Roy Mersland

Professor

Department of Strategy and Management

Email: roy.mersland@uia.no
Phone: +47 38141787
Mobile phone: +4792434333

Office 9I260B (Universitetsveien 19, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway)

Research groups

CERSEM – Center for research in social enterprises and microfinance

Areas of responsibility

Roy Mersland is Professor of International Business and Development at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder. He has a PhD in International Business from the University of Agder, an MBA from Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Maria (Chile/Ecuador), and a Master’s degree in Business and Marketing from BI Norwegian Business School.

Mersland has a wide international research network and is currently involved in several research projects. He is a member of the research group of the European Microfinance Platform and of the Centre for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi) in Belgium. He is also Director of the Center for Research on Social Enterprises and Microfinance (CERSEM) at the University of Agder (https://cersem.uia.no/).

Mersland has published extensively in high-ranking international journals, such as Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Management Studies, World Development and Journal of Business Ethics.

He has international management, consulting and research experience, particularly in the fields of corporate governance, banking and microfinance, from more than 20 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. He was one of the founders of Banco D-MIRO, an Ecuadorian bank specializing in microfinance.

Mersland is currently Director of PhD education at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder. He is also part-time professor at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

Mersland is Chairman of technology start-up company Checkin (www.checkin.no), and he is on the board of Kristiansand Kommunale Pensjonskasse. He also works as an advisor for several public and private Norwegian enterprises.

