International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues ISSN: 2146-4138 available at http: www.econjournals.com International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 2019, 9(4), 259-266. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues | Vol 9 • Issue 4 • 2019 259 The Acceptability of Participatory Banking Products by SMES: A Conceptual Framework Amina Hachimi*, M. My Abdelouhab Salahddine The National School of Management, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier, Morocco. *Email: amina.hachimi@gmail.com Received: 08 May 2019 Accepted: 22 July 2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijef.8227 ABSTRACT Designed to contribute to the development of the real economy, the Islamic banking sector has grown signifcantly in the world during the last 40 years due to its ethical, religious and solidarity dimensions. It is set up to boost the banking system, to meet the needs of unmet customers and to give new hope to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) facing diffculties in accessing conventional bank fnancing. Islamic banks can contribute to the development of these companies and satisfy their fnancial needs. This article discusses the different factors infuencing the decision of SME managers to adopt fnancing by participatory banks products. In this sense, the conceptual model presented is intended to study the level of acceptability of the participatory banks products by the SMEs starting from the application of the decomposed theory of planned behavior and the task-technology ft model. Keywords: Small and Medium Enterprise, Participatory Banking Products, Acceptability JEL Classifcations: D22, G20, O16 1. INTRODUCTION Islamic fnance is booming worldwide with more than $1800 billion at the end of 2016 (IFSB) and is concentrated mainly in Iran, Malaysia and the Gulf countries. It has distinguished itself from the conventional system by its resistance to the global fnancial crisis of 2008 (Trabelsi, 2011). The Islamic banking sector continues to dominate the Islamic fnancial industry with a percentage of 78.9%. In fact, from its foundations and offered products, the Islamic bank appears to be an important fnancing tool and a credible alternative to meet the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in terms of funds (Huda, 2012). SMEs, which contribute to the socio-economic development of a country, are experiencing difficulties in the access to conventional financing. This is due to the information asymmetry and the lack of guarantees leading to credit rationing towards these enterprises. In this sense, participatory banks (Islamic Banks) can contribute to the deployment of SMEs by offering them fnancial products that suit their operating and investment needs. The question arises as to what extent SMEs are encouraged to adopt participatory banking products in order to satisfy their specifc needs and what factors might motivate them to use this method of funding. In this sense, our article highlights the variables impacting the acceptability of participatory banking products by SMEs. In other words, we will analyze the factors infuencing the choice of participatory banks’ products by the leaders of SMEs using the decomposed theory of the planned behavior and the task- technology ft model. Our research study on the intention of participatory banking products’ adoption by SMEs is crucial in the Moroccan context. First and foremost, it concerns SMEs for developing their knowledge of the new so-called participatory banking method This Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License