Methodology Article
Beyond Barriers: An Integrative Framework of E-Commerce Adoption for Financial Inclusion and Growth of SMEs in Kenya
Charles Momanyi*
,
Ronald Tombe
Issue:
Volume 12, Issue 2, April 2026
Pages:
16-22
Received:
15 January 2026
Accepted:
29 January 2026
Published:
18 March 2026
Abstract: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the cornerstone of the Kenyan economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employment. Despite their importance, they face persistent barriers to growth, including severe constraints in accessing formal credit, limited market reach, and operational inefficiencies. Traditional financial institutions often fail to serve them due to high collateral requirements and cumbersome processes. This paper proposes a novel digital FinTech platform designed to overcome these challenges and foster SME resilience and growth. We present a comprehensive conceptual framework that integrates Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a holistic digital ecosystem. This study outlines the architectural methodology for building an intelligent ecosystem and demonstrates how technological synergy addresses core SME pain points. The research contributes to the literature on financial inclusion and digital transformation by providing a scalable model for leveraging technology to de-risk lending, enhance operational efficiency, and unlock new market opportunities for SMEs.
Abstract: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the cornerstone of the Kenyan economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employment. Despite their importance, they face persistent barriers to growth, including severe constraints in accessing formal credit, limited market reach, and operational inefficiencies. Traditional financial institutions often fa...
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Research Article
Strategic Resilience as a Predictor of Firm Performance: Evidence from a Systematic Literature Review
Fredrick Ambani Mwale*,
Godfrey Muigai Kinyua
Issue:
Volume 12, Issue 2, April 2026
Pages:
23-37
Received:
13 April 2026
Accepted:
24 April 2026
Published:
11 May 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ebm.20261202.13
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Views:
Abstract: Organizations across the world continue to face increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. These systemic forces expose firms to disruptions that make it difficult to generate and sustain competitive advantage. Consequently, organizations are required to develop strategic capabilities that enable them to sense and seize emerging opportunities and threats, as well as reconfigure resources to maximize value and strengthen strategic positioning. Strategic resilience has emerged as a critical capability that enables organizations to detect environmental turbulence and risks, absorb shocks arising from disruptions, adapt to changing conditions, and sustain long-term performance. Although scholarly interest in strategic resilience within the strategic management literature has grown, findings on its relationship with firm performance remain fragmented and inconsistent. This reflects underlying conceptual ambiguity and theoretical tension between static resource-based explanations and dynamic capability perspectives. This study adopts a literature review approach to examine conceptual, theoretical, and empirical evidence on the relationship between strategic resilience and firm performance, with the aim of identifying research gaps and developing a conceptual framework to guide future studies. The review focuses on studies published between 2000 and 2025 and draws from major academic databases to ensure methodological rigor and comprehensiveness. Strategic resilience is conceptualized as a composite construct comprising anticipatory capability, adaptive capacity, absorptive capacity, and strategic renewal, while firm performance is viewed as a multidimensional outcome encompassing both financial and non-financial indicators. The Dynamic Capabilities Theory and the Resource-Based View provide the theoretical foundation for explaining how strategic resilience influences firm performance. Accordingly, the study proposes a synthesized conceptual model linking strategic resilience and firm performance. The model uniquely integrates composite resilience capabilities with multidimensional performance metrics, which serves as a foundation for future empirical research aimed at enhancing understanding of how organizations can build and sustain competitive advantage in fast-changing and unpredictable environments.
Abstract: Organizations across the world continue to face increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. These systemic forces expose firms to disruptions that make it difficult to generate and sustain competitive advantage. Consequently, organizations are required to develop strategic capabilities that enable them to sense and seize emerging...
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