New Schemes for Investment in of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of China: Role of Access to Finance, Innovation, and Sustainability.

Firm innovation relies heavily on financing, which is why it is a hot topic in the fields of finance and innovation management. Organizations can make strategic investments in production factors to develop competitive advantages because they have access to financial resources. This study investigated how financial literacy, innovativeness, and environmental sustainability influence the sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This was set as the primary objective in order to better understand the nature of the impact of financial literacy and innovation on the sustainability of SME firms. To test the hypotheses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied using data collected from 300 small businesses firms in China. The results revealed that financial literacy and innovativeness significantly influence small firms' sustainability. Additionally, social inclusion significantly affects small firms' sustainability, and sequentially has a significant effect on their performance. Research findings suggested that small businesses incorporate sustainability models into their operations and enhance financial knowledge in order to maintain sustainability.

Introduction

In order to achieve a sustainable economy, financial institutions must be at the forefront of any transition. However, access to finance is frequently cited as one of the most significant constraints that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face (Derevianko, 2019; Yu et al., 2021). As a result, it this makes an important topic for researchers and policymakers alike since a transition to a sustainable economy would be impossible without the involvement of financial institutions (Ahmed et al., 2021; Chien et al., 2021). Much focus has been placed on the relationship between the growth of the financial sector and that of the economy in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008–2009 (Jakimowicz and Rzeczkowski, 2019). This is because the financial system is designed to ensure that long-term business needs are met through capital flows (Valaskova et al., 2021). The crisis demonstrated that the stability of the financial sector and the economy as a whole could be jeopardized by excessive risk-taking and a lack of financial system loss-absorbing capacity (Hou et al., 2019; Latif et al., 2021; Iqbal S. et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2021). This is in part of the financial institutions efforts to address the world’s most pressing problems by addressing a wide range of global issues such as health improvement, environmental protection, and poverty alleviation (Khokhar et al., 2020; Yumei et al., 2021; Huang et al., 2022). The United Nations proposed a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and established the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be met by the world’s countries by 2030 (Pervez et al., 2022). These objectives should be addressed in order to put in place a comprehensive and balanced approach to achieving economic development while also taking into consideration the environment and social equity (Sarfraz et al., 2020a,b; Khalil et al., 2021). The Chinese government adopted a strategy for sustainable, smart, and inclusive growth, agreeing on targets addressing issues such as energy sustainability and climate change, among other things.

The financial system will play an important role in this structural transformation as it has in previous ones, wherein financial markets must be used to their full potential to accelerate the world economy toward more sustainable development (Iqbal W. et al., 2021). As a result, adopting innovative approaches that take account of the complex interaction between environmental concerns, business interests, and society at large is made possible by having easy access to capital (Bagh et al., 2017). Real wealth can be shaped by the financial system, which is already In the process of transferring financial assets and transitioning to create value in ways that serve the long-term needs of a more inclusive and environmentally friendly economic system (Irfan et al., 2019; Faheem et al., 2020; Hao et al., 2021; Nuvvula et al., 2022). Prior literature has extensively debated the relationship between access to finance, innovation, and sustainability in SMEs, both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective, and interest in this subject has increased significantly as a result of the recent global financial crisis. A theoretical perspective indicates that access to bank credit is frequently identified as one of the most significant constraints to firm growth and productivity, as well as to innovation and export capacity (Pacheco et al., 2018). This is especially true for SMEs, which are disproportionately affected by the credit crunch. In recent years, several research papers have been published on small business financing (García-Quevedo et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2020; Anshika et al., 2021). These papers have focused on testing the determinants and consequences of lending restrictions on firms since the onset of the financial crisis.

Financial resources are critical to the success of a firm’s innovation efforts and are a central research topic in the fields of finance and innovation management. Making strategic investments in the production factors that are required to develop competitive advantages is made possible through the availability of financial resources (Ganlin et al., 2021). However, SMEs frequently face financial barriers to accessing credit from the market, which hinders their development (Pérez-Elizundia et al., 2020). Because innovation is frequently dependent on the availability of cash, a firm’s innovative activity can be hampered significantly by financial constraints that can be extremely difficult to overcome. These decisions always have financial ramifications, and as a result, entrepreneurs must have a strong understanding of financial concepts in order to be effective. Financial literacy is one of the most important skills for the development of SMEs, as it helps to reduce the barriers that arise in the credit market.

Despite an abundance of literature on the relationships between access to finance and innovation, the role played by the financial literacy of a SME manager has received little attention (Mabula and Ping, 2018; Khowaja et al., 2020). According to research, people with higher levels of financial literacy are more likely to follow a wider range of highly recommended financial practices (Yadav et al., 2018). In order to manage business finances, financial literacy is a critical skill to have (Zhu et al., 2019). In contrast, financing is one of the most challenging aspects that SMEs face when it comes to their innovation activities, and one of the reasons for this is a lack of financial expertise on the part of the owner or manager (Ullah, 2020). As a result, it is critical to examine the mechanisms available to managers of SMEs in order to promote access to finance while also enabling them to carry out their innovation activities successfully. Previous research has found that managers with strong financial literacy are more active participants in the financial markets, as they are able to reduce information restrictions and obtain more favorable access to credit as a result (Brown and Lee, 2019; Hossain et al., 2021). Because financial literacy can help people overcome financial constraints, it is possible that it is an important antecedent of technological innovation.

