Title: Does financial knowledge in small- and medium-sized enterprises matter? An empirical survey for Greece

Authors: Marinos Stefanitsis; Irene Fafaliou; Joseph Hassid

Addresses: National Bank of Greece, 153 44 Gerakas, Greece. ' Department of Economics, University of Piraeus, 185 34 Piraeus, Greece. ' Department of Economics, University of Piraeus, 185 34 Piraeus, Greece

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the role financial knowledge of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) might play in their financial behaviour. To this end, we employ a structured questionnaire survey addressed online to a convenient sample of 352 SMEs located in Greece. Using a multivariate statistical analysis, our findings indicate that despite Greek SMEs' satisfactory financial knowledge in specific areas, the majority of the respondents fail to capture gains in overall performance. More research is required to capture additional evidence in the field and in this way to inform better SMEs' managers and policy-makers.

Keywords: financial knowledge; financial behaviour; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; Greece; economics; business; firm performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2013.050644

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2013 Vol.5 No.1, pp.96 - 113

Published online: 30 Dec 2013 *

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