The impact of supply chain finance on financial constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises and the moderating factors

Supply chain finance (SCF) has gained significant popularity and has been extensively implemented in practical applications to facilitate cash flow by involving financial institutions. However, there are very few empirical studies on SCF. This study examines whether and how much SCF can alleviate financial constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, we examine the impact of information asymmetry, financial development depth, and economic policy uncertainty on the effectiveness of SCF. These three moderating factors correspond to the influence of firms, local financial development, and national government on SCF effectiveness, respectively. The empirical analysis shows that SCF can alleviate SMEs’ financial constraints significantly, and this effect is more pronounced for firms with higher information disclosure quality and located in financially developed areas. Our findings have important implications for firms and authorities, such as understanding the dynamics of SCF and developing appropriate measures and frameworks to promote the broad adoption and effective utilization of SCF.