The impact of financial literacy on households and individuals has been extensively studied in the literature, but few papers have examined the impact of financial literacy and innovation on SMEs. It contributes to the extensive literature on the determinants of technological innovation, which can be found here. This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing how financial literacy affects small and medium-sized business (SMB) innovation, which is important for the development of human capital and upper echelon theories. A new study shows that the financial literacy of CEOs can have a positive direct effect on technological innovation in SMBs, as well as a mediating role in relieving financial constraints. Accordingly, SMEs with more financial literacy have greater access to financing, which enables them to invest more in innovation, according to our research. Finally, the study’s findings have important implications for management and public policy, reinforcing the case for investing in SMEs’ financial literacy in order to stimulate firm innovation.

The following is the structure of this study: first, we established a theoretical framework and then developed research hypotheses to test those frameworks. After that, we went over the methods, which included data collection, sample selection, and variable definition. In Section “Results Analysis,” we conducted an analysis of the findings. Finally in Section “Conclusion and Recommendations,” we presented the main conclusions, implications, and research directions for the future to the reader.

Theoretical Framework

The business model strategy explains the system of creating, distributing, and taking value (Teece, 2010). Business models’ concept in economics is not yet as clear as it should be (Foss and Saebi, 2018). The business model has been studied by researchers to know the different dimensions and ways to innovate the business for getting value (Wirtz et al., 2016) and sustainability of business (Babajide et al., 2021). Sustainability of business means a sustainable environment (Wang et al., 2021), a sustainable supply chain (Khokhar et al., 2020), and sustainable development (Lee, 2020). The business model strategy generally shows the organizational structure to achieve objectives, innovate the product, creating sustainability and value of goods. A business model strategy works as the structural body of the corporate businesses and SMEs and it helps to learn the business environment for new investors. It also minimizes the negative and maximizes the positive impacts of businesses on society and the natural environment by setting various ways (Alonso-Martinez et al., 2021).

Nowadays, sustainable business models (SBMs) consider the global market, taking into account the growing demand from industrialized nations for more sustainable commodities (He and Ortiz, 2021). Academic and corporate executives, on the other hand, have diverse viewpoints on the idea of SBMs, and there is still discussion on whether SBMs will ultimately replace traditional business models. There is also an agreement that SBMs are simply a continuation and modification of traditional business models (Geissdoerfer et al., 2018).

The SBM is a new topic in the increasing literature on business models (Bocken et al., 2014; Lüdeke-Freund and Dembek, 2017). It employs a triple-bottom-line strategy that takes into account stakeholders, the environment, and society (Alonso-Martinez et al., 2021). Business models have three perspectives of their meanings and capabilities according to Foss and Saebi (2018), which are the following: business models as (1) characteristics of genuine companies, (2) intellectual constructs, and (3) structured concept depictions of how a business works. Many businesses attempt to reach their sustainability goals, so business model innovation, in addition to continuous improvement and innovation, is needed to incorporate revenue frameworks for sustainable options. By creating and capturing new value, SBMs also give a strategic advantage. On the other hand, western business models are unsuitable for the developing world since business models must take into account financial capability in order to meet low-income consumers. A carefully constructed business model is needed to fulfill such consumers’ necessities, particularly even though developing markets mostly lack sufficient entities, infrastructural facilities, and intellectual property protection. Recognizing SBM in the context of developing countries and financial institutions for underserved customers presents an interesting research avenue because our understanding of how innovation and sustainable development are integrated into emerging economies is limited (Babajide et al., 2021).

Business modeling tools and strategies are limited, and sustainability is rarely mentioned as an operator. As a result, recent scholarly research must have concentrated on the improvement of tools to facilitate institutional business model innovation (Bocken et al., 2013; Alonso-Martinez et al., 2021). Although some literature has concentrated on the development of SBMs (Alonso-Martinez et al., 2021), there are very few illustrations of SBMs that have been effectively applied. An architecture difference has been found in the literature (Baldassarre et al., 2020) that must be closed in terms of achieving a certain sustainability influence.

The level of financial literacy is critical to the success of the SMEs sector. Financial literacy depends on a manager’s ability to comprehend and analyze financial data needed to make good investment decisions. According to Juliansyah Noor (2019), financial literacy is “the ability to examine challenging and novel investment products and make intelligent decisions in both instrument choices and extensiveness of use that is in their own longest single interest.” According to researchers, financial education is “the knowledge of financial concepts and the ability to perform quick arithmetic.” Financial education has become increasingly important because of the introduction of new economic goods, the sophistication of capital markets, and the rapidly changing economic environment. Even so, research shows that there is no universally accepted definition of financial literacy (Mabula and Ping, 2018), As a consequence, evaluating financial literacy has been viewed as a crucial challenging task. The research framework for this study is depicted in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1

Research framework. ESUS, environmental sustainability; SINC, social inclusion; INNV, innovation; FPER, financial performance; ATFI, access to finance; FLIT, financial literacy; SBPS, sustainable business model practices of SMEs.

Environmental Sustainability and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainability

Emerging countries have gone under agreements to work in the field of environmental sustainability in their businesses (Aguirre et al., 2021). In these countries like China, most businesses consisted of small and medium enterprises. It comprises almost 90% of all the businesses in China and helps to reduce unemployment and it especially works in niches (Jové-Llopis and Segarra-Blasco, 2018). According to Epstein et al. (2017), sustainability of business has gained importance in relation to environmental sustainability and social responsibilities. Business sustainability depends on three basic elements which are environmental, economic, and social elements (Gian et al., 2019; Wang and Zhang, 2020; Wang W. et al., 2020; Yin, 2020; Zhan, 2020). There are various opposing views on the relationship between economic sustainability and environmental sustainability in SMEs. Geng et al. (2017) has worked for the concept of sustainability in businesses and its relationship with environmental sustainability in the corporate sector of Asia. Eslami et al. (2019) examined sustainability in the manufacturing industry by using a systematic literature review. Another research conducted by Mura et al. (2018) has investigated the sustainability of businesses’ impact on stakeholders, implication, and implication of sustainability. The performance of an organization depends on environmental sustainability and sustainability alignment (Hong et al., 2019). Malek and Desai (2020) worked to reduce the literature gap of sustainability in manufacturing of corporate sector. All these researchers examined the corporate sector sustainability rather than SMEs but Le and Ikram (2021) have studied sustainability in SMEs. The purpose of this study is to fill the literature gap that exists between corporate business sustainability and SMEs sustainability.

