Operational Efficiency as the Conversion Mechanism in Islamic Digital Supply Chain Finance: Evidence from SME Financing in Pakistan
Description
The study examines how Islamic banks can expand SME financing through digital platforms, FinTech adoption, supply chain finance, Shariah-compliant governance, and operational efficiency. The research develops a parallel sequential mediation model in which access to finance, organizational capabilities, Shariah compliance, financial literacy, and stakeholder collaboration influence SME financing growth through FinTech, supply chain finance, and operational efficiency. The empirical evidence is based on survey responses from 535 Islamic banking experts and professionals in Pakistan. The study applies partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS to assess the measurement model, direct effects, predictive relevance, and sequential indirect effects. The dataset and supporting materials are intended to provide transparency for the measurement constructs, respondent profile, reliability and validity assessment, structural model results, mediation analysis, and SmartPLS-based model outputs. The dataset is relevant for researchers working on SME finance, Islamic banking, Islamic FinTech, digital supply chain finance, operational efficiency, financial inclusion, and emerging-market banking systems. It may also be useful for policymakers, Islamic banking practitioners, Shariah governance professionals, FinTech platform providers, and scholars interested in how digital finance and supply-chain-linked banking mechanisms can support inclusive SME financing. The data are shared for academic transparency and research verification. Any respondent-level information should be treated confidentially and used only for scholarly purposes.
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Steps to reproduce
The dataset supports a SmartPLS-based partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis of Islamic digital supply chain finance and SME financing growth. To reproduce the analysis, users should review the questionnaire and construct definitions, import the anonymized survey dataset into SmartPLS or an equivalent PLS-SEM software, specify the nine latent constructs used in the study, and estimate the measurement and structural models. The measurement model should be assessed using indicator loadings, Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted, variance inflation factors, Fornell-Larcker criterion, cross-loadings, and HTMT ratios. The structural model should then be evaluated using path coefficients, bootstrapped t-statistics, p-values, R-square, adjusted R-square, Q-square, and specific indirect effects. The mediation analysis should be reproduced by estimating the parallel sequential mediation structure in which access to finance, organizational capabilities, Shariah compliance, financial literacy, and stakeholder collaboration influence SME financing growth through FinTech adoption, supply chain finance, and operational efficiency. The reported tables and SmartPLS outputs can be used to verify the direct effects, complete parallel sequential mediation effects, path-specific sequential mediation effects, and decomposition of indirect effects.