PURPOSE: The traditional sources of financing (bank loans) cannot be treated as an essential source of financing for SMEs in developing countries. For this reason, this group of entities uses many alternative sources, from bootstrapping to microfinance and crowdfunding. During the last decade, a significant contribution in this area has been done by financial technology. The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to present the role of financial technologies in financing SMEs, 2) to examine the role of entities based on financial technology in financing SMEs in developing countries, and 3) to consider other non-bank aspects of financing SMEs, leading to the improvement of the financial situation of these entities. The in-depth analysis of these entrepreneurial finance practices will be developed in the following papers presented in this Issue. METHODOLOGY: This study employs a theoretical approach based on a narrative literature review. The primary attention is focused on applying financial technology as a stimulant for the finance of SMEs in developing countries. FINDINGS: As a consequence of the financing gap for SMEs within the traditional financial system, these entities use non-bank financing based on financial technology. The research confirms that financial technology plays a crucial role in fostering the financial situation of SMEs in developing countries and providing greater financial inclusion for these entities. Both, financial technology and enterprises based on this technology contribute significantly to the improvement of efficiency of financing SMEs in emerging markets. They also provide a broader range of services, than were offered by the traditional financial sector. Regarding the other aspects of SME finance, it is essential to implement such ways of financing like microfinance services and crowdfunding. Such funding mechanisms, together with the budget process and the compliance under the conditions of e-tax systems, are important determinants of current entrepreneurial finance. IMPLICATIONS: The paper describes the financing of SMEs in developing countries. The in-depth picture of the SME’s financial situation, focusing on the technological development in this area, provides essential insight into this still poorly explored area. It also offers important premises for shaping the post-pandemic policy to support their further growth. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Despite growing theoretical and empirical literature about entrepreneurial finance, this study aims to contribute to the role of financial technology in this area. The impact of financial technologies and the role of fintech-based entities on SME activity in developing countries are still poorly researched. Moreover, the research provides a brief overview of other SME funding sources and their determinants in this group of countries.

International production networks in manufacturing, particularly in machinery industries, have rapidly developed over the last two decades, resulting in dramatic increases in intra-regional and intra-industry trade, providing a key source of regional growth, integration and development in East Asia. This book provides a better understanding on how to effectively further increase SME participation in East Asian production networks, and in doing so identifies key challenges and issues that they need to address. This book aims to not only fill the theory-practice gap, but also to lay solid foundations for designing national arrangements and a regional institutional frameworks to further encourage and support SME engagement and participation in regional and global production networks. The book contains several country case studies and by drawing upon individual country experiences, at various stages of economic development, this book demonstrates the varying difficulty faced by SMEs in ASEAN member countries attempting to participate in regional production networks and highlighting differences in needs and policy priorities. This book offers both a more focused theme on the assessment of globalization and a rather unique approach by focusing upon the particular importance of SMEs, and by utilizing micro-level data at the firm or plant level. Its policy insights and the richness and uniqueness of the empirical findings will make the book an invaluable contribution to understanding East Asian production networks.

This book focuses on the challenges and opportunities facing companies in emerging and developing countries. China and India have become the primary business destination for many global companies that are looking for market opportunities and low costs of production, whilst Morocco, Dubai, Brazil, Malaysia and Russia are also being targeted. This new edited volume helps develop a better understanding of the realities of doing business in emerging and developing countries, in particular exploring the dynamics between corporations – both indigenous and multinational – and local pressures in developing, transitional and emerging economies. The book points out the benefits and pitfalls of doing business in emerging and developing countries, as well as the adjustments that are necessary for success. It also discusses entrepreneurship in emerging and developing countries, exploring its new realities from women’s entrepreneurship in Muslim countries to social entrepreneurship in developing countries. The volume also points out the new challenges for SMEs of emerging and developing countries in a global competitive environment. Finally, it analyses corporate governance from a local partner perspective and an institutional perspective. Building Businesses in Emerging and Developing Countries will be of interest to business managers, students and researchers involved in international entrepreneurship and corporate governance.

