Financial sustainability is a decisive condition for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because it determines whether firms can maintain liquidity, generate stable profitability, absorb shocks, and finance growth. Drawing on Dynamic Capability Theory and the Resource-Based View, this study examines how managerial capability contributes to SME financial sustainability through product innovation and how access to finance strengthens the innovation-sustainability relationship. The research used a quantitative survey design involving 350 SME owners and managers in West Java, Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured seven-point Likert questionnaire and analyzed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that managerial capability has a strong positive effect on product innovation (beta = 0.727; t = 19.755; p < 0.001), product innovation positively affects financial sustainability (beta = 0.411; t = 4.876; p < 0.001), and managerial capability directly improves financial sustainability (beta = 0.231; t = 5.422; p < 0.001). Product innovation significantly mediates the effect of managerial capability on financial sustainability (indirect effect = 0.299; t = 5.742; p < 0.001), while access to finance positively moderates the effect of product innovation on financial sustainability (beta = 0.218; t = 3.108; p = 0.002). The findings support a Dynamic Capability-Based Financial Sustainability Model for SMEs, suggesting that managerial capability becomes financially meaningful when translated into innovation and supported by adequate financial access. The study contributes to strategic management, entrepreneurship, and SME sustainability literature by clarifying the capability-innovation-finance mechanism through which SMEs improve long-term financial viability in an emerging economy context.
Keywords: managerial capability; product innovation; access to finance; financial sustainability; SMEs; dynamic capability; PLS-SEM
This study examines the role of FinTech adoption in linking access to finance and sustainable innovative leadership to financial sustainable performance among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on Resource-Based View and financial theory, the study proposes a moderated mediation model in which FinTech adoption acts as a mediator, while financial competence serves as a moderating variable. A quantitative explanatory research design is employed using survey data collected from SME owners and managers. The data are analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test direct, mediating, and moderating relationships. The findings are expected to show that access to finance and sustainable innovative leadership positively influence FinTech adoption, which in turn enhances financial sustainable performance. Furthermore, financial competence is anticipated to strengthen the relationship between access to finance and FinTech adoption, indicating that managerial financial capability plays a critical role in leveraging financial resources into digital transformation. This study contributes to the literature by focusing specifically on financial sustainability and highlighting the importance of internal capabilities in maximizing the benefits of FinTech adoption. Practically, the findings provide insights for SMEs, policymakers, and financial service providers to promote digital financial inclusion and improve long-term financial performance.
Mohammad Fathon Pramuka, D. Jati· Proceedings of the Internati...· 0 citations
This study examines how economic uncertainty, access to finance, and digital business capability influence sustainable SME growth in Pakistan through entrepreneurial resilience. A quantitative, positivist, deductive, and cross-sectional design was adopted using 450 responses from SME owners and managers in manufacturing, retail, and services across Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Peshawar. PLS-SEM was applied in SmartPLS. In the model, economic uncertainty negatively predicted entrepreneurial resilience (β = −0.284, p < 0.001) and sustainable SME growth (β = −0.137, p = 0.006), whereas access to finance and digital business capability positively affected both outcomes. Entrepreneurial resilience positively predicted sustainable growth (β = 0.428, p < 0.001) and partially mediated all three predictor relationships. The model explained 54.2% of resilience and 66.8% of sustainable growth. The study integrates resource-based and dynamic-capabilities perspectives to explain how financial and digital resources produce durable growth when entrepreneurs can absorb shocks and renew strategic choices
Najam ul Hassan, Rehmat Ullah, Sonia Rehmat· Contemporary Issues in Socia...· 0 citations
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) often need to sustain financial performance while operating under constraints in access to finance, financial knowledge, and day-to-day financial management. This study develops an integrated model of Sustainable SME Financial Performance by examining Banking Access, Financial Literacy, and Financial Management Capability, with Financial Resilience as a mediating construct. A quantitative explanatory survey was conducted using primary questionnaire data from 300 SME owners or managers involved in financial decision-making, selected through purposive sampling. The instrument contained 25 indicators measured on a five-point Likert scale, and the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The measurement model met the reported validity and reliability criteria: outer loadings ranged from 0.727 to 0.837, Cronbach's alpha from 0.837 to 0.860, composite reliability (rho_c) from 0.885 to 0.899, AVE from 0.607 to 0.641, and HTMT from 0.321 to 0.623. The structural model explained 27.4% of the variance in Financial Resilience and 38.7% of the variance in Sustainable SME Financial Performance. All seven direct paths were positive and statistically significant, and Financial Resilience showed the largest direct path to Sustainable SME Financial Performance (β = 0.338). The three specific indirect paths were also positive and significant, with coefficients of 0.059 for Banking Access, 0.094 for Financial Literacy, and 0.088 for Financial Management Capability. Because the corresponding direct and indirect paths were significant in the same direction, Financial Resilience functioned as a complementary partial mediator. Within the limits of a cross-sectional, self-reported design, the findings support an integrated view in which access to financial resources, financial understanding, and financial management capability are associated with stronger financial resilience and more sustainable SME financial performance.
