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The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted several aspects of the society and the economy. A problem that needs prompt attention in this situation is the increasing difficulties faced by small- and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in raising capital, which has aroused great concern from multiple stakeholders such as public administrations and regulators. As the major supply of capital, financial service providers (FSPs) play a critical role in financing SMEs. However, how FSPs deal with SME financing during shocks has not yet been fully researched. Accordingly, in this study, a theoretical framework based on expectancy theory is proposed to explore the expected strategic adjustments of FSPs in financing SMEs. Specifically, this study investigates 272 FSPs in China on their expectancy and attitude on financing to SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this study has divided FSPs into three categories: commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions, and credit-enhanced FSPs. Differences among these categories are compared and analyzed.

Purpose Despite their crucial role in sustaining national economies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are beset by the constraint of financing at better conditions. The purpose of this paper is to compare supply chain finance (SCF) solutions provided by commercial banks and financial service providers (FSPs) that help SMEs access financing. Design/methodology/approach This study looks at multiple case studies using in-depth interviews with focal firms (lenders) to answer the research questions. In-depth interviews were conducted with three Chinese FSPs and three commercial banks providing working capital to the same SMEs. The unit of analysis is SCF solutions that have made the companies competitive in the industry. Findings The case studies show that the acquisition of transaction information and business credit in SCF can reduce ex ante information asymmetry. SCF utilizing receivable transfers, closed-loop business, relational embeddedness, and a combination of outcome control and behavioral control can also reduce ex post information asymmetry. For these reasons, compared with commercial bank-dominated SCF, SCF adopted by FSPs in the supply chain can better reduce information asymmetry. Originality/value This study contributes to the emerging literature exploring the impact of SCF on SMEs accessing financing. In particular, this study provides supply chain management and operations insights on SCF and their consequent influence. Previous research has focused on the direct dyadic relationship between lenders and borrowers while neglecting supply chain effects. Uniquely, this study explores the different ways commercial banks and FSPs implement SCF solutions.

PurposeThis study examines the role of financial service providers (FSPs) in assessing the supply chain credit of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and how they help SMEs obtain supply chain finance (SCF) through an established digital platform using big data analytics (BDA).Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted data mining analysis on the archival data of China's FSPs in the mobile production industry from 2015 to 2018, using neural networks in the first stage and multiple regression in the second stage.FindingsThe findings suggest that digital platforms sponsored by FSPs have a discriminative effect based on implicit BDA on identifying the quality and potential risks of borrowers. The results also show that tailored information utilised by FSPs has a supportive effect based on explicit BDA in helping SMEs obtain financing.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the emergent research on BDA in supply chain management by extending the contextual research on information signalling and platform theory in SCF. Furthermore, it examines the distinctive financing decision models of FSPs and provides a solution that addresses the information deficiency and overload of both lenders and borrowers and plays a certain reference role in alleviating the financing problems of SMEs.

This study investigates financial inclusion among informal sector participants in five marginalized Kenyan counties, Samburu, Narok, Turkana, Garissa, and West Pokot, where inclusion rates fall below 70%. Drawing on data from the 2024 FinAccess Household Survey, the researchers selected a purposive sample of 320 respondents and analyzed it using a probit model to identify key determinants of financial inclusion. The results indicate that financial inclusion remains persistently low due to income instability, geographic isolation, and weak financial infrastructure. However, formal business registration, financial literacy, and the use of digital financial services enhance inclusion. Gender, education level, and business turnover correlate positively with inclusion, while marital status and age show negative associations. Notably, internet access, mobile agent networks, and digital loans appear to reduce financial inclusion, whereas mobile money usage contributes positively. Formal financial services yield mixed outcomes: while bank account ownership and SACCO participation negatively affect inclusion, access to credit, savings accounts, microfinance institutions, and financial advisory services positively influence it. These findings highlight the need for targeted, context-specific policies that address both structural and digital barriers to financial access. Strengthening financial inclusion in these regions will support poverty reduction and advance Kenya's progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

PurposeConsidering the financial service providers’ (FSPs) information asymmetry in evaluating the supplier and their distinct quit probabilities, we want to examine the supplier’s preference of the financing schemes if both the bank and the online platform exist and how the buyer sets the contract terms in the two financing schemes.Design/methodology/approachWe establish a Stackelberg game model to capture the interactions among three parties, i.e. a supplier, a capital-sufficient buyer and an FSP (either a bank or an online platform), within a first-time contract.FindingsIn the non-FSPs’ quit case, the buyer’s profit is higher under the bank loan scenario, while the supplier’s profit performs adversely. The supply chain’s profit is heavily dependent on the buyer’s profit difference between the two financing schemes. Moreover, we find that the supplier borrows the money to exactly cover the production cost. The equilibrium solutions of the FSPs’ quit case and of the capital-sufficient supplier’s case are also derived.Originality/valueFirst, we assign different risk profiles to different FSPs in our setting so that modeling a previously ignored but practically significant problem. Second, we innovatively take the FSP’s quit probability into account in our model. Third, we elucidate how these factors can influence the relative efficiency of the two types of financing schemes and the settings of the contract, which further complements and extends the current SCF research.

