Modeling key enablers influencing FinTechs offering SME credit services: A multi-stakeholder perspective.

The study models inter-relationship among key enablers that influence the growth of FinTechs that offer credit services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It focuses on emerging market of India, which is the world's third-largest FinTech centre. It employs Grey DEMATEL method to measure the cause-effect relationship based on the assessment given by FinTech practitioners, experts, policymakers, and investors. The results show that credit demand by SME borrowers, availability of alternate data sources, and Covid-19 are the critical enablers that exercise strong impact on FinTech system. Collaboration between FinTechs and traditional financial institutions, end-to-end financial solutions, and scalability of business operations are recognized as critical dependents that are hugely affected by others. The study recommends policymakers to foster collaborative environment, strengthen digital data landscape, and improve financial literacy to develop FinTech sector. It recommends practitioners to focus on data security and to offer end-to-end financial solutions to its SME borrowers.

Exploring the Changing Dimensions of Entrepreneurship among Women of Saudi Arabia during COVID-19

PURPOSE: This study explores the devastating effects of COVID-19 on Saudi female entrepreneurs (SFEs) by focusing on financial and family challenges. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The study utilises a qualitative method using interviews to obtain a clear and in-depth understanding of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), operating in business premises away from the female entrepreneurs' homes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The transcripts obtained from questionnaires and interviews with 35 SFEs were analysed using NVivo software. FINDINGS: COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the personal and professional lives of Saudi women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs have implemented strategies to adapt to changing business dimensions and keep their businesses and personal lives afloat. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The research suggests several ways in which the strategies Saudi Arab women entrepreneurs have adopted can help business enterprises to deal with short-term business problems and the long-term outcomes of COVID-19. © 2022 by all the authors of the article above. and World Association for Sustainable Development (WASD).

The Moderating Role of Liquidity in the Relationship between the Expenditures and Financial Performance of SMEs: Evidence from Jordan

The current paper aims to investigate the moderating role of liquidity in the relationship between accounting and advertising expenditures and the financial performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan. Furthermore, the present paper highlights the importance of managing expenditures and improving financial performance. Since the performance of Jordanian SMEs is extremely critical, furthermore, the present paper explores the possibility of empowering these businesses in order to achieve profitability. This paper is based on descriptive statistics, regression, and correlation analysis in order to analyze the data, collecting secondary data from 200 SMEs. The results demonstrate that accounting expenditures are key factors for financial performance, especially in SMEs. Moreover, SMEs are more sensitive to liquidity challenges, which significantly impact their short-term expenditure and consequently influence their financial performance. It is evident that accounting expenditures moderated by liquidity have a positive effect on the financial performance of SMEs. However, our findings indicate a negative effect regarding the relationship between advertising expenditures and financial performance. According to the results of this study, regulators may offer new regulations and legislation in the future to the Ministry of Finance and the Amman Stock Exchange.

Ethical leadership in time of crises: Implications for small business leaders

The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to place intense economic and social strains on global economies and families. While rising poverty and unemployment have been worsened by the crisis, small businesses are under increasing pressure to manage burgeoning uncertainties and the corresponding economic and social challenges. No doubt, the deleterious effects of the crisis has intensified pressure on small business leaders to sustain their role in delivering responsible services. Scholars argue that in crises, like Covid-19, the values of small business leaders are placed under scrutiny. Despite laws and regulations guiding ethical leadership especially in business, there exist challenges that are complex and not easy to address, and the pandemic situation further adds to them. The implication is that small business leaders are increasingly associated with accountability problems. Navigating this period will require strategies for addressing the weaknesses in an existing leadership capacity in the delivery of business services, and successfully implementing ethical standards. This becomes crucial since the pandemic as an added challenge can spur on unethical leadership. The highlights of some of the key elements impacting ethical leadership during crises like Covid-19. This chapter also explores how business leaders can influence responsible behavioural change among employees for them to be creative and innovative. Additionally, an attempt will be made towards assisting small business leaders in finding responsible solutions. © 2023 Kemi Ogunyemi and Adaora I. Onaga. All rights reserved.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND RESILIENCE OF SMALL TO MEDIUM TOURISM ENTERPRISES IN A DISTRESSED DESTINATION

Distressed destinations have distinctive exogenous factors influencing the survival of small to medium enterprises during and postcrisis. Using COVID-19-induced crisis cases in a distressed nation, this study interrogates the underpinnings for the survival and failure of small and medium tourism enterprises during a crisis. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and a critical instance case study research design where interviews were used to obtain data from small and medium enterprise owners. Responses from participants were analyzed through thematic analysis. From the study, it emerged that the major survival nodes include strong political connections, social capital, lack of policy enforcement, and chaotic currency system and facility conversion to suit the prevailing environment. A framework that gives small and medium enterprises insights and tools to manage their businesses during a severe crisis operating environment is proposed. The article narrows the gap in crisis management and resilience literature of small to medium enterprises in developing countries. © 2023 Cognizant, LLC.

The role of the information and communication technologies in the institutional and economic sustainability of the post-pandemic small and medium enterprises

This paper focuses on the factors that determine the institutional and economic sustainability of the postpandemic small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition, it assesses the role of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) and digitalization in the creation and maintaining of sustainable SMEs during and after the COVID-19 crisis of 2020–2021. Our research is based on the unique sample of surveys collected in 200 Russian SMEs from seven different regions of the country between June and October 2022 and on the empirical model that employed this data. Our results allowed us to distinguish the nature of the impact of an external environment on the socio-economic stability of SMEs and to identify the institutional and economic factors that can hinder or contribute to their sustainable development in the post-pandemic period. These results can be used to build strategies for sustainable development at the regional level both in Russia and other countries. Our findings can be useful to managers and owners of small and mediumsized businesses in the process of integrating the goals of organizational and regional development, as well as for ensuring the networking of government, social organizations, and business at the regional level in the post-COVID era. © Е. Корнеева, В. Стриелковски, 2023

Business intelligence and analytic (BIA) stage-of-practice in micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)

Purpose: While business intelligence and analytic (BIA) systems have been developed by large corporations around the world, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have recently paid attention and deployed BIA adoption, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic disruption. This study sheds light on how MSMEs adopt the BIA systems and then proposes a framework for the BIA adoption process in the context of MSMEs. Design/methodology/approach: The multiple case research design and interpretivism approach are employed for expanding the theoretical boundary of the strategic management fields in BIA adoption by MSMEs. In total, 35 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers and owners involved in BIA adoption from 17 participating MSMEs. Findings: The research study identifies three BIA adoption stages with specific technical and managerial features in the path of BIA adoption in each stage, corresponding to the level of BIA maturity of MSMEs. The authors also highlight other factors that directly influence the successful adoption and transformation from each stage to another. Research limitations/implications: The research study identifies three BIA adoption stages with specific technical and managerial features in the path of BIA adoption at each stage that corresponds to the level of BIA maturity of MSMEs. Besides, this study also extends the current literature on BIA adoption in an organisation during the Covid-19 pandemic by identifying several contextual barriers that directly influence the BIA adoption. Practical implications: Research findings can help business leaders and owners of MSMEs to determine the BIA maturity of their organisation. Furthermore, the authors' framework can also be used by consultancies and standard setters to develop detailed BIA adoption strategies and tactics that support MSMEs' digitalisation towards BIA adoption. Originality/value: The research study's results highlight that contextual factors, leadership competencies, motivations and barriers for BIA adoption can also be used to help MSMEs' leaders and owners to trigger, advance or eliminate challenges for the adoption of BIA initiatives in MSMEs. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Responses to COVID-19, small and medium enterprises' corporate social responsibility and psychological capital of employees: From the mediating perspective of affective commitment.

The influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employees' positive psychological capital in stressful situations remains unexplored in the literature for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to examine how CSR could assist employees in developing psychological capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to understand the aforesaid relationship, an attempt is made to study the mediation effect of affective commitment. Structural equation modelling (AMOS 21.0) was used for data analysis and hypothesis testing on a sample of 545 employees from 356 Malaysian SMEs. The results of this study showed that SMEs' CSR policies helped to improve the positive psychological capital of their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, affective commitment complementary mediates the relationship between CSR and psychological capital. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs should come up with a consistent way to implement CSR policies and procedures to improve employees' psychological capital and increase their affective commitment toward the enterprise. There are two main contributions to the literature from this study, in addition to enriching previous empirical research on CSR. As a first contribution to the CSR literature, it examines how CSR impacts employees' psychological capital during a pandemic. COVID-19 is one of the recent pandemics that offers an opportunity to examine its effects on employee psychological state. Secondly, the results of the study add to the growing body of empirical research that supports affective commitment's significant relationship with CSR and enhances employees' psychological capital during a pandemic in a developing market.

