IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v21y2025i1d10.1007_s11365-024-01025-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Breaking down entrepreneurial barriers: exploring the nexus of entrepreneurial behavior, innovation, and bank credit access through the lens of the theory of planned behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Aleksandr Ključnikov

    (Pan-European University
    Pan-European University)

  • Mehmet Civelek

    (Pan-European University)

  • Václav Kupec

    (Prague University of Economics and Business)

  • Natálie Bruder Badie

    (Prague University of Economics and Business)

Abstract

Access to finance is a primary concern for enterprises, serving as a critical component of tangible resources within the Resource-based View (RBV) framework and driving entrepreneurial activities globally. Bank credit stands as the preferred source of debt financing for enterprises, yet information asymmetry between lenders and borrowers poses significant credit obstacles. To address these challenges, we leverage the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), contending that entrepreneurs’ personal attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms influence bank credit access. Additionally, we argue that innovation performance, an intangible resource within RBV, facilitates credit access by enhancing firms’ quality and creditworthiness from lenders’ perspectives. This paper aims to examine the relationships between TPB constructs, bank credit access, and innovation performance, as well as the mediating role of innovation performance, through an analysis of 1367 enterprises across diverse European countries. Our findings reveal that innovation performance fully and inconsistently mediates the relationships between personal attitude-credit access and subjective norm-credit access, as the direct impacts of personal attitude and subjective norm on bank finance are found to be insignificant and negative, respectively. These results underscore the pivotal role of innovation performance in linking entrepreneurial behaviors to credit access, contributing to the uniqueness of this research within the entrepreneurship literature. Moreover, our study emphasizes the need for training initiatives that foster innovative and entrepreneurial attitudes among firm executives, thereby facilitating easier credit access. As highlighted by our cross-cultural analyses, these implications extend beyond national borders, offering valuable insights for enhancing credit accessibility across diverse contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-024-01025-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-024-01025-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-024-01025-w
    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/s11365-024-01025-w?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. Mina Nasiri & Minna Saunila & Tero Rantala & Juhani Ukko, 2022. "Sustainable innovation among small businesses: The role of digital orientation, the external environment, and company characteristics," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 703-712, August.
    2. Neil Lee & Ross Brown, 2017. "Innovation, SMEs and the liability of distance: the demand and supply of bank funding in UK peripheral regions," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 233-260.
    3. 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.
    4. Shogo Mlozi & Ossi Pesämaa & Sarah Jack, 2018. "Role of reciprocity and innovativeness on performance in a developing context: Empirical evidence from Africa," African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 69-84, January.
    5. Mehmet Civelek & Vladimír Krajèík & Vendula Fialova, 2023. "The impacts of innovative and competitive abilities of SMEs on their different financial risk concerns: System approach," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 14(1), pages 327-354, March.
    6. Esfandiar, Kourosh & Sharifi-Tehrani, Mohamad & