IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v21y2025i1d10.1007_s11365-025-01092-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cross-country differences in the role of innovation performance in the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and access to finance

Author

Listed:
  • Mehmet Civelek

    (Pan-European University, European Centre For Business Research)

  • Jaroslav Schönfeld

    (Prague University of Economics and Business)

  • Aleksandr Ključnikov

    (Pan-European University, European Centre For Business Research
    Pan-European University)

  • Marek Csabay

    (Pan-European University, European Centre For Business Research
    Pan-European University)

  • Alberto Ferraris

    (University of Turin
    University of Nicosia)

Abstract

Although the majority of enterprises’ first source of financing is bank credit, they encounter many bank credit obstacles. Some entrepreneurial attitudes based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, determinants of entrepreneurial intention, namely, personal attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms, can enable enterprises to overcome these credit impediments via innovation performance. This is because firms’ innovation performance can indicate firms’ quality to lenders, and this factor might mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and bank credit access. However, since the innovation performance of enterprises can change depending on the countries where businesses operate, the mediating role of innovation performance might also differ in a cross-country context. By analyzing 1367 enterprises from four European countries, this paper aims to find cross-country differences in the mediating role of innovation performance in the association between the determinant factors of entrepreneurial intention and access to finance. The results emphasize that country-level differences exist in the mediating role of innovation performance between the determinants of entrepreneurial intention and access to finance because of cultural, political, legal, and economic differences. While innovation performance fully mediates between all determinants of entrepreneurial intention and bank credit access in the Polish sample and between subjective norm and access to finance in the Hungarian sample, it does not mediate in the relationship between the determinants of entrepreneurial intention and bank credit access for the Czech and Slovakian samples. Since the results of this paper represent cross-country differences in the indirect impacts of entrepreneurial attitudes on credit access via innovation performance and confirm the impact of entrepreneurial intention on credit access of Polish firms via innovation performance, it makes significant contributions to the entrepreneurship literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehmet Civelek & Jaroslav Schönfeld & Aleksandr Ključnikov & Marek Csabay & Alberto Ferraris, 2025. "Cross-country differences in the role of innovation performance in the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and access to finance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-38, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-025-01092-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-025-01092-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-025-01092-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11365-025-01092-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ross Brown & José M. Liñares-Zegarra & John O.S. Wilson, 2022. "Innovation and borrower discouragement in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1489-1517, December.
    2. Chau Le & Bach Nguyen & Vinh Vo, 2024. "Do intangible assets help SMEs in underdeveloped markets gain access to external finance?—the case of Vietnam," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 833-855, February.
    3. Mavroudi, Eva & Kafouros, Mario & Jia, Fei & Hong, Junjie, 2023. "How can MNEs benefit from internationalizing their R&D across countries with both weak and strong IPR protection?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    4. Boubakri, Narjess & Saffar, Walid, 2016. "Culture and externally financed firm growth," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 502-520.
    5. Gkypali, Areti & Roper, Stephen, 2024. "Innovation and sales growth intentions among the solopreneurs: The role of experience and entrepreneurial self-efficacy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    6. Emmanuel Bruce & Zhao Shurong & Du Ying & Meng Yaqi & John Amoah & Sulemana Bankuoru Egala, 2023. "The Effect of Digital Marketing Adoption on SMEs Sustainable Growth: Empirical Evidence from Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-24, March.
    7. Miao, Chao & Coombs, Joseph E. & Qian, Shanshan & Sirmon, David G., 2017. "The mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation: A meta-analysis of resource orchestration and cultural contingencies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 68-80.
    8. Joern Block & Christopher Hansen & Holger Steinmetz, 2023. "Are Family Firms Doing More Innovation Output With Less Innovation Input? A Replication and Extension," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(4), pages 1496-1520, July.
    9. Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 677-716, June.
    10. Mojca Svetek, 2023. "The Role of Entrepreneurs’ Perceived Competence and Cooperativeness in Early-Stage Financing," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2047-2076, November.
    11. Annalisa Ferrando & Alessandro Ruggieri, 2018. "Financial constraints and productivity: Evidence from euro area companies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 257-282, July.
    12. Beck, Thorsten & Degryse, Hans & De Haas, Ralph & van Horen, Neeltje, 2018. "When arm's length is too far: Relationship banking over the credit cycle," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(1), pages 174-196.
    13. Moro, Andrea & Fink, Matthias, 2013. "Loan managers’ trust and credit access for SMEs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 927-936.
