The role of Fintech in circular economy practices to improve sustainability performance: a two-staged SEM-ANN approach

Abstract

Coupling the practice-based view (PBV) of firms with dynamic capabilities theory (DCT), we assess the effect of Fintech adoption (FA) on organizational sustainability performance (SP) through circular economy practices (CEP). Additionally, this research examines the moderating roles of a firm’s access to finance (AF) and absorptive capacity (AC) in the interplays between the constructs. Three hundred responses were collected from Bangladeshi manufacturing SMEs using a structured questionnaire. We examined our conceptual model using a two-staged structural equation modeling-artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) approach. The empirical findings unveiled that Fintech adoption significantly drives organizational CEP and SP and that CEP acts as a mediator between the FA and SP linkage. Furthermore, the findings also confirmed the moderating effect of AF on the FA and CEP association and the impact of AC on the CEP and SP association. Hence, this scholarship adds pivotal insights to the extant literature by establishing the roles of multiple mediators and moderators in the interplay of FA and firms’ SP. Given the paucity of primary-data-based research, this empirical study addresses the gaps in the Fintech, CE, and sustainability literature and yields crucial implications for theory and practice.

FinTech revolution in mineral management: Exploring the nexus between technology adoption and sustainable Resource utilization in an industry 4.0 context

“…The natural resources industry is another crucial area that needs further research on the environmental effect of FinTech adoption. The preceding research should have included an in-depth investigation of the ecological footprint associated with applying these technologies [ 45 , 46 ], although acknowledging the potential for FinTech to improve sustainability practices. Using technologies that promote environmental sustainability requires an environmental impact evaluation of FinTech solutions.…”

Exploring Growth Trajectories, Performance Dynamics and Future Opportunities for Indian Fintech Start-ups: With Special Reference to One MobiKwik Systems Limited

“…This growth is attributed to various factors, including the fast and reliable computing power of handheld devices, widespread internet access, the government's digital economy push, increased demand for inclusive financial services, customer expectations, and a highly competitive financial services market. [1][2][3][4] The Indian Fintech industry has experienced significant growth since its inception. Initially, the industry faced slow demand due to limited internet accessibility, but with the launch of JIO in 2016, the user pool increased.…”

Blockchain-Based Security Factors on Sustainable Supply Chain Management in UK Manufacturing Firms: A Hybrid SEM-ANN Approach

“…However, their suitability falls short of comprehensively elucidating the intricate dynamics of decision-making pro-cesses [69]. Siddik et al [70] argued that an ANN does not require a normal distribution in order to capture both linear and nonlinear relationships. Sharma et al [71] affirmed that an ANN is appropriate for determining the predictive power of any bias.…”

“…For instance, the rejection of CP or NI cannot be compensated for by other variables because every construct is unique and distinct in nature. Thus, the hybrid technique of SEM-ANN is used to solve this difficulty and capture linear and nonlinear associations within a non-compensatory architecture [70,72]. Furthermore, the hybrid SEM-ANN methodology is a significant methodological advancement.…”

“…Given the advantages and acceptability of the ANN technique, it is used in this study to assess the association between every predictor and the dependent variable. The ANN algorithm employed in this study adopts a three-layer structure, comprising input, hidden, and output layers [70]. The analysis utilises a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) with feed-forwardbackward-propagation (FFBP).…”