H1: Environmental sustainability has a positive impact on the sustainable business performance of SMEs (SBPS).

Social Inclusion and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainability

The environment is commonly regarded as the core element of a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts (Williamson et al., 2006; Wang C. et al., 2020). CSR is defined as “decisions which are good for the society but also according to the law and in the favor of an organizational future” (Lu et al., 2021; Yumei et al., 2021). As a result, CSR activities purely support the financial interests of an organization defined as a company’ (Turker, 2009). Furthermore, the agency theory suggests that businesses acknowledge societal and environmental problems and afterward implement CSR initiatives that have the ability to boost the environmental behavior of an organization (Sánchez-Infante Hernández et al., 2020). Moreover, because companies spend extensively on CSR schemes and gain significant financial advantages (Mohamud, 2018), there is a huge amount of research on this certain hypothesis and empirical research takes into account the connection between CSR and organizational performance (Lu et al., 2021).

Literature review of various researches shows that when CSR is linked with the green approach, it can help the firms to preserve the environment, and gain economic goals of an organization (Abbas, 2020). By implementing this, companies control the external forces, the business environment becomes eco-friendly and it enhances the societal stakeholder’s collaboration while achieving the economic goal (Gluch et al., 2009; Gupta and Barua, 2018). SMEs are close to society so their activities have a direct positive impact on the society and environment (Sendlhofer, 2020). It can be said that CSR improves the company’s capability to sustain the green environment. It also makes the firm combat environmental issues effectively (Achi et al., 2022). Firms can establish green innovation by using the CSR approach (Xie et al., 2019). CSR approach enables companies to apply robust green management activities (Ubeda et al., 2021). So in SMEs, the operational cost can be minimized by implementing the concept of CSR, and green innovation can also be achieved (Kraus et al., 2020). Only environmentally responsible business can perform well in CSR activities and the concept of green help to achieve a high level of operational efficiency (Yu and Huo, 2019). We contend that getting involved in CSR activities allows businesses to create effective green process innovation depending on such inferences. The firm’s ability to deliver high outcomes is enhanced due to their sustained effectiveness in green process innovation; thereby, we contend that CSR drives SMEs performance when directed via green process innovation and suggest the research hypotheses:

H2: Green process innovation positively affects the sustainable business performance of SMEs.

Innovation and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainability

Innovation can also be defined as the transformation of an idea or idea into a new system, process, or product. A theory based on resources supports the relationship between innovation and business support. Choi et al. (2016) discovered that innovation boosts business performance in a variety of industries. Hermundsdottir and Aspelund (2021) consider innovation as one of the determinants of the company’s market survival. This is supported by the research of Yu (2022), which found that when a company innovates, its profit increases due to the tone of new products it produces. They both agree that innovation has a positive impact on business performance. However, research by Jia et al. (2020) suggests that innovation has little impact on business performance. Then more research is done into the factors that influence these innovations. According to Chege and Wang (2020), organizational internal factors such as organizational capability and culture reinforce innovation. Then there’s innovation with a focus on the market and innovation with a focus on learning.

H3: Innovation positively affects the sustainable business performance of SMEs.

Financial Performance and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainability

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the firms that have financial limitations (Khan et al., 2018). These enterprises mostly have scarce resources to invest in an eco-friendly environment. So SMEs should have the availability of finances to invest in the innovation of their activities (Bayarçelik et al., 2014). According to Laforet (2011) financial resources are fundamental factors for innovations in Small enterprises. The SMEs adaptation or availability of advanced technology is only possible when the enterprise has funds to maintain and sustain the innovative programming (Gao et al., 2016). The availability of finances for sustainable green innovation in SMEs is vital (Khurana et al., 2021). Primary funds availability is necessary for small and medium enterprises according to their targets (Sadeghi et al., 2012). In SMEs, the approach to funds is considered the top limitation (Quach, 2016). That is why the study of Sadeghi et al. (2012) has focused on the availability of primary financial resources to achieve the SME’s sustainability.

The sustainability and financial performance of SMEs depend on the availability of finances needed to launch, govern and examine the company initiatives (Xie et al., 2013). The financial performance of an organization can be measured by financial and non-financial parameters. Financial parameters are profitability, return on investment, net profit margin, and return on equity, among others. The non-financial parameters are the environmental performances of any business. Environmental performance enhances the return on investment and makes sure the sustainability of small enterprises. So the SMEs sustainability not only depends the financial parameters but also on non-financial (Centobelli et al., 2019).

As Malesios et al. (2021) selected 54 papers related to the concept of financial performance and sustainability of the SMEs, he drafted that the firm’s sustainability is the nexus of financial and environmental structure. From all the background literature one thing has been proved that the sustainability of SMEs primarily depends on financial performance and secondarily depend on environmental performance. In most research, the third most crucial indicator of sustainability which is social performance has attracted very less focus from the researchers. Specifically, the aspect of financial performance and sustainability of SMEs represents the profit ratio, cost of goods, market share, quality, development, and environmental performance of an organization.