Gonzales Martinez, Rolando; D’espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2024). Informal Insurance and Loans in Savings Groups: A Longitudinal and Quasi-experimental Approach Identifies the Role of the Welfare Fund for the Extreme Poor. Review of Development Finance. ISSN 1879-9337. 14(1), p. 1–10.
Van Hemert, Daniël; D’Espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2024). Autonomy and Financial Performance in Informal Savings Associations. Journal of Development Studies. ISSN 0022-0388. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2024.2337386.
Mahabi, Armande Nabami; Petre, Anaëlle & Mersland, Roy (2024). Impact of climate change training intervention in savings groups. Journal of International Development. ISSN 0954-1748. doi: 10.1002/jid.3896.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2024). The impact of liability of foreignness on performance in hybrid organizations. Journal of International Management. ISSN 1075-4253. 30(2), p. 1–22. doi: 10.1016/j.intman.2024.101133.
Van der Auwera, Eline; D’Espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2023). Achieving Double Bottom-Line Performance in Hybrid Organisations: A Machine-Learning Approach. Journal of Business Ethics. ISSN 0167-4544. doi: 10.1007/s10551-023-05410-3. Show summary
Drawing on a global sample of microfinance institutions (MFIs), this paper offers insights into the trade-off versus synergy debate of adopting multiple institutional goals in hybrid organisations. Additionally, it unravels which organisation- and country-specific determinants associate with top joint performance using machine-learning techniques. We find that the synergy versus trade-off debate is not dichotomous. Rather, MFIs can be strong both socially and financially but not while charging low interest rates. In our sample, 17% of MFIs serve a low-income clientele in need with a diverse range of services while remaining financially sustainable and ask a close-to-average interest rate. These organisations are larger and more mature as well as financially prudent in that they minimize both financial and credit risk. Moreover, they are located in countries where their services can create larger benefits regarding their underlying goals.
Ohene Djan, Kwame; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy; Beisland, Leif Atle & Nakato, Linda (2023). Influence of international ownership on the performance of local social enterprises: Evidence from the global microfinance industry. Strategic Change. ISSN 1086-1718. 32(2-3), p. 53–71. doi: 10.1002/jsc.2536. Show summary
International ownership positively impacts the social performance of social enterprises at the expense of financial performance. International owners mostly use their resources and controlling rights to improve social performance at the expense of financial performance. Current ownership theories do not address how the multidimensional utility function might affect the governance and financing of a social enterprise. There is a need to develop theories for firms with conflicting objectives.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Zamore, Stephen & Mersland, Roy (2022). Does It Pay to be Green? A Study of the Global Microfinance Industry. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. ISSN 0899-7640. doi: 10.1177/08997640221110209. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This article examines whether it pays to be green in the microfinance industry. Environmental issues are important for all businesses around the world, and thus many microfinance institutions (MFIs) started embracing them as an additional objective alongside their traditional social and financial objectives. This article is among the first to test the relationships between environmental performance and both the financial and social performance of MFIs. Using a sample of 234 rated MFIs in 58 countries, we find that being green is associated with higher social and financial performance. Specifically, MFIs with environmental policies have higher financial performance (i.e., higher returns on assets, lower operating costs, and lower cost of capital) and higher social performance (i.e., a higher social rating score) than those without environmental policies. Overall, the results suggest that it pays to be green in the microfinance industry and this should motivate MFIs considering being green to do so.
Godfroid, Cécile; Otiti, Naome & Mersland, Roy (2022). Employee tenure and staff performance: The case of a social enterprise. Journal of Business Research. ISSN 0148-2963. 139, p. 457–467. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.011. Show summary
The literature on social enterprises has largely examined tradeoffs at the organizational level. In this study, we examine tradeoffs at the employee level. By analyzing the case of an Ecuadorian microfinance institution, we show that the tenure of social enterprise employees affects individual social and financial performance differently: the relationship between tenure and social performance is positive, whereas the relationship between tenure and financial performance is an inverted U-shape. Furthermore, our results suggest that social enterprise employees with the longest tenure are the least inclined to experience tradeoff tensions.
Gonzales Martinez, Rolando; D'Espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2022). What Drives Profits in Savings Groups? Bayesian Data Mining Evidence from the SAVIX Database. Review of Development Finance. ISSN 1879-9337. 11(2), p. 39–57. Show summary
Savings groups provide savings and loans to low-income individuals in rural and peri-urban areas. This study applies Bayesian data mining methods to a database of more than 200,000 savings groups with the aim of identifying which micro, meso, and macro factors are associated to profit generation in the groups. The results show that the facilitation mechanisms of development agencies and the macro-economic environment are more important than internal group dynamics for profit generation. The findings suggest that the focus of development agencies on bottom-of-the-pyramid groups creates wealth for communities in countries with a more dispersed and rural population. However, the generation of profits depends on the graduation of groups and the facilitation model implemented by a development agency.
