IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v14y2020i1p10-d468951.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Financing Responsible Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An International Overview of Policies and Support Programmes

Author

Listed:
  • Susanne Durst

    (Department of Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia)

  • Wolfgang Gerstlberger

    (Department of Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia)

Abstract

In the last few years, the financing of responsibly operating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become the focus of attention of several national and international bodies. Consequently, a number of policies and support programmes have been established aimed at supporting SMEs that take a responsible approach concerning the company and its operations. Against this background, this article presents a comprehensive international overview of support programmes for financing responsible SMEs. Based on systematic desk research, documents of national governments as well as supranational and international organisations have been investigated. The findings reveal that there are strong regional differences in terms of support policy approaches, intensity, and criteria. The largest part of the identified programmes has been launched by the European Union and/or its member states. Additionally, the findings clarify that the primary focus of extant programmes is on the environmental dimension of sustainability, mainly energy-related questions. The social dimension has been neglected so far in the programmes.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne Durst & Wolfgang Gerstlberger, 2020. "Financing Responsible Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An International Overview of Policies and Support Programmes," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-23, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2020:i:1:p:10-:d:468951
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/14/1/10/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/14/1/10/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. -, 2019. "Latin American Economic Outlook 2019: Development in transition," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 44515 edited by Oecd.
    2. Cardoza, Guillermo & Fornes, Gaston & Farber, Vanina & Gonzalez Duarte, Roberto & Ruiz Gutierrez, Jaime, 2016. "Barriers and public policies affecting the international expansion of Latin American SMEs: Evidence from Brazil, Colombia, and Peru," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2030-2039.
    3. Johan Graafland, 2020. "Women in management and sustainable development of SMEs: Do relational environmental management instruments matter?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2320-2328, September.
    4. Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu & Laurentiu Stelian Mihai, 2019. "An Integrated Framework on the Sustainability of SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    5. Volz, Ulrich, 2018. "Fostering Green Finance for Sustainable Development in Asia," ADBI Working Papers 814, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    6. Rui Baptista & Joao Leitao (ed.), 2009. "Public Policies for Fostering Entrepreneurship," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, Springer, number 978-1-4419-0249-8, November.
    7. Asem Alkahtani & Norfarah Nordin & Rizwan Ullah Khan, 2020. "Does government support enhance the relation between networking structure and sustainable competitive performance among SMEs?," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Fatemi, Ali M. & Fooladi, Iraj J., 2013. "Sustainable finance: A new paradigm," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 101-113.
    9. Priyabrata Chowdhury & Rezaul Shumon, 2020. "Minimizing the Gap between Expectation and Ability: Strategies for SMEs to Implement Social Sustainability Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Bożena Ryszawska, 2018. "Sustainable Finance: Paradigm Shift," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Agnieszka Bem & Karolina Daszyńska-Żygadło & Taťána Hajdíková & Péter Juhász (ed.), Finance and Sustainability, pages 219-231, Springer.
    11. Naoyuki Yoshino & Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, 2019. "The Role of SMEs in Asia and Their Difficulties in Accessing Finance," Working Papers id:12959, eSocialSciences.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mahdevi Tiagarassa Pillay & Harshana Kasseeah, 2024. "Does environmental commitment improve access to finance? Evidence from small firms in Mauritius," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 7729-7749, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Magdalena Ziolo & Beata Zofia Filipiak & Iwona Bąk & Katarzyna Cheba & Diana Mihaela Tîrca & Isabel Novo-Corti, 2019. "Finance, Sustainability and Negative Externalities. An Overview of the European Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-35, August.
    2. Youtang Zhang & Eshetu Yesuf Ayele, 2022. "Factors Affecting Small and Micro Enterprise Performance with the Mediating Effect of Government Support: Evidence from the Amhara Region Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Ghenadie CIOBANU & Dan BOBOC & Cristina DIMA & Evelina BALU & Carol Cristina GOMBOS, 2020. "Development Of Sustainable Finance Through The Prism Of Value Paradigm," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(1), pages 200-211, November.
    4. Asif Mahmood & Rana Tahir Naveed & Naveed Ahmad & Miklas Scholz & Muhammad Khalique & Mohammad Adnan, 2021. "Unleashing the Barriers to CSR Implementation in the SME Sector of a Developing Economy: A Thematic Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Souad Lajili Jarjir & Martin Lebelle & Syrine Sassi, 2022. "The effect of issuance documentation disclosure and readability on liquidity: Evidence from green bonds," Post-Print hal-03428710, HAL.
    6. Adam Arian & John Sands & Stuart Tooley, 2023. "Industry and Stakeholder Impacts on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Financial Performance: Consumer vs. Industrial Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Cornett, Marcia Millon & Erhemjamts, Otgontsetseg & Tehranian, Hassan, 2016. "Greed or good deeds: An examination of the relation between corporate social responsibility and the financial performance of U.S. commercial banks around the financial crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 137-159.
    8. Eugine Nkwinika & Olawale Olufemi Akinrinde, 2023. "An investigation into the financial challenges affecting the success of entrepreneurs in South Africa," Technology audit and production reserves, PC TECHNOLOGY CENTER, vol. 6(4(74)), pages 36-44, December.
    9. Dawid Szutowski & Piotr Ratajczak, 2016. "The Relation between CSR and Innovation. Model Approach," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 12(2), pages 1-1.
    10. Khoa T. Tran & Phuong V. Nguyen, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Findings from the Vietnamese Paint Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Bianchi, Constanza & Abu Saleh, Md., 2020. "Investigating SME importer–foreign supplier relationship trust and commitment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 572-584.
    12. Lasse Torkkeli & Susanne Durst, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility of SMEs: Learning Orientation and Performance Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-12, May.
    13. Juan M. Gil-Barragan & María José López-Sánchez, 2021. "The Fast Lane of Internationalization of Latin American SMEs: A Location-Based Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, March.
    14. Hossain, Mohammad Rokibul & Akhter, Fahmida & Sultana, Mir Misnad, 2022. "SMEs in Covid-19 Crisis and Combating Strategies: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and A Case from Emerging Economy," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C).
    15. Dikau, Simon & Volz, Ulrich, 2021. "Central bank mandates, sustainability objectives and the promotion of green finance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    16. Joao Leitao & Frank Lasch & Roy Thurik, 2011. "Globalisation, entrepreneurship and regional environment," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(2), pages 129-138.
    17. Lopes João & Antunes Helder & Rodrigues Ricardo, 2018. "Comparative Entrepreneurship between Western Europe and Latin America," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 8(4), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Walter Chipambwa & Richie Moalosi & Yaone Rapitsenyane & Olefile Bethuel Molwane, 2023. "Sustainable Design Orientation in Furniture-Manufacturing SMEs in Zimbabwe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-14, May.
    19. Bhavesh Kumar & Love Kumar & Avinash Kumar & Ramna Kumari & Uroosa Tagar & Claudio Sassanelli, 2024. "Green finance in circular economy: a literature review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 16419-16459, July.
    20. Olawumi Dele Awolusi & Abdihakim Mohamed Osman, 2023. "Determinants of Export Performance in Uganda (1989-2020)," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 15(3), pages 34-54.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:14:y:2020:i:1:p:10-:d:468951. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.