Purpose The main purpose of the study is to examine the willingness of Moroccan small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt profit and loss sharing (PLS) method of finance and the factors that may influence their decision. Design/methodology/approach The research model is based on the decomposed theory of planned behaviour (DTPB). A total of 340 questionnaires were randomly distributed to SMEs’ owner-managers, out of which 177 were collected and only 153 were valid for analysis. Factor analysis and partial least squares regression were subsequently applied. Findings The results showed that cost, loss of control, constrained access to conventional debt, financial suitability, stage of development as well as religious beliefs have a significant impact on the SMEs’ attitude towards PLS modes. Likewise, normative belief was also found to have a significant influence on subjective norm, by particular reference to the family, financial external consultants and internal managers, as the main referent groups. In addition, finally, attitude and perceived behavioural control were found to have a significant impact on the intention to adopt PLS financing by Moroccan SMEs. Research limitations/implications The sample is not representative; hence, the findings cannot be generalized to all Moroccan SMEs. Furthermore, the variables and dimensions used are not exhaustive. With regard to implications, the study confirms the applicability of the DTPB to SME financing questions. Moreover, this study provides great indications to the practitioners, investors, policy makers and regulators on the perception of the Moroccan entrepreneurs, which should be taken into consideration to establish the necessary strategies to attract them. Originality/value This paper verifies the applicability of the DTPB in another area, that is, adoption of PLS instruments and contributes to explain the entrepreneurs’ perceptions towards theses modes of financing.

Socially responsible investing (SRI) seeks to combine financial returns with social and environmental performance. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, SRI is seen as an alternative way to maintain sustainable returns. This article attempts to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of socially responsible stocks. In other words, we test the resilience of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) oriented companies’ stock prices to the global crisis, and compare it with the performance of selected non-ESG stocks. To do so, we focus on companies listed on the Moroccan, the Egyptian and the Turkish stock exchanges. We use the event study methodology, which relies mainly on calculating the daily abnormal returns of each company and aggregating them over an event window to test their statistical significance. The results reveal that all the companies listed on these three stock exchanges suffered from the COVID-19 crisis, posting negative abnormal returns. However, the ESG oriented companies listed on the Turkish stock exchange were more resilient compared to non-ESG companies. Sustainable investing underperformed non-ESG investing in Morocco and Egypt, as ESG oriented companies posted more pronounced negative abnormal returns, compare to non-ESG companies. So, unlike Turkey, ESG oriented companies were less portfolio protective alternative during the crisis in Morocco and Egypt.

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Financing SMEs is one of the most critical problems faced by entrepreneurs. PLS (Profit and Loss Sharing) and markup instruments are two sets of Islamic modes of financing developed as a substitute for conventional debt, which is typically adopted by SMEs. However, with larger finance offerings, it becomes more complicated for SMEs to determine the best financial instrument. Indeed, the financing decision involves a trade-off between tangible and intangible factors. Therefore, using an experts' decision-making in evaluating financial products is a beneficial way to assist SMEs choosing the most appropriate one. The purpose of this paper is to apply the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in selecting an instrument to finance SMEs. Financial suitability, cost, risk, management intervention and profitability are the criteria upon which the financial decision is based in the current study. The results show that PLS equity finance complies with the SMEs profile more than markup products and traditional debt. The study has concluded with suggestions for future research.

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