Djan, Kwame Ohene & Mersland, Roy (2021). Are NGOs and Cooperatives Similar or Different? A Global Survey Using Microfinance Data. Journal of Management and Governance. ISSN 1385-3457. doi: 10.1007/s10997-021-09567-9.
Otiti, Naome; Godfroid, Cécile; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2021). Does it (Re)pay to be Female? Considering Gender in Microfinance Loan Officer-Client Pairs. Journal of Development Studies. ISSN 0022-0388. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2021.1983167.
Otiti, Naome; Andersson, Kjetil & Mersland, Roy (2021). Is Employee-Client Matching Good for firms Targeting the Bottom of the Pyramid? A Study of Microfinance Institutions. International Journal of Development Issues. ISSN 1446-8956. 20(1), p. 1–23. doi: 10.1108/IJDI-04-2020-0069.
Zamore, Stephen; Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2021). Excessive Focus on Risk? Non-performing Loans and Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions. International Journal of Finance and Economics. ISSN 1076-9307. doi: 10.1002/ijfe.2477. Full text in Research Archive
Alon, Ilan; Mersland, Roy; Musteen, Martina & Randøy, Trond (2020). The Research Frontier on Internationalization of Social Enterprises. Journal of World Business. ISSN 1090-9516. 55(1). doi: 10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101091.
Gonzales Martinez, Rolando; D'Espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2020). Bifurcations in business profitability: An agent-based simulation of homophily in self-financing groups. Journal of Business Research. ISSN 0148-2963. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.051. Full text in Research Archive
Beisland, Leif Atle; Ohene Djan, Kwame; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2020). Measuring Social Performance in Social Enterprises: A Global Study of Microfinance Institutions. Journal of Business Ethics. ISSN 0167-4544. doi: 10.1007/s10551-019-04417-z.
Malikov, Emir; Hartarska, Valentina & Mersland, Roy (2020). Economies of diversification in microfinance: Evidence from quantile estimation on panel data. Finance Research Letters. ISSN 1544-6123. 34. doi: 10.1016/j.frl.2019.07.019.
Dato, Muluneh Hideto; Hudon, Marek & Mersland, Roy (2019). BOARD GOVERNANCE: DOES OWNERSHIP MATTER? Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics. ISSN 1370-4788. p. 1–24. doi: 10.1111/apce.12262.
Zamore, Stephen; Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2019). Geographic diversification and credit risk in microfinance. Journal of Banking & Finance. ISSN 0378-4266. 109. doi: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2019.105665. Full text in Research Archive
Mersland, Roy; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2019). A hybrid approach to international market selection: The case of impact investing organizations. International Business Review. ISSN 0969-5931. doi: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2019.101624.
Mersland, Roy; Beisland, Leif Atle & Ndaki, Daudi Pascal (2019). The Origin of Chief Executive Officers and Performance in Hybrid Businesses: The Case of Microfinance. Journal of Small Business Management. ISSN 0047-2778. 57(4), p. 1578–1594. doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12381.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Mersland, Roy & Ndaki, Daudi Pascal (2019). Influence of Ownership Type and CEO Power on Residual Loss: Evidence From the Global Microfinance Industry. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. ISSN 0899-7640. 48(5), p. 998–1022. doi: 10.1177/0899764019848498.
Golesorkhi, Sougand; Mersland, Roy; Piekkari, Rebecca; Pishchulov, Grigory & Randøy, Trond (2019). The effect of language use on the financial performance of microfinance banks: Evidence from cross-border activities in 74 countries. Journal of World Business. ISSN 1090-9516. 54(3), p. 213–229. doi: 10.1016/j.jwb.2019.03.002.
Mersland, Roy; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Szafarz, Ariane (2019). Do social enterprises walk the talk? Assessing microfinance performances with mission statements. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. ISSN 2352-6734. 11, p. 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2019.e00117. Full text in Research Archive
Golesorkhi, Sougand; Randøy, Trond; Mersland, Roy & Shenkar, Oded (2019). The performance impact of informal and formal institutional differences in cross-border alliances. International Business Review. ISSN 0969-5931. 28(1), p. 104–118. doi: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2018.08.006.
Ndaki, Daudi Pascal; Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2018). Capital structure and CEO tenure in microfinance institutions. Strategic Change. ISSN 1086-1718. 27(4), p. 329–337. doi: 10.1002/jsc.2205.
Dato, Muluneh Hideto; Mersland, Roy & Mori, Neema Geoffrey (2018). Board committees and performance in microfinance institutions: Evidence from Ethiopia. International Journal of Emerging Markets. ISSN 1746-8809. 13(2), p. 350–370. doi: 10.1108/IJoEM-08-2016-0216.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Mersland, Roy & Strøm, R. Øystein (2018). Use of Big Four auditors and fund raising: evidence from developing and emerging markets. International Journal of Emerging Markets. ISSN 1746-8809. 13(2), p. 371–390. doi: 10.1108/IJoEM-11-2016-0321.
Lensink, Robert; Mersland, Roy; Vu, Nhung Thi Hong & Zamore, Stephen (2018). Do microfinance institutions benefit from integrating financial and nonfinancial services? Applied Economics. ISSN 0003-6846. 50(21), p. 2386–2401. doi: 10.1080/00036846.2017.1397852.
Beisland, Leif Atle; D'Espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2017). The Commercialization of the Microfinance Industry: Is There a `Personal Mission Drift? Among Credit Officers? Journal of Business Ethics. ISSN 0167-4544. p. 1–16. doi: 10.1007/s10551-017-3710-4.
Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2017). Exploring Microfinance Clients with Disabilities: A Case Study of an Ecuadorian Microbank. Journal of Development Studies. ISSN 0022-0388. 53(11), p. 1929–1943. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2016.1265946.