World Development Indicators is the World Bank's premier annual compilation of data about development. This indispensable statistical reference allows you to consult over 900 indicators for some 150 economies and 14 country groups in more than 80 tables. It provides a current overview of the most recent data available as well as important regional data and income group analysis in six thematic sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links. The CD-ROM editions contain 45 years of time series data, covering 1960 to 2005, and offer mapping, charting, and data export formats. Click below for more information on the CD-ROM editions.

Running a business today is becoming more complex than two or three decades ago. The world is becoming increasingly open and globalized, and the production processes of goods and provision of services are inscribed in global supply and value-added chains. Large corporations are doing well in such a market, but small and medium-sized enterprises often find it increasingly difficult to function. In addition, apart from the processes exerting pressure on enterprises operating in the real economy, as a result of financial globalization, the scope of financial entities (banks, investment funds, stock exchanges) was also increasing (Knox-Hayes & Wójcik, 2020). However, this is a phase of the past. Currently, not only crossing borders but, above all, far-reaching digitalization and the development of modern technologies set the main direction for the development of enterprises (Florek-Paszkowska et al., 2021). In order to cope with these changes, both individual companies and entire sectors, public administration, and society, as well as national economies, have to make so-called digital transformation (Gajewski et al., 2016). More profound changes are triggered by sustainability, ecology, and human-oriented goals, leading towards industry 5.0. All these processes exert pressure both on big companies as well as on small- and medium-size enterprises. The ongoing changes related to the digitalization process mean not only incorporating modern technologies into existing entities and structures but are much more critical. They are spiritus movens, leading to the transformation of entire sectors of the real economy and the financial markets (Marszk & Lechman, 2021). We can observe the emergence of ecologies and ecosystems (Gancarczyk & Rodil-Marzábal, 2022; Piątkowski & Urbaniec, 2023), mechanisms leading to the development of sharing economies (Szpringer, 2020), as well as the increasing rooting and linking of traditional financial services with services leading to meeting the needs of society. Financial services are embedded in products and become inseparable from these products, and the traditional division into sectors is gradually disappearing. This is possible thanks to the creation of platforms which connect many market participants (Sironi, 2021). In the context of the abovementioned far-reaching processes, many business entities operate according to traditional principles. The key for them are sales, profit and liquidity, which define the crucial financial performance. Among important aspects are also such issues as maintaining the security of business operations and obtaining the desired market indicators in stock companies. For enterprises from developing countries, the basic problem is access to finance, the market, and advanced technologies (Jalil et al., 2022; Łasak, 2022). In developed countries, enterprises also encounter many challenges related to the traditional corporate finance dimension despite a better situation. The current Issue published in the Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation (Volume 19, Issue 4, 2023) is aimed at considering the nexus of topics related to the various aspects of the functioning of financial and non-financial enterprises. The main purpose of the articles is to focus on selected problems related to the financial aspects of business activity. The considered problems were presented in the context of contemporary processes taking place in the environment of enterprises. These include, on the one hand, far-reaching digitalization and the use of advanced technologies and, on the other hand, processes belonging to the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) area. A description of the situation faced by many enterprises, including financial institutions, undergoing digital transformation is presented in the article written by Łasak and Wyciślak (2023). Digitalization processes not only lead to far-reaching digitization of enterprises and related dilemmas regarding corporate governance but also the transformation of entire sectors of the industry. The banking sector is the best example of this. The question arises what is the pattern of behavior of digital platform partners in the situation of transformation of this sector and platformization of banking services? The paper aims to present the dynamic pattern of behavior among partners stemming from the tensions between governance costs and co-created value within platforms in banking services. The study provides a taxonomy of digital platforms in banking, highlights the values of the most typical platforms, namely blockchain-based and cloud-based platforms, and discusses the potential implications of the platformization of banking services. One of the key contemporary perspectives of business activity is looking through the prism of the need for a responsible and sustainable approach. This is the perspective embodied in the approach referred to by the term ESG. Sustainable business models, considering the ESG principles in the company’s operation, are based