Zulfiqar Hasan

This study investigates the impact of five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (risk-taking, proactiveness, innovativeness, aggressiveness, and autonomy), an independent variable, on SMEs’ organizational performance in Bangladesh. The study surveyed 237 SMEs’ owners (out of 300, with a response rate of 79%) in Gazipur district, Bangladesh. Cronbach’s alpha (α) value of 0.70 was used to examine the reliability of the constructs in this study. Drawing from earlier research, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was constructed to assess the links between entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs’ organizational performance. The dependent variable in this study was SMEs’ organizational performance, which was based on business growth, change in number of employees, profitability, and sales growth. The hypotheses were tested using SPSS with a 95% confidence interval. The results suggest that all five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation positively affect the organizational performance of SMEs in Bangladesh. It is evident that proactiveness (β-value = 0.330) has the greatest effect on SMEs’ organizational performance, and competitive aggressiveness has the least effect (β-value = 0.230). The independent variables explain a significant proportion of the variability observed in SMEs’ organizational performance (R2 = 57.4%). The research outcomes offer valuable implications for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics.

Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the Accounting Research Institute (ARI)-HICoE.

Fintech services such as mobile banking are gaining significant acceptance among the citizens in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aims to explore the determinants that influence banking service users’ decisions to accept and use fintech services such as mobile banking in an emerging market, specifically in Bangladesh. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to individuals actively using banking services in Bangladesh. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to individuals who have active bank accounts. This study obtained a total of 315 valid responses that were deemed suitable for inclusion in the data analysis, with a response rate of 78.75%. Furthermore, a five-point Likert scale was utilized to evaluate the responses to the item-based questionnaire. To evaluate the hypotheses, a significance level of 5% was applied, and the data pertaining to the subject matter and purpose of this study were examined using the SPSS v.29. The results of the study display that the acceptance of mobile banking (fintech) services is pronouncedly shaped by perceived trust, privacy, and security but not by perceived risk. Importantly, perceived security (β value = 0.302) has the greatest impact on mobile banking acceptance among customers compared to other variables. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the propensity of using Fintech services within the context of mobile banking.

This study aims to investigate the effects of different corporate social responsibilities (CSR) on the organizational performance of the banking sector. The target population of this study was bank employees working at various bank branches in Bangladesh. In this investigation, the data gathering procedure was conducted utilizing a Google Form distributed via email, accompanied by a cover letter, to facilitate participation among bank employees. The study collected data from the current bank employees of several banking institutions in Bangladesh. They were sent a survey invitation to participate, and after their approval, their responses were gathered. A five-point Likert scale was used to determine the item-wise questionnaire, with ‘1’ indicating ‘Strongly Disagree’ and ‘5’ indicating ‘Strongly Agree’. The final sample size was 263. Moreover, to evaluate the hypothesis, a 5% significance level and SPSS software were used to analyze the data for research purposes. The outcome of this study shows that internal and external CSR activities have a positive and significant impact on the organizational performance development of Bangladesh’s banking sector. These factors can account for 52.70% of the variability observed in forecasting the performance of bank organizations. External CSR initiatives (β = 0.318; t = 5.937) have the highest effect on a bank’s performance. Additionally, a substantial correlation coefficient (r = 0.436) is present between internal CSR and bank performance. This study might provide significant clues to the management committees of the banking sector that can severely influence a bank’s performance development.