Purpose This study aims to explore the requirements that manufacturing companies must meet when implementing advanced services involving financial solutions. Design/methodology/approach This study develops a framework to assess the applicability of advanced services from a financial perspective, which is applied in a multi-case study setting. Findings This study identifies relevant internal and external conditions to the business implementing financialised advanced services – such as the finance function’s level of sophistication, the capacity to assess market potential or the ability to use financial structuring to attract new financial players – that help predict the likelihood of adopting advanced services involving financial solutions. The research suggests planning operations as a “financial product” from the viewpoint of the financer and investor. Research limitations/implications The financing culture and market disparities may condition the relative weight of the dimensions analysed in the framework. Practical implications Launching services involving financial solutions is a complex process, and hence, the proposed framework can help managers identify the major adjustments needed to embrace those advanced service modalities. Originality/value This study investigates the role of financial solutions in advanced services, from both the conceptual and business perspectives.

Background: Hospitals and physicians lie at the heart of our health care delivery system. In general, physicians provide medical care and hospitals the resources to deliver health care. In the past two decades many countries have adopted reforms in which provider financial risk bearing is increased. By making providers financially accountable for the delivered care integrated care delivery is stimulated. Purpose: To assess the evidence base supporting the relationship between provider financial risk bearing and physician–hospital integration and to identify the different types of methods used to measure physician–hospital integration to evaluate the functional value of these integrative models. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The evidence base is mixed and inconclusive. Our methodological analysis of previous research shows that previous studies have largely focused on the formal structures of physician–hospital arrangements as an indicator of physician–hospital integration. Conclusion: The link between provider financial risk bearing and physician–hospital integration can at this time be supported merely on the basis of theoretical insights of agency theory rather than empirical research. Physician–hospital integration measurement has concentrated on the prevalence of contracting vehicles that enables joint bargaining in a managed care environment but without realizing integration and cooperation between hospital and physicians. Therefore, we argue that these studies fail to shed light on the impact of risk shifting on the hospital–physician relationship accurately.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine two important family roles, financial and caregiver, and their impact on four relevant outcome variables: absenteeism, partial absences, employee performance, and life satisfaction; they also explore the intervening impact of core self-evaluations (CSE) among these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected using a questionnaire and actual employee performance data. Hypotheses were assessed in a structural model using LISREL. Findings – The results demonstrate the impact of family roles on important outcomes, such as absenteeism and life satisfaction, as well as limited support of the moderating impact of CSE. Further, life satisfaction was significantly impacted by family roles and influenced job performance. Research limitations/implications – Although the measures were self-reported, actual job performance data were collected from company records; such a design should limit the risk of common method variance (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Practical implications – Two family roles were shown to impact life satisfaction and these were positively moderated by CSE. Therefore, organization can develop family-friendly programs and policies to support employee’s multiple family roles in an effort to increase employee’s levels of life satisfaction and job performance. Incorporating CSE in the hiring process or providing employees with the skills and abilities to enhance their level of CSE should impact job performance. Originality/value – The study contributes by assessing family roles using gender-neutral measures that assess level of role engagement. It also incorporates a dispositional variable, CSE, and its relation to family roles and job performance.

Electronic wallet (E-wallet), which combines software, hardware, and human interaction, is a modern platform for electronic payment. Financial services managers can create more effective strategies for advancing existing positions by evaluating the success of e-wallet services. The objective of this research is to create an integrated model for assessing E-wallet services using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) in conjunction with a technique for extent analysis and the ARAS approach (Additive Ratio Assessment). In this study, E-wallet service providers are ranked and evaluated using the ARAS approach and the FAHP priority weights. In addition, a case study from Vietnam illustrates how the methodology is used. The data shows that perceived usefulness, perceived usability, perceived simplicity of use, and perceived threat have the least impact on how acceptable an E-wallet is. As a result, the suggested model improves the efficiency of E-wallet service operations and assists in overcoming the challenges associated with the evaluation of E-wallet services. The case finding demonstrates that the suggested model is a reliable and useful tool for making decisions when assessing E-wallet service providers functioning in a complex and changing environment.

Purpose The operational resilience of financial service providers is strained to an unprecedented extent following the Russian aggression in the Ukraine and the subsequent implementation of targeted economic sanctions. This paper aims to consider how operational resilience supports financial service providers in implementing sanctions. Design/methodology/approach The demand made of financial service providers by economic sanction is considered through the lens of operational resilience. Practical problems for the providers are aligned with economic sanctions policies. Findings A well-established system of operational resilience enables financial service providers to meet compliance requirements of economic sanctions with greater ease. Originality/value The literature does not credit operational resilience as a systemic capacity of corporations and rather presents it as a specialised feature. In addition, the role of the regulatory bodies is often dismissed despite directly inciting the practical problems faced.