H4: Financial performance has a positive impact on the sustainable business performance of SMEs.

Access to Finance and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainability

The financial constraints that SMEs face are the subject of a growing body of research. One of the major constraints to SMEs’ long-term sustainability has been identified as access to finance. According to Wahyono and Hutahayan (2021), emerging economies’ weak financial instruments and underdeveloped financial markets resulted in poor financial resource allocation among businesses. The availability of financial services, such as demand deposits, credit, payments, or insurance, is defined as access to finance (Ganlin et al., 2021). If a company has access to affordable, usable financial services that meet its financial needs, it has good access to finance. More often than not, family members, friends, and even coworkers contribute money in exchange for a share of the company in the majority of small businesses. To expand, innovate, and ensure the long-term viability of a business, more money is required. Access to capital markets, banks, and other lenders is more difficult for small businesses than it is for large ones. In order to grow, sustain themselves, and get off the ground, every organization needs some form of funding. For small businesses, obtaining external financial resources has become increasingly difficult and expensive. As a result, it has been determined that one of the major obstacles to SMEs realizing their full potential is a lack of capital.

The significance of access to finance for SMEs’ long-term sustainability has been well reported in the literature. According to Khan et al. (2020), access to finance is critical for SMEs to achieve long-term performance goals. Access to finance improves an organization’s long-term viability by facilitating market entry, increasing innovation capacity, increasing entrepreneurial activities, and improving skills of risk management. Burchi et al. (2021) demonstrated that providing small businesses with low-interest loans increased their access to finance and thus improved their performance. Furthermore, Halilovic et al. (2019) discovered that increasing the availability and quality of finance sources encouraged businesses to implement circular economy initiatives. As a result, we have come up with our second hypothesis:

H5: Access to finance has a positive effect on the sustainable business performance of SMEs.

Financial Literacy and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sustainability

Financial literacy is defined by the World Bank (2009) as “the combination of consumers’/investors’ understanding of financial products, concepts, and their ability and confidence to appreciate financial risks and opportunities in order to make informed decisions, know where to seek help, and take other effective actions to improve their financial well-being” (Anshika et al., 2021). The study of S&P global financial literature shows that financial literacy has a greater impact on the financial presence (Grohmann et al., 2018). According to Klapper et al. (2013), financial literacy helps to participate in financial markets actively and set the proper plan for borrowing. It establishes the pattern for financial saving (Morgan and Trinh, 2019), higher voluntary saving (Landerretche and Martínez, 2011; Wu et al., 2022b), and proper financial divergence (El-Dairi and House, 2019; Wu et al., 2022a). Based on the data collected by Morgan and Trinh (2019) from China’s provinces, he designed a theoretical model of executive financial literacy promoting corporate innovation that executive financial literacy can significantly improve corporate innovation, after controlling the variables of individual and enterprise.

Financial literacy improves loan application preparation and allows small business owners to present convincing arguments during client interviews, allowing them to meet the challenges of a changing business and financial markets environment (Ye and Kulathunga, 2019). Technically, financial literacy improves SMEs’ eligibility for and access to resources, as well as their finance costs, allowing them to build a sound capital structure, which is a key determinant of their long-term viability (Babajide et al., 2021).

H6: Financial literacy and financial capability are positively related to the sustainable business performance of SMEs.

Empirical Study

The study method was verified quantitatively using a rating scale that had earlier been proven to work to actualize each structure and boost its authenticity. As a result, in the advancement of measurement devices, this was adjusted from validated empirical investigations. We then designed a survey, the very first portion of which comprised specimen classification questions. The second section evaluated the structures chosen using a seven-point Rating scale (1-strongly disagree, 7-strongly agree). As per the literary works, in IS, common method bias (CMB) is a major worry about data gathering operational definition. We calculated the Harman feature to evaluate CMB, and all predictors allowed to pass that check (less than 0.5). To make sure a widely accepted set of questions, the survey was performed using established balances. This study investigated the contributory role of financial literacy and capabilities in achieving a SBM in China. To make our sample presentative of all SMEs conducting business in China, we conducted a questionnaire survey from those SMEs that have been in business for several years and are from diverse industries, including pharmaceutical, banking, communications, and energy. To meet this objective, we performed the survey from October to December (2021). A random sampling procedure was utilized to guarantee that all SMEs had an equal opportunity to participate in the survey (Irfan et al., 2021). Two phases of the survey were performed. The first phase contacted 300 SMEs and gave them a month to respond. Among which, 170 chose to participate in the study. After their consent, we supplied an online survey link to each SME (i.e., via LinkedIn, Facebook, and WhatsApp). The data were obtained during their weekly meetings. Respondents were supplied with an in-depth description of all components of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into three sections, which were as follows: section one contained questions on the respondents’ social-economic and business characteristics. Section two documented the respondents’ knowledge of financial literacy and capabilities practice, while the third section investigated SBM practices. Each questionnaire elicited data on the respondents’ demographic features, as seen in Table 1. After 1 month, respondents were asked to submit questionnaires during the second phase. As a result of the questionnaire survey, a total of 140 valid responses were obtained. To determine the response’s validity, the following criteria were employed: (1) no information should be missing or incomplete; (2) no multiple responses are allowed; (3) outliers should be eliminated from surveys. An outlier is an incorrect or erroneous observation that is out of step with the rest of the values in a dataset. It is critical to identify and delete outliers in statistical research since their existence in the data might skew the outcomes of the study. To avoid this issue, we used the following critical measures to identify any outliers in the dataset: (1) examined the graphed data’s overall form for significant aspects such as symmetry and deviations from assumptions; (2) examined the data for outlier observations that deviate from the mass of data using the box plots graphical tool. Four outliers were identified as a consequence of these processes, and they were then eliminated from the dataset prior to continuing the study. In summary, the surveys were performed from SMEs belonging to heterogeneous businesses. Along these lines, the findings generated based on such a sample give a fair picture of the sample with diversified industries. Moreover, the questionnaire survey was done all throughout China. In this context, the obtained findings are rich enough to create a suitable representation of SMEs with heterogeneous traits. Grohmann et al. (2018) and Burchi et al. (2021) contributed to the measurement of financial literacy and capabilities variables. On the other hand, the assessment of SBM variables was adopted from the extensive literature compilation by Alonso-Martinez et al. (2021).

