The COVID-19 pandemic has remarkably affected the business processes and performance of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the world. MSMEs have had to adopt and implement numerous strategies to sustain their businesses, and their financial and sustainability performance has been impacted by their choice of e-commerce (EC) platforms and digital marketing (DM) strategies. The objective of this research was to explore the effects of EC and DM platforms and strategies on facilitating MSMEs’ financial and sustainability performance amid the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. This study gathered data from 212 MSMEs from three districts of Bangladesh. A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was undertaken, to test the hypothesized model. The findings revealed that e-commerce had a significant association with MSMEs’ financial performance and sustainability amid the pandemic. It was also observed that digital marketing strategies had a substantial impact on MSMEs’ financial performance. However, the linkage between DM strategies and MSMEs’ sustainability was found to be insignificant. Furthermore, it was found that the financial performance of MSMEs mediated the relationship between e-commerce adoption and their sustainability performance. These findings contribute to the extant technology adoption literature, by exploring the role of e-commerce and digital marketing on firms’ financial outcomes amid a global pandemic. Managers and policymakers of small businesses can learn several things from this study, and understand how crucial digital commerce and digital marketing are to their success and long-term survival.

Despite the increasing popularity of green finance and sustainable investment in the field of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), very few studies have investigated the effect of green finance dimensions on the sustainable performance of banks. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the dimensions of green finance and their effects on the sustainability performance of financial institutions in developing economies such as Bangladesh. The study also depicts the level of green financing adoption among the banks and non-bank financial institutions in the country between 2015 and 2020. Considering the nature of the dataset, the structural equation modeling technique was employed in this study to fulfil the research objectives. Amongst banks and non-bank financial institutions, the study highlighted private commercial banks as being the highest contributor to green financing, accounting for 78.12% of the total green financing in Bangladesh. In addition, the empirical findings revealed that the dimensions of green finance are related to the economic, social, and environmental aspects of the SDGs. Furthermore, empirical findings indicated that the dimensions of green finance—social, economic, and environmental—have a strong positive effect on the sustainability performance of banks. The study also discovered that approximately 95% of bankers identify green financing as an essential element in the short- and long-term development of banking strategies in Bangladesh. Consequently, this study adds to the body of knowledge on green finance development and the sustainability performance of banks and financial institutions in emerging economies such as Bangladesh. Therefore, major managerial policy implications are discussed.

The main purpose of this study is to identify the impact of green banking activities on green financing and banks’ environmental performance. It also identifies the mediating effect of green financing on the relationship between green banking activities and environmental performance of private commercial banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh. Besides, this study also examines the major challenges and benefits of green banking development in an emerging economy like Bangladesh. The convenience sampling technique was used to collect primary data from bankers of PCBs in Bangladesh, and a final sample size of 352 was recorded. To assess the relationship among the study variables, the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was employed. The empirical results revealed that green banking activities exhibit a significantly positive effect on banks’ environmental performance and sources of green financing, and that sources of green financing significantly influence banks’ environmental performance. Additionally, it was observed that green financing mediates the association between green banking activities and banks’ environmental performance. Furthermore, the study identified customers’ insufficient awareness towards green banking, high investment costs, technical obstacles, lack of capable and competent staff in appraising green credits/loans, and difficulties and complexity in assessing green projects as major challenges affecting the development of green banking in Bangladesh. Moreover, the study also discovered that increasing banks’ competitiveness, reducing long-term costs and expenses, providing online banking facilities, improving customers’ goodwill, and reducing carbon footprints are the key benefits of green banking development, as it helps in the achievement of the sustainable economic development of the country. Therefore, major theoretical and managerial policy implications are further discussed with study limitations and future research directions.

Every sector of the global economy is faced with environmental problems and their resulting consequences to their day-to-day operations. Due to the rising threat of global climate change, the green banking (GB) concept has been given significant attention in recent green finance literature. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to identify the impact of GB practices on banks’ environmental performance and sources of green financing of private commercial banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh. Using a survey method, the primary data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 322 banking employees of PCBs in Bangladesh. In order to identify the key relationships existing between the study variables, structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was employed. The empirical findings indicated that banks’ employees, daily-operations, and policy-related GB practices have significant positive effects on green financing, contrary to banks’ customer-related GB practice, which was not statistically significant. Additionally, banks’ green project financing exhibited a strong and positive influence on banks’ environmental performance. Moreover, banks’ daily operation and policy-related practices of GB were observed to have significant impacts on banks’ environmental performances, in contrast to banks’ employee and customer-related GB practices. Therefore, major policy implications and directions for future research in the concerned area are discussed.

Despite the availability of substantial empirical evidence on the influence of green finance (GF) or green innovation (GI) on environmental performance (EP), only a few studies have attempted to examine the link between Fintech adoption (FA), GF, GI, and EP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, by applying the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to the data obtained from 302 banking staff in a developing economy (in this case, Bangladesh), this research work empirically examines the association between FA, GF, and EP, alongside the mediating role of GI. The empirical results indicated that FA significantly impacts GF, GI, and EP and that GF has a significant positive influence on GI and EP. Also, GI was observed to positively influence EP and partially mediate the relationship between FA, GF, and EP of banks. As one of the earliest studies to empirically investigate the relationships among these variables, these findings add to the existing scholarship on technological innovation, green finance, and environmental sustainability in the context of financial institutions in an emerging market during the pandemic. Moreover, the study demonstrates the significance of FA, GF, and GI in improving the EP of financial institutions and, ultimately, in ensuring the sustainable economic development of the country.

This study aims to examine the effect of FinTech adoption on the sustainability performance of banking institutions in an emerging economy such as Bangladesh. Besides, this study also investigates the mediating role of green finance and green innovation in the relationship between FinTech adoption and sustainability performance. To examine the relationship among the study variables, this study used data from 351 employees of banking institutions operating in Bangladesh during the period January to March 2021 using a convenience sampling method. Furthermore, the study utilized a two-staged structural equation modeling and an artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) approach to analyze the data. The findings show that FinTech adoption significantly influences green finance, green innovation, and sustainability performance. Similarly, the results indicate that green finance and green innovation have a significant positive influence on sustainability performance. Furthermore, the results reveal that green finance and green innovation fully mediate the relationship between FinTech adoption and the sustainability performance of banking institutions. Moreover, the present study contributes to the existing literature on technological innovation, green finance, and sustainability performance greatly as it is the first study to examine both linear and non-linear relationships among these variables using the SEM-ANN approach. As a result, the study highlights the importance of FinTech adoption, green finance, and innovation in the attainment of sustainability performance, as well as the urgent need to incorporate new technologies, green initiatives, and financing into banking strategies to help achieve the country’s sustainable economic development.