on financial and non-financial reasons. The paper written by Zioło, Szaruga, and Spoz (2023) aims to examine the relationship between financial and non-financial factors in enterprises and indicate for which groups of enterprises the relationship of ESG financial performance is most visible in the context of building sustainable business models and the ability to adapt to sustainability. It was found that large enterprises with a solid financial position simultaneously get better non-financial results. In each of the analyzed aspects, large enterprises with an excellent financial standing did better. The conclusion presented by Zioło, Szaruga, and Spoz (2023) does not change the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises play a key role in the economic growth of emerging economies. The paper by Amoa-Gyarteng and Dhliwayo (2023) examines the impact of capital structure and profitability on the short-term solvency of nascent SMSs in Ghana, building on the liability of the newness framework. The study demonstrates that financing decisions and financial performance are crucial mitigating factors for the potential risks of default and failure faced by nascent SMEs. Notably, the study finds that an appropriate balance between debt and equity financing raises the working capital ratio and thus reduces the liability of newness, which is a major challenge faced by nascent SMEs. The analysis also identifies that return on equity (ROE) is a crucial driver of short-term solvency for nascent SMEs. Declining profitability is manifested by a decrease in operating profits and cash flows. The resulting cash flow shortages can cause the company to fall behind on payments and obligations, leading to short-term insolvency, with all the adverse consequences. All these conclusions might be valuable for enterprises in other developing countries. Operational and financial market performance is a crucial determinant not only for SMEs but also for larger companies. Such type of businesses is presented in the paper by Yaşar and Gerede (2023). The article shows how complex are the processes accompanying the functioning of such enterprises as airlines. This paper refers to the competitiveness of such airline companies and the conditions determining their favorable market position and long-term competitive advantage. The market position of such companies is influenced by such factors like firm maturity, its size, financial resources and some technical dimensions (number of flights, fleet homogeneity). This means that despite the processes taking place today, the business performance of such entities as airlines still depends on the classic factors described in the literature of corporate finance. The contemporary opportunities resulting from the dynamic development of information technology contribute to the development of new forms of financing business activity. One such form is crowdfunding. The paper by Nose and Hosomi (2023) is dedicated to the equity crowdfunding (ECF) issue in the Japanese context. The research provides an answer to the question of what makes equity crowdfunding successful. The “Signaling Hypothesis” and “Lack of Financial Literacy Hypothesis” were tested. Despite the research is focusing more on investors’ side, it also sends an important signal to the business considering crowdfunding as a source of funding. The conclusions can be helpful for start-ups planning ECF campaigns in the future. The company’s position on the market may also depend on factors other than financial performance, and recently, it has depended to an increasing extent on environmental, social, and governance performance (defining corporate sustainability performance). In this context very important research thread is the relationship between corporate sustainability performance and stability of dividend payouts. This topic is presented in the paper by Matuszewska-Pierzynka, Mrzygłód, and Pieloch-Babiarz (2023). The research verifies many detailed interdependencies between the ESG performance of an enterprise and the propensity to pay stable dividends to the enterprise. The possibility of financing business activity is determined by the situation in the banking sector. The conditions of financing provided by banks are of particular importance in the case of developing countries, where other forms of raising capital by enterprises are often limited. Shaikh, Tunio, and Dagar (2023) paper discusses the relationship between banks funding liquidity, capital funds and bankers’ lending activity in emerging markets. This research firstly provides insight into the activity of financial companies in emerging markets, and secondly, informs the public, and especially the business, about the lending practices of the banking sector, and in consequence, on the financing opportunities in these economies. These unique studies presented in this Issue enrich our knowledge about contemporary business activity. The papers contribute to understanding the nature of business performance and link corporate finance issues with other, mainly technological and social aspects. Particular attention, however, is paid to the traditional conditions of operation and financing of enterprises. At the same time, however, efforts were made to combine new business conditions, including digitization. The issues raised also concern processes ensuring sustainable development. We want to express the hope that the papers presented here will be of interest to readers, scholars, and researchers worldwide. They provide theoretical concepts, and quantitative analyses, and indicate pathways for further research. Many of the presented areas require further, in-depth analysis.