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Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2023). The Impact of Liability of Foreignness on Performance in Hybrid Organizations.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2023). The Impact of International Debt on Efficiency of Microfinance Organizations.
Zhang, Yan; Zamore, Stephen & Mersland, Roy (2023). Free Cash Flow and Performance in Microfinance: A Global Analysis.
Zhang, Yan; Zamore, Stephen & Mersland, Roy (2023). Debt, free cash flow and performance in microfinance: A global analysis.
Mersland, Roy (2022). God eierstyring i offentlig eide selskaper.
Mersland, Roy (2022). Utbyttemuligheter fra norske havner.
Mersland, Roy (2022). Er det klokt å være gavmild - Mercy Ships.
Mersland, Roy (2022). Er det klokt å være gavmild?
Mersland, Roy (2022). Utbyttemuligheter fra havna.
Mersland, Roy (2022). Eierstyring og sparebankstiftelser.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Mersland, Roy & Nyarko, Samuel Anokye (2022). Lending to Women and Lending Risk in Micro-Banks: The Moderating Effects of Patriarchy and Female Leadership.
Zamore, Stephen; Mersland, Roy & Jenssen, Jan Inge (2022). Christianity, leadership and performance of microfinance institutions.
Mersland, Roy (2021). Bankforsker: Bankene er kjipe. https://finanswatch.no.
Mersland, Roy (2021). Sparebanker og koronakrisen.
Mersland, Roy (2021). Agder Fylkeskommune - Eierstyring og eierstrategi.
Mersland, Roy (2021). Eierstrategi og Eierstyring.
Mwintome, Gordon; Mersland, Roy; Zamore, Stephen; Agana, Joseph & Nyarko, Samuel Anokye (2021). Agency conflicts and the demand for perceived audit quality in microfinance institutions.
Mwintome, Gordon; Zamore, Stephen; Agana, Joseph; Mersland, Roy & Anokye, Samuel (2021). Ownership, Institutional Factors and Auditor Choice in Developing Countries.
Mwintome, Gordon; Zamore, Stephen; Agana, Joseph; Mersland, Roy & Anokye, Samuel (2021). Governance, Institutional Quality and Auditor Choice in Emerging Markets.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2020). Should informal financial groups at the bottom of the pyramid be linked to banks? A comparative analysis of linked and unlinked groups.
Mwintome, Gordon; Zamore, Stephen; Agana, Joseph; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Mersland, Roy (2020). Auditor Choice and its Implications for Hybrid Organizations.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2019). Financial education at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Is there an effect on the performance of informal grassroots financial associations? .
Mersland, Roy (2019). Rør om Sparebanken SØR. Fædrelandsvennen. ISSN 0805-3790.
Mersland, Roy; Zamore, Stephen; Djan, Kwame Ohene & Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik (2019). Internationalization of the Microfinance Industry. In Hudon, Marek; Labie, Marc & Szafarz, Ariane (Ed.), A Research Agenda for Financial Inclusion and Microfinance. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781788114219. p. 139–149.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2019). THE IMPACT OF LIABILITY OF FOREIGNNESS ON PERFORMANCE IN HYBRID FIRMS.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2019). THE IMPACT OF LIABILITY OF FOREIGNNESS ON PERFORMANCE IN HYBRID FIRMS.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2019). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Otiti, Naome; Andersson, Kjetil & Mersland, Roy (2019). Is Employee-Client Matching Good for Firms Targeting the Bottom of the Pyramid? A Study of Microfinance Insitutions.
Otiti, Naome; Andersson, Kjetil & Mersland, Roy (2019). Is Employee-Client Matching Good for Firms Targeting the Bottom of the Pyramid?
Djan, Kwame Ohene; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy; Beisland, Leif Atle & Nakato, Linda (2019). The Impact of International Ownership on the Performance of Social Enterprises: A Global Survey of Microfinance Shareholder Firms.
Mersland, Roy; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2019). A Hybrid Approach to International Market Selection: The Case of Impact Investing Organizations.
Gonzales Martinez, Rolando; D'Espallier, Bert & Mersland, Roy (2019). The macro/meso/micro determinants of the performance of savings groups.
Khachatryan, Knar; Grigoryan, Alexandr; Hartarska, Valentina & Mersland, Roy (2019). Capital Structure and Spatial Impacts on MFI Outreach and Sustainability.
Andersson, Kjetil & Mersland, Roy (2019). Output and productivity in microfinance banking.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Djan, Kwame & Mersland, Roy (2019). What Drives the Social Scores in Microfinance Ratings?