I. Nuryana, W. Ruspitasari, Fauzan Adim· Fundamental and Applied Mana...· 0 citations
In Qatar’s rapidly evolving economy, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in driving economic diversification and sustainable development. However, they face persistent challenges, including limited resources, capability gaps, intense competition, restricted access to finance, and environmental volatility, contributing to high failure rates. Grounded in Dynamic Capabilities Theory, this study examines the relationships between empowering leadership, market orientation, and business performance, with innovation and adaptive resilience specified as mediating mechanisms. Survey data from 343 SME owners, leaders, and managers were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that market orientation is positively associated with business performance through both direct and indirect relationships, whereas empowering leadership is associated with business performance indirectly through its positive relationships with innovation and adaptive resilience. Furthermore, adaptive resilience emerged as the strongest predictor of business performance among the variables examined. This study proposes a dynamic framework for understanding SME competitiveness and provides valuable insights for academia, policymakers, and business leaders.
Mohamed Mohd Ali Al Haifi, A. Al-Swidi, Mohd. Nishat Faisal· Sustainability· 0 citations
This study examines the role of strategic flexibility (SF) in supporting sustainable growth among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in an emerging economy context. Specifically, it investigates the relationships between SF, business model innovation (BMI), competitive advantage (CA), and firm performance (FP) in Iranian SMEs. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the study empirically examines a capability–innovation–performance model and contributes by extending existing theoretical relationships to the context of SMEs in an emerging economy. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), data were collected through 391 validated questionnaires from SMEs across different sectors in Iran. The findings reveal that SF has a direct and significant effect on both BMI and CA, while BMI positively influences CA and FP. However, CA does not show a significant direct effect on FP, suggesting that competitive positioning alone may be insufficient to generate performance outcomes in uncertain and resource-constrained environments. The results indicate that adaptive and innovation-oriented capabilities play a central role in enhancing long-term organizational resilience and sustainable performance among SMEs operating under institutional and market volatility.
Mohammadsadegh Omidvar, Giovanna Lusini, Maria Palazzo· Sustainability· 0 citations
The financial sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is of growing importance to ensure their continued growth in times of economic challenges, technological innovation, and limited resources. The study was done on a sample size of 500 small and medium businesses (SMEs) from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam, to analyze the impact of digital finance, financial management and entrepreneurial decision making on financial resilience and sustainable growth. The research design was quantitative, cross-sectional and the principal constructs were measured using multi-item scales. The proposed relationships were assessed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression and bootstrapped mediation analysis. It was found that digital finance, financial management and entrepreneurial decision-making all had positive significant influences on financial resilience. Financial resilience was the most important factor predicting sustainable growth, with the three explanatory capabilities having significant direct impacts on growth as well. The results of mediation analysis also showed that financial resilience partly mediated the effects of digital finance, financial management, and entrepreneurial decision-making on sustainable growth. The results illustrate that technical financial use, financial practices and entrepreneurial learning ability integrate to enhance the ability of SMEs to absorb shock and to move towards longer-term development. The study underscores the need for a digital financial access program that is coupled to internal financial capability and strategic decision making to foster resilient and sustainable SME growth in the various economic and sectoral environments in Asia.
Pooja Ghosh, Saubhik Chakraborty· Journal of Asia Entrepreneur...· 0 citations
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