature using IS theories. The reason for using IS theories for the purpose is to bring both the disciplines on a common platform so that their integration becomes easy. The paper discusses and critiques different classical theories that are used in the IS discipline. It also addresses the issue of information asymmetry which is prevalent in the microfinance sector with the help of IS.