This book is a comprehensive, yet concise text that brings together all aspects of SME banking theories and empirical studies in one text. The book contains the latest policy debates on money creation and credit rationing and the relative role of demand-side and supply-side factors affecting SME financing. Readers will understand the borrower-specific, lender-specific and business environment drivers of bank finance for SMEs as well as the determinants of loan contract terms, particularly the risk premium and collateral. Readers will also understand how loan officers acquire proprietary information on SMEs and apply various lending techniques, such as financial statement lending, relationship lending and credit scoring to the loan underwriting process. In addition, the book also features recent trends on the rise of alternative finance intermediaries such as online peer-to-peer lenders and the competitive implications for traditional banks providing loans to SMEs. Findings from this work will thus be of particular interest to commercial bankers, bank-dependent small business borrowers as well as policy makers, and researchers in central banks, development banks, development agencies and international financial institutions.

Running a small business provides opportunity for greater success, increased growth, and potentially the chance to move to the global business arena, yet also much more risk. Small businesses not only have less employment, but also less annual revenue than a regular-sized business. With the growth of large corporations and chain businesses, it has become harder to maintain the survival of a small business. The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought more pressure onto the already unsteady survival of small businesses, due to forced closures, decreased agility, fewer technological innovations, and smaller customer bases. The Research Anthology on Small Business Strategies for Success and Survival offers current strategies for small businesses that can be utilized in order to maintain equal footing during challenging times. With the proper strategies available to small business owners, small businesses could not only survive, but also excel despite the environment that surrounds them. Covering topics including decision management, new supportive technologies, sustainable development, and micro-financing, this text is ideal for small business owners, entrepreneurs, startup companies, family-owned and operated businesses, restaurateurs, local retailers, managers, executives, academicians, researchers, and students.

Modern business dynamics are an intricate and strategic landscape that underpins organizational triumphs despite today’s turbulent market. Those fervently exploring the symbiosis of theory and reality within the strategic realm of contemporary strategic management require a solid understanding of the concept, and they can now enhance this journey with Trends, Challenges, and Practices in Contemporary Strategic Management. This seminal work unfurls a tapestry of erudition, guiding its readers through the corridors of contemporary strategic management. Targeting a diverse readership encompassing academicians, researchers, students, and industry leaders, the book’s scope is as expansive as its subject matter. For scholars and researchers, its pages unfold a treasure trove of contemporary strategic management theories, their evolution, and cutting-edge practices. Practitioners entrusted with steering strategic compasses will glean a pragmatic arsenal of insights and best practices, their leadership acumen fortified to navigate the most tempestuous waters of organizational strategy. Covering from disruptive innovation and strategic leadership in a digital epoch to sustainability, global strategy, and the pivotal role of artificial intelligence in shaping strategies, this book mirrors the ever-evolving cadence of contemporary strategic management.

Countries in the MENAP and CCA regions have the lowest levels of financial inclusion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the world. The paper provides empirical evidence on the drivers of SME access to finance for a large sample of countries, and identifies key policy priorities for these two regions: economic and institutional stability, competition, public sector size and government effectiveness, credit information infrastructure (e.g., credit registries), the business environment (e.g., legal frameworks for contract enforcement), and financial supervisory and regulatory capacity. The analysis also shows that improving credit information, economic competition, the business environment along with economic development and better governance would help close the SME financial inclusion gap between MENAP and CCA regions and the best performers. The paper concludes on the need to adopt holistic policy strategies that take into account the full range of macro and institutional requirements and reforms, and prioritize these reforms in accordance with each country’s specific characteristics.

There is limited access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to bank credit. This book proposes new and sustainable models to help ease the access of SMEs to finance and boost economic growth and job creation in Asia. This book looks at the difficulties of SMEs in accessing finance and suggests ways on how to mitigate these challenges. It suggests how we can develop credit information infrastructures for SMEs to remedy the asymmetric information problem and to utilize credit rating techniques for the development of a sustainable credit guarantee scheme. The book provides illustrations of various Asian economies that implemented credit guarantee schemes and credit risk databases and is a useful reference for lessons and policy recommendations.