The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies

Hiew Ye Soon; Supachaipanya Pattarasaya

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

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The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies

Hiew Ye Soon

, Supachaipanya Pattarasaya^*

Published in International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 2)

Received: 15 March 2026 Accepted: 13 April 2026 Published: 21 April 2026

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Abstract

As an important institutional innovation to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supply chain finance (SCF) has attracted increasing attention for its potential to improve firms’ internal capital turnover efficiency. Using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2000 to 2024, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to systematically examine the impact of SCF on SMEs’ working capital efficiency, as measured by the cash conversion cycle (CCC).The empirical results indicate that participation in SCF significantly shortens the cash conversion cycle, thereby enhancing firms’ working capital efficiency. This finding remains robust after a series of robustness checks, including alternative variable specifications and endogeneity tests. Further mechanism analysis reveals that SCF improves working capital efficiency primarily through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and reducing financing costs, which enable firms to optimize their capital allocation and operational processes.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effects of SCF are more pronounced in private enterprises and smaller firms, which typically face greater financing frictions compared to state-owned or larger enterprises. These findings highlight the differential impact of SCF across firm characteristics and emphasize its role in promoting inclusive financial development. Overall, this study provides new empirical evidence on the economic consequences of SCF and offers important policy implications for optimizing supply chain finance systems and supporting the sustainable development of SMEs.

Published in	International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
Page(s)	153-160
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Supply Chain Finance, Working Capital Efficiency, Cash Conversion Cycle, Financing Constraints, Financing Cost

References

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APA Style

Soon, H. Y., Pattarasaya, S. (2026). The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 14(2), 153-160. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

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ACS Style

Soon, H. Y.; Pattarasaya, S. The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies. Int. J. Econ. Finance Manag. Sci. 2026, 14(2), 153-160. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

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AMA Style

Soon HY, Pattarasaya S. The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies. Int J Econ Finance Manag Sci. 2026;14(2):153-160. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14,
  author = {Hiew Ye Soon and Supachaipanya Pattarasaya},
  title = {The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies},
  journal = {International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {2},
  pages = {153-160},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijefm.20261402.14},
  abstract = {As an important institutional innovation to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supply chain finance (SCF) has attracted increasing attention for its potential to improve firms’ internal capital turnover efficiency. Using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2000 to 2024, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to systematically examine the impact of SCF on SMEs’ working capital efficiency, as measured by the cash conversion cycle (CCC).The empirical results indicate that participation in SCF significantly shortens the cash conversion cycle, thereby enhancing firms’ working capital efficiency. This finding remains robust after a series of robustness checks, including alternative variable specifications and endogeneity tests. Further mechanism analysis reveals that SCF improves working capital efficiency primarily through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and reducing financing costs, which enable firms to optimize their capital allocation and operational processes.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effects of SCF are more pronounced in private enterprises and smaller firms, which typically face greater financing frictions compared to state-owned or larger enterprises. These findings highlight the differential impact of SCF across firm characteristics and emphasize its role in promoting inclusive financial development. Overall, this study provides new empirical evidence on the economic consequences of SCF and offers important policy implications for optimizing supply chain finance systems and supporting the sustainable development of SMEs.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies
AU  - Hiew Ye Soon
AU  - Supachaipanya Pattarasaya
Y1  - 2026/04/21
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
T2  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
SP  - 153
EP  - 160
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-9561
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
AB  - As an important institutional innovation to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supply chain finance (SCF) has attracted increasing attention for its potential to improve firms’ internal capital turnover efficiency. Using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2000 to 2024, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to systematically examine the impact of SCF on SMEs’ working capital efficiency, as measured by the cash conversion cycle (CCC).The empirical results indicate that participation in SCF significantly shortens the cash conversion cycle, thereby enhancing firms’ working capital efficiency. This finding remains robust after a series of robustness checks, including alternative variable specifications and endogeneity tests. Further mechanism analysis reveals that SCF improves working capital efficiency primarily through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and reducing financing costs, which enable firms to optimize their capital allocation and operational processes.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effects of SCF are more pronounced in private enterprises and smaller firms, which typically face greater financing frictions compared to state-owned or larger enterprises. These findings highlight the differential impact of SCF across firm characteristics and emphasize its role in promoting inclusive financial development. Overall, this study provides new empirical evidence on the economic consequences of SCF and offers important policy implications for optimizing supply chain finance systems and supporting the sustainable development of SMEs.
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Hiew Ye Soon

School of Management and E-business, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0008-3482-4039
Supachaipanya Pattarasaya

School of Management and E-business, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9662-1461

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Soon, H. Y., Pattarasaya, S. (2026). The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 14(2), 153-160. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

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ACS Style

Soon, H. Y.; Pattarasaya, S. The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies. Int. J. Econ. Finance Manag. Sci. 2026, 14(2), 153-160. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

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AMA Style

Soon HY, Pattarasaya S. The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies. Int J Econ Finance Manag Sci. 2026;14(2):153-160. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14,
  author = {Hiew Ye Soon and Supachaipanya Pattarasaya},
  title = {The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies},
  journal = {International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {2},
  pages = {153-160},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijefm.20261402.14},
  abstract = {As an important institutional innovation to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supply chain finance (SCF) has attracted increasing attention for its potential to improve firms’ internal capital turnover efficiency. Using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2000 to 2024, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to systematically examine the impact of SCF on SMEs’ working capital efficiency, as measured by the cash conversion cycle (CCC).The empirical results indicate that participation in SCF significantly shortens the cash conversion cycle, thereby enhancing firms’ working capital efficiency. This finding remains robust after a series of robustness checks, including alternative variable specifications and endogeneity tests. Further mechanism analysis reveals that SCF improves working capital efficiency primarily through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and reducing financing costs, which enable firms to optimize their capital allocation and operational processes.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effects of SCF are more pronounced in private enterprises and smaller firms, which typically face greater financing frictions compared to state-owned or larger enterprises. These findings highlight the differential impact of SCF across firm characteristics and emphasize its role in promoting inclusive financial development. Overall, this study provides new empirical evidence on the economic consequences of SCF and offers important policy implications for optimizing supply chain finance systems and supporting the sustainable development of SMEs.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on SMEs’ Working Capital Efficiency: Evidence from A-Share Listed Companies
AU  - Hiew Ye Soon
AU  - Supachaipanya Pattarasaya
Y1  - 2026/04/21
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
T2  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
SP  - 153
EP  - 160
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-9561
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261402.14
AB  - As an important institutional innovation to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supply chain finance (SCF) has attracted increasing attention for its potential to improve firms’ internal capital turnover efficiency. Using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2000 to 2024, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to systematically examine the impact of SCF on SMEs’ working capital efficiency, as measured by the cash conversion cycle (CCC).The empirical results indicate that participation in SCF significantly shortens the cash conversion cycle, thereby enhancing firms’ working capital efficiency. This finding remains robust after a series of robustness checks, including alternative variable specifications and endogeneity tests. Further mechanism analysis reveals that SCF improves working capital efficiency primarily through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and reducing financing costs, which enable firms to optimize their capital allocation and operational processes.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effects of SCF are more pronounced in private enterprises and smaller firms, which typically face greater financing frictions compared to state-owned or larger enterprises. These findings highlight the differential impact of SCF across firm characteristics and emphasize its role in promoting inclusive financial development. Overall, this study provides new empirical evidence on the economic consequences of SCF and offers important policy implications for optimizing supply chain finance systems and supporting the sustainable development of SMEs.
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download