TABLE 1

Socio-economic, demographic, and business characteristics of the participant.

Variable	Measuring group	Frequency	%
Gender	Male	72	51.40
	Female	68	48.60
	Total	140	100.00
Age	18–24 years	7	5.00
	25–34 year	38	27.14
	35–44 years	52	37.14
	45–50 years	43	30.71
Level of education	High School	10	7.14
	Bachelor	61	43.57
	Post graduate studies	35	25.00
	Technical diploma	15	10.71
	Master	19	13.57
Line of business	Agriculture	20	14.30
	Manufacturing	15	10.70
	Service	65	46.40
	Trading	33	23.60
	Artisan	6	4.30
	Others	1	0.70
Income level	Less than 10,000 RMB	41	29.30
	10,001–15000	30	21.40
	15001–20,000	24	17.10
	20,001–25000	10	7.10
	25001–30,000	19	13.60
	More than 30,000	16	11.40
Number of employees	Less than 5	91	65.00
	6–10	32	22.90
	Above 10	17	13.10
Time in business	1–3 years	68	48.60
	4–5 years	25	17.90
	6–10 years	29	20.70
	Above 10 years	18	12.90

Description of Sample

Table 1 presents the demography of the participants. The middle age group (52, 37.14%) has the highest percentage of respondents in our sample, followed by the upper-middle-age group (43, 30.71%), and the young age group (38, 27.1%). In our sample, male participants are 72 (51.4% of the whole sample) and outnumbered females who are 68 (48.6%). With a monthly income of 10,000–15,001 CNY, 30 respondents (21.4%) are from the middle-income class. We also divided respondents into groups based on their educational levels; 26.96% have a high school diploma, while 43.57% only have a Bachelor’s degree. The majority of the respondents were married (71.25%), 41.5% are technical persons, and 6.75% worked for the government.

Statistical Analysis

For statistical analyses, AMOS (edition 26) and SPSS (edition 26) software were used. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. SEM is a practical approach for determining the relationship between various variables, providing meaningful and accurate results (Liu et al., 2021), with three significant advantages over traditional methods. In brief, SEM (i) has an accurate assessment of measurement errors, (ii) uses identified variables to approximate underlying features, and (iii) is a reliable tool for modeling for trend evaluation and implementation based on data compliance. Furthermore, most multinomial strategies tacitly dismiss math errors. On the other hand, SEM forecasts both variables of the study while accounting for miscalculation (Sardeshmukh and Vandenberg, 2013). The method creates precise and erudite numbers due to its reliability and serviceability.

The SEM method enables the generation of various predictor structures for every component as well as yields audio ramifications. Furthermore, it calculates the mistakes parts of the work carefully. As a consequence, the connection among variables produces accurate results. Furthermore, this can evaluate complicated interactions as well as a wide range of assumptions by incorporating average setups and team market values, what other designs and experiments could do (Agudo-Peregrina et al., 2014). Taking the benefits of SEM in and out of evaluation, we used it with our assessment because it is the most effective method to test the association between the variables under evaluation.

Results Analysis

Descriptive Analysis and Correlation Analysis

Table 2 displays the statistical data for the information, such as the average value, variance, and coefficient of determination. Similarity analysis was used to test the interconnectedness of factors. The assessment found a considerable relationship between the variables. The regression coefficient of variance explained was used to probe predictive relevance. Even as the square root of average variance extracted (AVE) is greater than just its connection with the other structures, the findings reinforce predictive relevance (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). A comparison of the AVE value systems with the maximum shared variance (MSV) values for each factor is another method for determining discriminant validity (Ahmad et al., 2020). Validity is achieved when the AVE value for a specific variable exceeds the MSV value for that variable alone. The AVE values for all variables are bigger than the MSV values, implying that this assumption is correct. Then, using AVE and item loadings, a convergent validity study was performed to see how closely the items were linked (Calisir et al., 2014). The result showed that the AVE values for every parameter surpassed 0.5, denoting that the predictor variable maintained more than 50% of their variance (see Table 3).

TABLE 2

Descriptive statistics of the data.

Variables	Items	Observations	Coefficient of variation (CV)	Mean	Std. dev
ESUS	6	140	0.1529	3.872	0.5379
SINC	5	140	0.6105	2.9711	1.6478
INNV	5	140	0.0836	3.5343	0.2673
FPER	7	140	0.1342	4.1888	0.5115
ATFI	6	140	0.2332	2.8512	0.605
FLIT	5	140	0.6281	3.1845	1.8172
SBPS	6	140	0.6523	3.5178	3.0294

ESUS, environmental sustainability; SINC, social inclusion; INNV, innovation; FPER, financial performance; ATFI, access to finance; FLIT, financial literacy; SBPS, sustainable business performance of SMEs.