D'Espallier, Bert; Goedecke, Jann & Mersland, Roy (2019). Multiple bank relations and default risk of informationally opaque borrowers.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2019). THE LIABILITY OF FOREIGNNESS ON PERFORMANCE IN GREENFIELD HYBRID ORGANIZATIONS.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and Savings Groups: A comparative Analysis.
Mersland, Roy; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2018). A Hybrid Approach to International Market Selection: The Case of European Impact Investing Organizations.
Mersland, Roy; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2018). A Hybrid Approach to International Market Selection: The Case of European Impact Investing Organizations.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2018). THE LIABILITY OF FOREIGNNESS ON PERFORMANCE IN GREENFIELD HYBRID ORGANIZATIONS.
Otiti, Naome; Andersson, Kjetil & Mersland, Roy (2018). Is Employee-Client Matching good for firms targeting the Bottom of the pyramid?
Beisland, Leif Atle; Mersland, Roy; Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Nakato, Linda & Ohene Djan, Kwame (2018). The Impact of International Ownership on the Performance of Microfinance Institutions: A Global Survey.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2018). Internationally initiated Microfinance Institutions and their performance: the moderating effect of size.
Otiti, Naome; Andersson, Kjetil & Mersland, Roy (2018). Is Socioeconomic Matching of Staff and Clients beneficial for Microfinance Social Enterprises?
Nakato, Linda; Mersland, Roy & D'Espallier, Bert (2018). Financial Linkages and the Performance of Savings Groups.
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Szafarz, Ariane (2018). Mission Drift in Social Enterprises: Do Microfinance Organizations Walk the Talk?
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2018). A Hybrid Approach to International Market Selection: The Case of European Impact Investing Organizations .
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2018). A Hybrid Approach to International Market Selection: The Case of European Impact Investing Organizations .
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika (2018). A Hybrid Approach to International Market Selection: The Case of European Impact Investing Organizations.
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Szafarz, Ariane (2018). Mission Drift in Social Enterprises: Do Microfinance Organizations Walk the Talk?
Zamore, Stephen; Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2018). Non-performing loans and efficiency of microfinance institutions.
Zamore, Stephen; Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2018). Geographic diversification and credit risk in microfinance.
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Szafarz, Ariane (2017). Mission Drift in Social Enterprises: Do Microfinance Organizations Walk the Talk?
Nyarko, Samuel Anokye; Mersland, Roy & Szafarz, Ariane (2017). Mission Drift in Social Enterprises: Do Microfinance Organizations Walk the Talk?
Zamore, Stephen; Beisland, Leif Atle & Mersland, Roy (2017). Non-performing loans and efficiency of microfinance institutions.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Mersland, Roy & Strøm, R. Øystein (2017). Audit Quality and Access to Debt Capital: A Global Survey of the Microfinance Industry.
Beisland, Leif Atle; Ndaki, Daudi Pascal & Mersland, Roy (2017). Capital Structure and CEO Tenure in Microfinance Organizations.
Mersland, Roy (2017). Alle fire som sa ja til kjøpesenter har forbindelser til Drivenes. [Newspaper]. Fædrelandsvennen.
Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2017). Norfund bør børsnoteres. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
Mersland, Roy (2017). Må stole på kirkens ledelse. [Newspaper]. Vårt Land.
Mersland, Roy (2017). Styret - en strategisk pådriver for innovasjon og endring.
Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik; Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond (2021). THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONALIZATION ON PERFORMANCE IN HYBRID ORGANIZATIONS. Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 978-82-8427-042-5. Full text in Research Archive
Mersland, Roy; D'Espallier, Bert; Gonzales Martinez, Rolando & Nakato, Linda (2019). What are Savings Groups? Universitetet i Agder.

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Published Apr. 16, 2024 10:47 AM