How Women Entrepreneurs Drive Business Sustainability? The Role of Financial Inclusion and Strategic Agility
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Abstract
Despite being an important component of Indonesia’s small business sector, women entrepreneurs struggle to sustain their businesses. This study aims to examine the influence of financial inclusion and entrepreneurial orientation on business sustainability among female SMEs and investigate the mediating role of strategic agility. This study employed a self-administered survey of 354 women-owned SMEs in Bandung, Indonesia, from March to April 2025. Data were further analyzed using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) to test and confirm the proposed conceptual framework. The results indicate that although entrepreneurial orientation and financial inclusion do not influence business sustainability, both have significant influences on strategic agility among women-owned SMEs in Bandung. Meanwhile, strategic agility indicates a robust influence on business sustainability among women-owned SMEs. The mediation analysis reveals that strategic agility fully mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and financial inclusion, as well as financial inclusion and business sustainability.
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