TABLE 3

Correlation and discriminant validity analysis.

Variables	AVE	CR	MSV	MaxR(H)	ESUS	SINC	INNV	FPER	ATFI	FLIT	SBPS
ESUS	0.649	0.855	0.577	0.886	(0.824)
SINC	0.803	0.803	0.577	0.917	0.773***	(0.898)
INNV	0.803	0.989	0.536	0.989	0.505***	0.453***	(0.898)
FPER	0.793	0.948	0.536	0.968	0.464***	0.505***	0.742***	(0.896)
ATFI	0.711	0.958	0.546	0.906	0.361***	0.268***	0.371***	0.319***	(0.855)
FLIT	0.876	0.979	0.546	0.999	0.587***	0.649***	0.680***	0.618***	0.330***	(0.892)
SBPS	0.814	0.845	0.525	0.762	0.288***	0.340***	0.258***	0.258***	0.165***	0.237***	(0.618)

Diagonal values in parentheses represent the root square of AVEs. *, **, ** indicate 10, 5, and 1% significance level.

Reliability Analysis

Cronbach-alpha was computed to assess the reliability coefficient. The findings demonstrate that the Cronbach- value for all factors exceeded the lowest required value of 0.7, as recommended by Treiblmaier and Sillaber (2021), verifying the data’s accuracy. A composite reliability (CR) assessment was applied to evaluate the continuity of all explanatory variables’ items. The analysis reveals that the CR values are above than appropriate threshold of 0.7 (Hair et al., 2017). Table 4 presents the conclusions.

TABLE 4

The results of reliability analysis and factor loadings.

Variables	Items	Standard loadings	Cronbach-α	CR
Environmental sustainability			0.789	0.783
	ESUS 1	0.700
	ESUS 2	0.762
	ESUS 3	0.874
	ESUS 4	0.823
	ESUS 5	0.836
Social inclusion			0.870	0.888
	SINC 1	0.683
	SINC 2	0.694
	SINC 3	0.694
	SINC 4	0.641
Innovation			0.874	0.878
	INNV 1	0.836
	INNV 2	0.911
	INNV 3	0.674
	INNV 4	0.660
Financial performance			0.858	0.879
	FPER 1	0.602
	FPER 2	0.799
	FPER 3	0.762
	FPER 4	0.826
	FPER 5	0.791
	FPER 6	0.793
	FPER 7	0.848
Access to finance			0.790	0.848
	ATFI 1	0.808
	ATFI 2	0.699
	ATFI 3	0.628
	ATFI 4	0.868
	ATFI 5	0.862
	ATFI 6	0.624
Financial literacy			0.918	0.940
	FLIT 1	0.849
	FLIT 2	0.734
	FLIT 3	0.659
	FLIT 4	0.825
	FLIT 5	0.819
	FLIT 6	0.655
Sustainable business Practices of SMEs			0.769	0.790
	SBPS 1	0.709
	SBPS 2	0.675
	SBPS 3	0.724
	SBPS 4	0.57855

Rotation method: Promax with Kaiser normalization and Extraction method: Maximum Likelihood.

Multicollinearity

To test for multicollinearity, regression was used to determine the value systems of the variance inflation factor (VIF) as well as Tolerance. As per the f, the value of VIF has to be less than 10 and the tolerance value has to be larger than 0.1. The research results indicate that the model did not have a multicollinearity problem, so the VIF value is as per limit, and the value of Tolerance for whole variables rages within the ideal range and in line with the observations of Strupeit and Palm (2016). The findings can be seen in Table 5.

TABLE 5

The results of the collinearity diagnostics test.

Variables	Statistics for collinearity
	Tolerance	VIF
ESUS	0.879	1.207
SINC	0.965	1.099
INNV	0.825	1.285
FPER	0.861	1.232
ATFI	0.912	1.141
FLIT	0.974	1.089

Dependent variable, IUES.

Factor Analysis

To acquire the attributing design methodology, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been conducted. EFA seeks to explore factorability, i.e., the relationships and clusters of different factors based on cross-comparisons (Mahmood et al., 2019). For even more meaningful results, the factors were derived to use the statistical parameters, then turned with the Corresponding Varimax coefficients. The Eigenvectors have been used to assist specify the number of factors. Several tests were carried out during this stage is crucial whether the EFA might be applied in this study. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (BTS) and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) test were used to evaluate the data fitness. The consequences supplied a significance of based for KMO (Kaiser, 1974), implying that principal component analysis can be continued. Table 6 presents the results of the KMO and BTS tests. BTS provided a substantial significance of 6,874.96, which also fulfills the criteria for EFA. Correspondingly, communalities outcomes (reported in Table 7) demonstrate that almost all factors have a greater value than the standard minimum value of 0.4 (Stevens and Stevens, 2001). Promax roster with the Kaiser method is proposed disclosed seven important factors to Eigenvalues larger than one a total combined variability of 64.93% for with us prototype (see Table 8). Every one of these is thus that the data is trustable enough even to move ahead with more assessment (Blunch, 2017).

TABLE 6

Bartlett’s test and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO).

KMO and Bartlett’s test
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy		0.908
Bartlett’s test of sphericity	Approx. Chi-Square	6,874.96
	df	435
	Sig.	0.000

Sig, significance; df, degree of freedom.

TABLE 7

Communalities findings.