    14. Allen N. Berger & Gregory F. Udell, 2002. "Small Business Credit Availability and Relationship Lending: The Importance of Bank Organisational Structure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(477), pages 32-53, February.
    15. Werner Bönte & Sebastian Nielen, 2011. "Product Innovation, Credit Constraints, and Trade Credit: Evidence from a Cross‐country Study," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 413-424, September.
    16. Beata Gavurova & Jaroslav Belas & Yuriy Bilan & Jakub Horak, 2020. "Study of legislative and administrative obstacles to SMEs business in the Czech Republic and Slovakia," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 11(4), pages 689-719, December.
    17. Guillaume Andrieu & Raffaele Staglianò & Peter van Der Zwan, 2018. "Bank debt and trade credit for SMEs in Europe: firm-, industry-, and country-level determinants," Post-Print hal-02044268, HAL.
    18. Zhongju Liao & Yan Liu & Juanlan Dai & Yunyan Li, 2022. "An application of the planned behavior theory to predict Chinese firms’ environmental innovation," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 65(14), pages 2676-2695, December.
    19. Abidemi C. Adegboye & Samuel Iweriebor, 2018. "Does Access to Finance Enhance SME Innovation and Productivity in Nigeria? Evidence from the World Bank Enterprise Survey," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 30(4), pages 449-461, December.
    20. Uyar, Ali & Gerged, Ali Meftah & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2024. "Corporate innovation capacity, national innovation setting, and renewable energy use," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    21. Saad, Gad & Cleveland, Mark & Ho, Louis, 2015. "Individualism–collectivism and the quantity versus quality dimensions of individual and group creative performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 578-586.
    22. Yan Dong & Chao Men, 2014. "SME Financing in Emerging Markets: Firm Characteristics, Banking Structure and Institutions," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 120-149, January.
    23. Andrea Mina & Henry Lahr & Alan Hughes, 2013. "The demand and supply of external finance for innovative firms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 22(4), pages 869-901, August.
    24. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2017. "National culture and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 173-187.
    25. Edward Marfo-Yiadom & George Tweneboah, 2022. "The role of national culture in financial innovation and bank stability transmission," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2111792-211, December.
    26. Aparicio, Sebastian & Audretsch, David & Urbano, David, 2021. "Why is export-oriented entrepreneurship more prevalent in some countries than others? Contextual antecedents and economic consequences," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    27. Sascha Kraus & Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano & Miriam Schüssler, 2018. "Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in entrepreneurship and innovation research – the rise of a method," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 15-33, March.
    28. Isabel Neira & Nuria Calvo & Loreto Fernández & Marta Portela, 2017. "Entrepreneur: do social capital and culture matter?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 665-683, June.
    29. Anis Khedhaouria & Călin Gurău & Olivier Torrès, 2015. "Creativity, self-efficacy, and small-firm performance: the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 485-504, March.
    30. Ljiljana BOZIĆ & Valerija BOTRIĆ, 2017. "Innovation investment decisions: are post(transition) economies different from the rest of the EU?," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 8, pages 25-43, December.
    31. Naegels, Vanessa & Mori, Neema & D'Espallier, Bert, 2022. "The process of female borrower discouragement," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    32. Guillaume Andrieu & Raffaele Staglianò & Peter Zwan, 2018. "Bank debt and trade credit for SMEs in Europe: firm-, industry-, and country-level determinants," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 245-264, June.
    33. Lucia Dalla Pellegrina & Serena Frazzoni & Zeno Rotondi & Andrea Vezzulli, 2017. "Does ICT adoption improve access to credit for small enterprises?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 657-679, March.
    34. Anis Khedhaouria & Călin Gurău & Olivier Torrès, 2015. "Creativity, self-efficacy, and small-firm performance: the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation," Post-Print hal-02011118, HAL.
    35. Kris M.Y. Law & Monika Jakubiak, 2020. "Determinants of students' entrepreneurial intention - a comparative study in Poland and Hong Kong," International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 28(1), pages 59-81.
    36. Joanna Błach & Monika Wieczorek-Kosmala & Joanna Trzęsiok, 2020. "Innovation in SMEs and Financing Mix," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, September.
    37. Dario D’Ingiullo & Valentina Evangelista, 2020. "Institutional quality and innovation performance: evidence from Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(12), pages 1724-1736, December.
    38. Boubakri, Narjess & Chkir, Imed & Saadi, Samir & Zhu, Hui, 2021. "Does national culture affect corporate innovation? International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    39. Mochkabadi, Kazem & Kleinert, Simon & Urbig, Diemo & Volkmann, Christine, 2024. "From distinctiveness to optimal distinctiveness: External endorsements, innovativeness and new venture funding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    40. Mountford, Nicola & Geiger, Susi, 2024. "Public actor roles in market experiments: Innovating digital health markets in New York and Ireland," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    41. Daniel L. Bennett & Boris Nikolaev, 2021. "Individualism, pro-market institutions, and national innovation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 2085-2106, December.
