RT Journal Article
T1 Business associations, access to finance, and institutional quality: Drivers of SMEs’ circular economy transformation
A1 Sánchez-Teba, Eva María
A1 González-Fernández, Ana Isabel
A1 Bermúdez-González, Guillermo José
K1 Economía circular
K1 Pequeñas y medianas empresas
AB This paper examines how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engage in the circular economy (CE) through business association (BA) membership, perceptions of ease access to finance (AF), and institutional quality (IQ). Building on social capital theory, we argue that BA membership not only provides resources but also channels non-financial forms of public entrepreneurship and SME-supporting policies. Framed through a theory of change perspective, these soft interventions enhance social and human capital, enabling CE adoption. Using Eurobarometer 486 data from 7,680 SMEs in 39 countries, logit and OLS regressions show that BA membership fosters CE actions while increasing awareness of financial barriers, with AF partially mediating this link. IQ moderates these dynamics: in high-IQ contexts, non-financial support reduces the salience of financial barriers; in low-IQ contexts, AF perceptions remain decisive. We contribute by integrating SCT with public entrepreneurship to explain policy conditions shaping SME sustainability.
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/41126
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/41126
LA eng
NO Sánchez-Teba, E.M.; González-Fernández, A.I.; Bermúdez González, G. (2025). Shaping the circular economy future: the role of business associations, access to finance and institutional quality in SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2025.2591696
NO CHAIR AIRZONE OF INNOVATION AND SMART MANAGEMENT
NO RESEARCH GROUP SEJ 314 "SMEs MARKETING STRATEGIES
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 22 ene 2026