Role of the knowledge-based resources in promoting sustainability in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is currently a topic of debate. Financial literacy has been identified as a vital knowledge resource for financial decision making, but insufficient attention has been given to how SMEs’ financial literacy affects their sustainability. Drawing upon a knowledge-based perspective, peaking order theory and dual process theory, we constructed an integrated model to examine the impact of financial literacy, access to finance and financial risk attitude on SMEs’ sustainability. The sample included 291 chief financial officers (CFOs) of SMEs in Sri Lanka. The output of structural equation modelling revealed direct positive effects of financial literacy, access to finance and financial risk attitude on sustainability. Financial literacy also emerged as a predictor of access to finance and financial risk attitude. Moreover, access to finance and financial risk attitude were found to be partial mediators of the relationship between financial literacy and SMEs’ sustainability. Theoretical implications and practical implications for policymakers, industry practitioners and academics interested in promoting sustainability amongst SMEs are discussed.

The knowledge-based view (KBV) in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a debatable topic in the current literature. Although convergence of technological and financial literacy (techno-finance literacy) is an essential knowledge-based tool to address rapid digitalization of business, the influence of techno-finance literacy in the development of SMEs is still not adequately researched. Drawing upon KBV, we developed a single-mediator structural model with an aim to explore the effect of techno-finance literacy and enterprise risk management (ERM) practices (applications) on the performance of SMEs. A self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 319 chief financial offers (CFOs) in Sri Lankan SMEs. The outcome of our study highlights that techno-finance literacy is a significant determinant of two endogenous constructs, namely, SME performance and ERM practices. Furthermore, ERM practices of SMEs were also positively affected to the SME performance. Moreover, ERM practices were observed to have a partial mediation on the relationship between financial literacy and SME performance. These findings form the basis for theories in techno-finance literacy and SME performance, as well as present managerial implications to enhance the performance of SMEs.

Today, we are living in the knowledge century. Knowledge-based intangible resources in enhancing sustainable growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is presently a significant scope of research. Innovation capability is the intuitive skill of an individual or a firm to transform an explicit concept towards value orientation that carries an economic value. This economic value would then lead to wealth creation and eventually result in sustainable SMEs. The SME sector has been highlighted for its significant contribution towards the creation of employment, opportunity for innovation and economic dynamism. In this study, evidence derived from knowledge-based view and knowledge creation theory was used to construct a structured model to analyze the relationships among innovation capability, disruptive technology and knowledge creation and their impacts on SMEs sustainability. A sample of 384 owners of SMEs in Sri Lanka was included in the study. The outcome of structural equation modelling (SEM) discovered positive effects of innovation capability, disruptive technology and knowledge creation on sustainability. Innovation capability also emerged as a predictor of disruptive technology and knowledge creation. Moreover, disruptive technology and knowledge creation were found to be partial mediators of the association between innovation capability and SMEs’ sustainability. These findings pave the way for policy makers to promote sustainability in SMEs, by assisting to enhance their performance in competitive and innovative economic environments. Further, the validated model can be empirically tested in future research.

The aim of this study was to empirically examine the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) model by adding “personalization” as one of the antecedents, as well as a moderator to determine the key factors for the continuous use intention of mobile news applications (apps). For this study, an online and manual sample survey of 309 respondents, who had used the news app earlier, was collected and analyzed, using quantitative methods such as explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and Hayes process for finding moderating effects among variables. The findings of the direct effect demonstrated that performance expectancy (PE) has the most influential effect on continuous use intention, followed by habit (HT), hedonic motivation (HM), and facilitating conditions (FC). Furthermore, the outcome of tests for the moderating effect of personalization between UTAUT2 constructs and continuous use intention (CUI) showed that personalization has a significant moderating effect on performance expectancy and habit. Therefore, this research establishes the key role of PE, HT, HM, and FC as main factors that trigger the users’ continuous use intention of news apps and provides an integrated framework to assess the moderating effect of personalization on technology acceptance. The findings of the research expand the existing literature on news applications and provide foundation for future research studies in the area of mobile news apps.

Environmental degradation is a serious global issue that has received increasing attention from scholars, policymakers, regulators, environmental activists, and the public as a whole. In the meantime, corporations have been criticized as major contributors to environmental pollution. Environmental accounting (EA) is a corporate practice that seeks to account for the cost of environmental impacts of business operations. However, it is questionable whether the true cost of environmental impacts of business operations is accounted for in the conventional accounting systems. In order to shed more light on this issue, this study examines key drivers of managerial intention to engage in EA practices in Sri Lanka. We employ the theory of planned behavior to conceptualize the antecedents of managers’ intention to engage in EA practices. The results of the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) evaluation revealed that managers’ intention is significantly influenced by the attitudes towards EA practices, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Our results also indicate that a larger proportion of the variance of perceived behavioral control is explained by the perceived cost and complexity, perceived regulatory pressure, and organizational environmental orientation. The findings of this study provide important theoretical and practical implications for scholars, managers, and policymakers.

Sustainability is the limelight of many industries, especially in developing countries. In the hospitality industry, in particular, sustainability plays a pivotal role since it contributes immensely to the economy of a country. However, the hospitality industry is increasingly facing various challenges due to the uncertainty and instability in the business environment. Thus, the central focus of this study is to evaluate the sustainability performance of Sri Lankan hotels industry. For this purpose, 25 hotels were selected from the hotels listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). In order to determine the sustainability performance of the selected hotel, we identified 18 indicators that represent the economic, environmental, and social and governance sustainability. Then, we developed a multidimensional sustainability performance index system and using entropy-based TOPSIS, the values of the individual indicators were aggregated. Eventually, we rank the hotels based on the TOPSIS scores, which represent the sustainability performance of hotels. The resulted TOPSIS scores reveal that the Sri Lanka hotels’ sustainable performance is moderately high. This indicates that there is a growing tendency to adopt more sustainable practices among hotels companies in Sri Lank. Recently, stakeholders in the state and private sector have paid much attention to the tourism industry because it has tremendous potential and many prospects, and the same is reflected in our results. While we are providing important implications for managers and policymakers, our findings urge the hotels with a lowlevel sustainability performance to go for more sustainable practices.