A decision-making framework for Industry 4.0 technology implementation: The case of FinTech and sustainable supply chain finance for SMEs

It is essential to improve the efficiency and performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to their pivotal role in powering a country's economy. For SMEs, the limited capital available for investments is a barrier to growth. However, optimizing financial flows in the supply chain can improve the functioning and investment potential of SMEs, with Industry 4.0 technologies holding great potential for enhancing the efficiency of an industry's supply chain within which SMEs operate. Moreover, the innovation of financial technology (FinTech) has further contributed to the adoption of supply chain finance (SCF) by delivering financial services using information technologies (IT) and simplifying SMEs’ loan and transaction processes. Therefore, Industry 4.0 technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, and analytics have a critical role to play in the development and impact of FinTech. In this regard, SMEs can enhance their working capital and competitiveness by adopting Industry 4.0 technologies for sustainable supply chain finance (SSCF). The present study contributes to this agenda by developing a hesitant fuzzy-based technology selection framework to determine the most suitable Industry 4.0 technology(ies) for SSCF.