Financial Well-Being of Small Medium Enterprises Through Stimulus Organism Theory

Background - SME's financial well-being is vital to the country's future development. Despite extensive research on SMEs' expansion, their financial well-being has mostly remained untouched. The importance of well-being has been emphasized and reiterated by world leaders, resulting in its inclusion in the post2015 global development agenda. Purpose - This study will be using the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, the goal of this study is to analyse structural relationships between financial literacy, attitude toward money, financial capability, and financial well-being in the context of Malaysian SMEs. Additionally, it is predicted that ethnicity may moderate both the correlation between financial literacy and financial well-being, and the relationship between money attitudes and financial well-being. Moreover, it is predicted that financial stress may moderate the relationship between financial capability and financial well-being. Design/methodology/approach - Quantitative research will be used as the primary approach in this study. To collect responses for this study, an online questionnaire will be created using Google Form. The study's population is Malaysian SMEs. Samples of the study are SMEs affiliated with any five of Malaysian SME and Entrepreneurship Development Agencies: Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, Mara, Insken, SME Corp, and TEKUN. Future research will benefit from both the findings and relevant literature or theories. Researchers, government officials, and entrepreneurs will gain a better insight and awareness of the financial well-being of SMEs, particularly in Malaysia. Originality/value - The global economy crisis has affected much financial well-being, including SMEs. There has been scarce research on financial well-being in Malaysia particularly among SMEs. By understanding more about the contributions to the financial well-being, it is hoped to help SMEs to become financial prudence