Business Development Services Provided by Islamic Microfinance Institutions and Customer Satisfaction: The Mediation Role of Perceived Benefits. A Study on SMEs in Yemen

Abstract

This study seeks to determine the effect of Business Development Services (BDS) on the comfort level of the Islamic Microfinance System and SMEs owners in Yemen. Based on the importance of SMEs in Yemen which consists of 99.6% of all businesses in Yemen and their important role on the overall economic development by reducing poverty and creating new job. The paper made it easy to see what effectiveness the Islamic microfinance system is bringing in SMEs sector in the country.532 questionnaire were distributed amongst the SMEs owners in Yemen to collect data, 346 were returned and further 320 were selected for Data analysis. It was found in the study that there was a remarkable effect of BDS on the satisfaction and the perceived benefits that SMEs owners got through dealing with Islamic microfinance system. The additional findings were to confirmed the role of perceived benefits mediating the relationship between satisfaction and BDS but the moderating effects of perceived benefits on the two were not confirmed.