Variables	Communalities
	Initial	Extraction
ESUS	1.00	0.544
SINC	1.00	0.679
INNV	1.00	0.918
FPER	1.00	0.575
ATFI	1.00	0.630
FLIT	1.00	0.768
SBPS	1.00	0.768

Maximum likelihood, extraction method.

TABLE 8

Cumulative variance and Eigenvalues.

Variables	Eigenvalues (initial)			Squared loadings extraction sums
	Total	Variance %	% Cumulative	Total	Variance %	% Cumulative
1	9.669	32.229	32.229	9.280	30.935	30.935
2	3.746	12.487	44.716	3.418	11.394	42.329
3	3.000	10.000	54.715	2.635	8.784	51.114
4	2.083	6.942	61.658	1.695	5.650	56.764
5	1.983	6.611	68.269	1.650	5.499	62.263
6	1.141	3.804	72.073	0.800	2.667	64.930
7	1.141	3.804	72.073	0.800	2.667	64.930

Rotation method, Promax with Kaiser normalization, cumulative variance: 64.93%.

Going to follow that, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has been used to recognize models. CFA affirms the framework of the variables obtained in EFA. The very first step in model selection is to determine this same model’s normality. Items with high capacities (larger than 0.7) just on primary factors should be kept (Truong et al., 2020). All levels were larger than 0.7, as per the outcomes. Since all goods have been packed on one’s respective constructs, the quantification model’s authenticity has also been affirmed (Figure 2). Based on the findings of the analysis, it is evident that the information is appropriate again for the measurement model.

FIGURE 2

Confirmatory factor analysis, which is used to represent a measurement model. Source: authors’ calculations.

Hypotheses Results and Structural Model

The writers evaluated the proposed prototype and theorized interconnections within a week of acquiring valid and reliable measures. The R2 value was determined as an important step in deciding how much variance in the dependent variable was explained by variation. The R2 value was 0.54, which is larger than the corresponding minimal level of 0.35 (Huang et al., 2020), suggesting an important viewpoint. To investigate the model’s connections, we used structural bend assessment and the SEM method. The assessment created a high f-value, implying that all interconnections were straightforward. Various fit indices were also used to confirm that the data is accurate and completely fit again for the structural equation model. The results indicate that almost all fit indices (i.e., CFI = 0.988, NFI = 0.923, IFI = 0.989, TLI = 0.974, GFI = 0.983, RMSEA = 0.021, X2/df = 1.147, and SRMR = 0.026) meet the standard criteria, indicating that model fit the data adequately (Lucianetti et al., 2018; Yu et al., 2021).

Figure 3 depicts a diagrammatic diagram of SEM together with path coefficients. The path coefficients for the variables ‘perceived usefulness,’ ‘perceived ease of use,’ ‘reputation,’ ‘trust in vendor,’ and ‘purchase frequency’ H1 (b = 0.04, p = 0.001), H2 (b = 0.13, p = 0.01), H3 (b = 0.67, p = 0.05), H4 (b = 0.02, p = 0.001), and H5 (b = 0.16, p = 0.05) demonstrate that the factors PUSF, PEUS, REPU, TVEN, and PFRE have a positive and significant effect on customers’ intention to adopt E-commerce. As a result, assumptions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were acknowledged. Table 9 depicts the authenticity of theorized routes and theories.

FIGURE 3

Structural equation modeling path diagram. Insignificant and significant paths are indicated by dashed and continuous lines, respectively. ***p < 0, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. Source: authors’ calculation.

TABLE 9

Hypotheses’ results.

Hypotheses	Structural paths	β -value	f-value	Result
H1	ESUS → SBPS	0.042**	202.965**	Accepted
H2	SINC → SBPS	0.137***	152.565***	Accepted
H3	INNV → SBPS	0.704**	113.610**	Accepted
H4	FPER → SBPS	0.021**	212.940**	Accepted
H5	ATFI → SBPS	0.027***	196.560***	Accepted
H6	FLIT → SBPS	0.168***	217.560***	Accepted

***p < 0, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Endogeneity Testing

This test is mainly used to verify the consistency of study findings (Irfan et al., 2021). Endogeneity partiality in the information can jeopardize the findings. Furthermore, endogeneity could misrepresent the forecast of posterior probability, presenting a major challenging problem to the authenticity of outcomes. While investigating endogeneity, we used the Heckman test to address these issues. The results produced the very same degree of confidence as the original version, implying that endogeneity partiality is just not prevalent in our conclusions (see Table 10).

TABLE 10

Endogeneity test.

Hypotheses	Structural paths	β -value	t-statistics	Description
H1	ESUS → SBPS	0.132**	2.953	Not different
H2	SINC → SBPS	0.354**	8.702	Not different
H3	INNV → SBPS	0.471***	2.171	Not different
H4	FPER → SBPS	0.383***	3.265	Not different
H5	ATFI → SBPS	0.186***	6.761	Not different
H6	FLIT → SBPS	0.504***	4.094	Not different

***p < 0, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Discussion

The outcome of the study shows that financial literacy, innovation, and environmental sustainability lead to firm sustainability. Our findings show that financial literacy and innovation contribute significantly to the SBM practices of SMEs. Economic and environmental sustainability and social inclusion are significant determinants of firm sustainability in China. The findings show that the more SME managers/owners develop financial knowledge skills and use a financial product, the more they become sustainable. Our findings are in line with the study of Babajide et al. (2021), their findings conclude financial knowledge significantly influences small firm sustainability. A SBM creates customer and social value by integrating social, environmental, and economic activities into its business operations (Kumari and Harikrishnan, 2021). The model seeks other forms of value for a broader range of stakeholders beyond economic value for business owners alone. This can lead to social integration, environmental protection, and ultimately, firm sustainability. The two hypotheses set for this study were both accepted.

