Financial literacy, access to finance, SMEs performance and Islamic religiosity: evidence from Saudi Arabia
by Raed Khamis Alharbi; Sofri Yahya; Veland Ramadani
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business (IJESB), Vol. 46, No. 2, 2022

Abstract: This paper seeks to explore the impact of access to finance and financial literacy on the SMEs performance in an Islamic context. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design by employing 255 SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The findings showed a positive mediating effect of access to finance on the relationship between financial awareness, financial attitude and SMEs performance while access to finance does not mediate the nexus between financial knowledge and SMEs performance. Subsequently, the findings revealed that access to finance have positive effect on SMEs performance. This study also found that access to finance increases the positive relationship between financial literacy and SMEs performance. The role of religiosity was found to positively increase access to finance towards affecting SMEs performance. The findings of this study provide SMEs with the knowledge to increase their religious practices to access government Islamic funds, i.e., Mudarabah and Musharakah while Islamic banking firms should increase their Islamic products and services to attract SMEs in Saudi Arabia.

Online publication date: Wed, 27-Jul-2022

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business (IJESB):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com