Skills related to the understanding, evaluation and management of the financial resources needed to set up a firm and develop successful, innovative, and sustainable initiatives within it.
Published in Chapter:
Financial Literacy and Innovation Performance in SMEs: The Mediating Effect of Risk-Taking
Marta Campos Valenzuela (University of Malaga, Spain), Sofía Louise Martínez-Martínez (University of Malaga, Spain), and Julio Diéguez Soto (University of Malaga, Spain)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 24
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7634-2.ch004
Abstract
Innovation is an essential aspect for the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Defining formulas to encourage innovation is therefore crucial. Financial literacy is an area of growing interest in both theory and practice and its relationship with innovation performance has been little studied. This chapter examines the importance of financial literacy for business innovation and the effect that risk-taking has on this relationship. Using a quantitative approach, 309 Spanish SMEs of different sectors are analysed. A mediation analysis shows both a direct and an indirect positive effect on innovation. Thus, this chapter brings insights, developing the existing literature of SMEs. So, it contributes to broaden the scope of the innovation and therefore the sustainable development of these firms. Practical implications are presented for four differentiated areas, which may enhance the sustainable development of SMEs: business management, entrepreneurship, public policies, and university.