Performance Analysis of Industry 4.0 and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for Financial Sustainability Using Strategic Planning

The integration of Industry 4.0 technologies into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become increasingly important for their financial sustainability. Strategic planning can help SMEs evaluate their readiness for Industry 4.0 and identify areas where they can adopt new technologies to improve performance and competitiveness. However, the major weaknesses that constrain SMEs' success in financial performance are low financial planning, and knowledge. Thus, this study aimed to determine the financial sustainability and financial performance of SMEs in Malaysia. The data used in the model was collected from a questionnaire survey on SME companies in Malaysia. The respondents were the managers of the company that was requested to gauge each of the financial sustainability factors using a 7-point Likert scale that they perceived as affecting the company’s performance. A total of 146 valid responses were used for this analysis. The study covered Malaysia, which comprised three states, namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Johor. SMART-PLS was used as a statistical tool for data analysis. This study focused on the dimensions of financial sustainability. Findings indicated positive and significant between dimensions of financial sustainability, namely financial and strategic planning, income diversification and financial literacy, and SME performance. The findings of this study for assessing and managing the enterprise’s finance will allow for maintaining the stability of FS by monitoring various types of business transactions performed and, if necessary, improving it by monitoring the valuation of the business transaction of an economic entity.