    42. Ciaran Mac an Bhaird & Brian Lucey, 2014. "Culture’s influences: An investigation of inter-country differences in capital structure," Borsa Istanbul Review, Research and Business Development Department, Borsa Istanbul, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, March.
    43. Nurdan Ozaralli & Nancy K. Rivenburgh, 2016. "Entrepreneurial intention: antecedents to entrepreneurial behavior in the U.S.A. and Turkey," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 6(1), pages 1-32, December.
    44. Dominika Wach & Philipp Kruse & Sílvia Costa & Juan Antonio Moriano, 2023. "Exploring Social and Commercial Entrepreneurial Intentions from Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective: A Cross-Country Study among Namibian and German Students," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 226-247, May.
    45. Thi Thu Tra Pham & Thai Vu Hong Nguyen & Son Kien Nguyen & Hieu Thi Hoang Nguyen, 2023. "Does planned innovation promote financial access? Evidence from Vietnamese SMEs," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(2), pages 281-307, June.
    46. Christopher Schlaegel & Robert L. Engle & Nicole Franziska Richter & Pia Christin Taureck, 2021. "Personal factors, entrepreneurial intention, and entrepreneurial status: A multinational study in three institutional environments," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 357-398, September.
    47. Balushi, Yasmeen Al & Locke, Stuart & Boulanouar, Zakaria, 2018. "Islamic financial decision-making among SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman: An adaption of the theory of planned behaviour," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 30-38.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aleksandr Ključnikov & Mehmet Civelek & Václav Kupec & Natálie Bruder Badie, 2025. "Breaking down entrepreneurial barriers: exploring the nexus of entrepreneurial behavior, innovation, and bank credit access through the lens of the theory of planned behavior," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-35, December.
    2. Pierluigi Murro & Valentina Peruzzi, 2022. "Relationship lending and the use of trade credit: the role of relational capital and private information," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 327-360, June.
    3. Stefano Filomeni & Michele Modina & Elena Tabacco, 2023. "Trade credit and firm investments: empirical evidence from Italian cooperative banks," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1099-1141, April.
    4. Bertrand, Jérémie & Murro, Pierluigi, 2022. "Firm–bank “odd couples” and trade credit: Evidence from Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    5. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Roberto Ganau & Kristina Maslauskaite & Monica Brezzi, 2021. "Credit constraints, labor productivity, and the role of regional institutions: Evidence from manufacturing firms in Europe," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 299-328, March.
    6. Pietro Grandi & Caroline Ninou Bozou, 2023. "Bank Market Power and Access to Credit: Bank-Firm Level Evidence From the Euro Area," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 63(1), pages 63-90, February.
    7. Kijkasiwat, Ploypailin, 2021. "The influence of behavioral factors on SMES’ owners intention to adopt private finance," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    8. Marjolein C. J. Caniëls & Anna Motylska-Kuźma, 2023. "Entrepreneurial intention and creative performance – the role of distress tolerance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1131-1152, September.
    9. Guo, Lan & Su, Zhong-qin & Xiao, Zuoping & Fung, Hung-Gay, 2024. "Alcohol culture and corporate risk-taking," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    10. Pietro Grandi & Caroline Ninou Bozou, 2018. "Bank competition and firm credit availability: firm-bank evidence from Europe," Working Papers hal-01897744, HAL.
    11. Paola Bongini & Annalisa Ferrando & Emanuele Rossi & Monica Rossolini, 2021. "SME access to market-based finance across Eurozone countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1667-1697, April.
    12. Farah Saerens & Stefanie Ceustermans, 2021. "Abbreviated or Micro-Entity Accounts? Effect of Financial Reporting Format on the Availability of Trade Credit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    13. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Ho, Shan-Ju, 2022. "The dimension of green economy: Culture viewpoint," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 122-138.
    14. Li, Guoxing & Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2023. "Western cultural influence on corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    15. Gaganis, Chrysovalantis & Pasiouras, Fotios & Voulgari, Fotini, 2019. "Culture, business environment and SMEs' profitability: Evidence from European Countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 275-292.
    16. Lu, Yao & Zhan, Shuwei & Zhan, Minghua, 2024. "Has FinTech changed the sensitivity of corporate investment to interest rates?—Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Osei-Tutu, Francis & Weill, Laurent, 2023. "Individualism reduces borrower discouragement," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 370-385.
    18. Song Zhang & Liang Han & Konstantinos Kallias & Antonios Kallias, 2021. "The value of in-person banking: evidence from U.S. small businesses," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1393-1435, November.
    19. Blomkvist, Katarina & Engzell, Jeanette & Kappen, Philip & Zander, Ivo, 2024. "How organizational conditions affect employees’ intentions to engage in intrapreneurial new venturing," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    20. Jinia Mukerjee & Roy Thurik & Olivier Torrès & Annelot Wismans, 2024. "Measuring organizational play in small businesses," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 2443-2476, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-025-01092-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.