While investigating the impact of innovation on SBM practices of SMEs, the findings show that innovations have a positive effect on SBMs. Our findings are consistent with the relationship between innovation and business model, as well as the scope of business model innovation research for sustainable development (Reinhardt et al., 2019; Kluza et al., 2021; Wong and Ngai, 2021). It is important to notice that not only technology, products, and services can lead to a SBM, but also innovations of the business model itself. This innovation requires a paradigm shift in the way business models communicate with stakeholders and the environment (Bocken and Geradts, 2020). The results of our research on the relationship between innovation and SBMs are particularly evident in ecological innovation. Based on the research results in an international context (Europe, America, Africa, and Asia), Kluza et al. (2021) confirmed this, innovation significantly influences the SBM, indicating that ecological innovation will benefit the environment. According to Barbieri and Santos (2020), innovation improves environmental performance.

One of the key factors that led to the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals was the unwavering focus on implementing environmental sustainability. The study confirms that environmental sustainability influences the sustainable business practices of SMEs. This means that companies that have a positive attitude toward environmental sustainability are more likely to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. The SBMs are considered as a solution to minimize negative outcomes for the environment through high chemical pollution, water usage, and landfill or the incineration of large amounts of unsold stock. Our findings are consistent with Singh et al. (2021), wherein they came up with similar conclusions in their research. On the other hand, Cai and Li (2018) believe that creating value for the customer and environment and capturing value for the firm is the solution to eliminate the barriers in the transition of a traditional supply chain toward a slow approach and closing the loop of resources and a SBM in the small firms. As a result of environmental issues such as climate change, researchers and practitioners are paying greater attention to environmental sustainability issues.

Moreover, the research results show that access to finance and financial performance are significant determinants of the SBM practices of SMEs. The outcome reveals that firm sustainability is high when business owners/managers plan and budget ahead of the business period, have access to financing, have a good knowledge of the financial market, have investment knowledge, use investment products, and are financial literacy proficient. This is because planning and budgeting help entrepreneurs identify the period of surplus and deficit, and they can plan to mitigate any risk that could arise. Knowledge of the financial market gives them confidence in navigating the market and taking advantage of available financial products. They know how and where to invest in periods of surplus and periods of a deficit; they know where to source funds to meet the shortfalls. This result is consistent with previous findings (Anshika et al., 2021; Kass-Hanna et al., 2021; Wahyono and Hutahayan, 2021). According to Burchi et al. (2021), good knowledge of investment products gives the advantage of market timing and investment timing and appropriate investment vehicle to create wealth. The theories on consumer financial decisions recognized that cognitive ability limitations lead to behavioral biases that households face in financial management decisions; hence, access to finance and financial performance are critical in financial decision-making.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This study contributes to the research on financial literacy, innovation, environmental sustainability, and firm SBM practices. The outcome of the study shows that financial literacy, access to finance, innovation, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility enhance a firm’s sustainability practices. The study’s findings demonstrate that small business owners and managers have to be financially literate and possess the necessary financial management skills to strengthen their firm’s sustainability. It is not enough for small business owners to start and run business firms; they must run in a sustainable manner that ensures future generations are not compromised. The study reveals the need for small business owners to preserve the planet, give back to society, and make a profit to sustain the business. The study results indicate that being financially literate with good financial market knowledge, access to finance, and financial product can help enhance the small business firm’s sustainability in China.

Policy Recommendation

Based on the results, the research provides policy recommendations for SMEs owners.

Our most important business practice recommendation is to encourage companies to better understand their current business model, embrace the concepts of SBMs, and potentially identify entirely new and more appropriate future business models. The implications for business strategy are that companies must be aware of the obstacles to SBM adoption. For sustainability, their business strategy should reflect the scale and complexity of business model innovation, as well as the demand for new business models developed through experimentation.

The impact assessment of new business models is complex and context-dependent, so business model innovation should not be taken lightly. Nonetheless, industrialists seeking to meet the pressing need for sustainable development and the transition to more sustainable industrial systems in response to growing economic, environmental, and social challenges will be interested in these endeavors.

This research also aims to improve policymakers’ understanding of how to achieve system-level sustainability outcomes in terms of energy consumption, resource depletion, waste to landfills, emissions, and wealth creation. To do so, policymakers must better understand what characteristics of business models lead to true triple-bottom-line sustainability, as well as what operational, behavioral, and policy interventions may be required to support such innovations.

Policymakers and other interested parties should pay close attention to the proposed challenges and suggestions for when stakeholders are most likely to contribute to successful SBM innovation. Through appropriate policy interventions such as regulation, legislation, taxation, education, and incentives, the policy can have an impact at the individual firm level as well as at the larger industrial system level, transforming stakeholders’ behavior accordingly.

Limitation and Future Research

As with any research, there are some drawbacks. SMEs in China were the target audience for the survey. As a result, the main variables examined in this study may have different characteristics depending on the geographical context and the type of company. To improve the validity of these findings, future studies should examine the model in a variety of settings. The data in this study may change over time because it is based on cross-sectional data. Endogeneity problems can be minimized by using longitudinal data in future studies. In addition, future studies should look at the financial literacy of the company as a whole, to get a more complete picture of how financial literacy performs throughout the organization. Financial literacy can help to reduce information asymmetry, which in turn lessens the impact of problems like adverse selection and the moral hazard that affect creditor decisions. Research into the relationship between financial literacy and financial constraints could benefit from this study.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the author, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.

Author Contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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