Venture resilience, criminal approaches and the welfare state: entrepreneurial decisions and opinions one year after the COVID-19 outbreak

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the resilience of Italian companies one year after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak by examining the companies' choices and opinions regarding the welfare state, criminal approaches and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors proposed a conceptual framework based on a combination of private vs public protection and business resilience theory and adopted a concurrent embedded mixed-method approach, using an online survey of 219 entrepreneurs.FindingsThe authors find the respondents showing high resilience to the crisis and strongly unaffected by organised crime's (OC's) predatory role;the State seems to have quickly and effectively met the financial needs of sampled Italian companies, at least in the short term.Practical implicationsWhilst welfare can be highly effective for companies to combat crime, regulators should recognise that public protection may decrease with time, leaving companies open to long-term challenges.Originality/valueThe authors believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the entrepreneurship literature because this is the first study to explore how entrepreneurs deal with financing problems in a context characterised by a strong impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and OC pressure.

Covid Impact Analysis on Small and Medium Sized French Enterprises

Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SME) are the backbone of the economy of developed countries. Given their importance to the economy, it is necessary to analyze and study the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on their activities. Hence, this research evaluates the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the French SMEs ecosystem. We analyze the impact on the default percentage of several different economic sectors. We focus our analysis on 4 different sectors: Wholesale & retail trade, repair of motor vehicles;Construction;Manufacturing;Accommodation and food service activities. We found that the default percentage evolution is similar across the studied sectors. Furthermore, we conclude that the limited impact of Covid-19 on French SMEs can be explained by the solidarity fund implemented by the French government to reduce the economic impact of the pandemic. © 2023 IEEE.

Ecosystems, strategy, and resilience: Four empirical cases in the COVID-19 crisis

The pandemic pushed companies to rethink competitive strategies and the innovation ecosystem structure. Then, we studied four small organizations from different industries through interviews, observations, and documentation. We offer five key findings: First, the crisis affected the cases in distinct ways, benefiting those in the healthcare sector. Second, innovation ecosystems provided opportunities for digitalization to keep businesses running. Third, resilience and initiative from the ecosystem leaders were crucial in responding to the crisis. Fourth, shifts in competition and cooperation favored survival. Lastly, the competitive strategy and ecosystem goals set before the pandemic have not changed, but how to achieve them. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Influence Factors of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Micro-Enterprises in the Cross-Border E-Commerce Platforms

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are frequently exposed to a variety of difficulties during global epidemic crises like coronavirus (COVID-19), which may even threaten their lives. The purpose of this study explores the influencing factors of Taiwan's companies between small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises on the choice of the cross-border e-commerce platform. The findings are defined as taking into account small and medium-sized businesses and microenterprises when choosing cross-border e-commerce through a literature review and an examination of secondary data among the 10 participating businesses through interviews in various regions and business sectors in Taiwan. In this case we used study-based research, which included five small, medium-sized, and micro-enterprises, as well as five cross-border e-commerce projects and the company's management senior officers. According to the study's emphasis on the economic, social, technological, and legal aspects of various firms, these factors lead to a variety of decisions regarding the best cross-border e-commerce platform. The case study approach was utilized in this investigation to confirm the consideration of micro-and small-sized businesses that took part in cross-border e-commerce project counseling. This study summarizes five types of enterprises with different capabilities: product enhancement, marketing enhancement, cross-border potential, knowledge-based enhancement, and cross-border start-up. According to the results, it was found that different enterprise capabilities will affect the choice of cross-border e-commerce platforms. These five capabilities also have different types of consideration factors;among them, SMEs pay attention to marketing, pricing, market analysis, culture, customer service, payment, logistics, certification, taxation, etc. In addition to theoretical implications, this research also gives small and medium enterprises and micro-enterprises practice when choosing cross-border e-commerce platform, as well as suggestions for future research. © 2023 by the authors.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE MARKETING SYSTEM OF BANKING FOR SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES THROUGH THE ROLE OF AGENTS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CASE STUDY

This paper describes the factors that influence the application of the agency system/personal selling by banks in seeking prospective small and medium business (SME) customers, and their impact on achieving company goals. The influencing factors are organizational policies, company products, market place, and the use of digital technology. The study is a case of a private bank consisting of a main office and a number of branches in various regions with a random sample of 108 agents/personal selling agents, not bank employees, from various walks of life (government employees, private employees, entrepreneurs, youth leaders, and others), and do not receive a monthly salary. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires, and analyzed through SEM techniques. The results showed that the four factors had a significant influence on the application of agents/personal selling, and had an impact on the achievement of company goals. In order to achieve optimal results, it is recommended that banks pay attention to the contribution of indicators from each variable, especially the indicators that provide the strongest contribution, including: work patterns and reward systems, promotion and competitive interest, company reputation and service quality, and service improvement, ease of processes and procedures, as well as a marketplace. © 2022, Procedia Environmental Science, Engineering and Management. All Rights Reserved.

Promad problems in paradise

Purpose>This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approach>This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Findings>Small and medium tourism enterprises are not prepared for the continued market turmoil which will remain the norm following the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transformation is a key driver to success and resilience, but few have adopted enough to survive.Originality/value>The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Does Financial Leverage Fit Firm Performance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Vietnam

The paper aims to determine the effect of financial leverage on the performance of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the agency theory and pecking order theory, combined with the quantitative method, the financial leverage and COVID-19 are statistically significant factors affecting the performance of small and medium enterprises in Vietnam. Significantly, the author emphasizes that financial leverage has a positive effect on the performance during the pandemic. Furthermore, there is the existence of homoscedasticity and no-autocorrelation in the model when using feasible general least squares. It confirms that the model estimation is unbiased and reliable. © 2022 IGI Global. All rights reserved.

The role of government in promoting innovation-led entrepreneurial ecosystems

Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presents a number of implications for both the public and private sectors. An important feature of the 4IR is enhancing the sustainability of businesses through innovation. Aim: This article examines the government's entrepreneurial role in promoting innovation-led entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). Setting: Through a comparative approach, the research presented in this article investigates the role of government in promoting innovation-led EEs, in a top-performing EE, namely Silicon Valley and South Africa. Methods: A qualitative research design is adopted, and unobtrusive research methods are used for the conceptual, contextual and comparative analysis of authoritative literature and secondary data. A best practice case of Silicon Valley is used to analyse factors influencing innovation-led EE development in South Africa. Results: Challenges currently influencing the growth and sustainability of entrepreneurship in South Africa are identified. These challenges include 4IR readiness, policy implementation and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The findings suggest that governments should play an important role in shaping innovation-led EE policy implementation. Conclusion: The article concludes by proposing a conceptual framework to aid managerial and policy guidance for the development of innovation-led EEs. Contribution: The findings of this article will be useful to guide managerial and policy guidance on the role of government in shaping innovation-led EE policy implementation.

Measuring Digital Business Models Maturity: Theory, Framework, and Empirical Validation

The unprecedented development of digital technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic environment have accelerated digital transformation in all industries, forcing companies of all types and sizes to change the way they operate. In such an environment, companies need to quickly adapt their business models and demonstrate ability to implement strategic changes that would result in creating and delivering new value with digital business models (DBMs). Innovation and continuous improvement of a DBM lead to its higher maturity and resilience to unexpected changes. Given that the development and implementation of a DBM is often very unpredictable and the relevant literature is still scarce, many questions on how to develop an effective and sufficiently mature DBM remain unanswered. To contribute to finding the relevant answers, this article explores which aspects are important for the maturity of a DBM and how DBM maturity can be measured, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In order to address such a research question, each of the three components of a DBM (content, experience, and platform) was empirically tested through a structured survey questionnaire on a sample of 162 SME companies from 42 countries in 5 continents. The article contributes to research literature by proposing and empirically validating a framework for measuring DBM maturity, particularly for SMEs. The measurement framework has been found to be consistent and reliable. Furthermore, the article found that user-generated content and user experience tracking are very important aspects to address for reaching and sustaining DBM maturity, but a high proportion of surveyed companies did not pay due attention to their implementation. This finding contributes to identifying tangible improvement areas for the comparable type of companies.

Teaching E-Commerce in Support of Costa Rican SMEs due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article presents the experiences obtained with the integration of the course 'EIF-439O Uso Estratégico del Comercio Electrónico', taught at the School of Informatics of the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, with the project UNAPROPYMES, aimed at supporting Costa Rican small and medium enterprises (SME) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking advantage of this juncture, it was possible to make changes to this course to use real cases for developing e-commerce prototypes, as well as to apply design thinking and user experience (UX). Furthermore, this situation allowed to open the course to students from other disciplines. The changes introduced to the course, the results obtained, and the lessons learned are discussed © 2022 IEEE.

Promad problems in paradise: Adapting SMTE practices for the new wave of promad digital travelers in the Canary Islands

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: Small and medium tourism enterprises are not prepared for the continued market turmoil which will remain the norm following the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transformation is a key driver to success and resilience, but few have adopted enough to survive. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Promad problems in paradise

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: Small and medium tourism enterprises are not prepared for the continued market turmoil which will remain the norm following the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital transformation is a key driver to success and resilience, but few have adopted enough to survive. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.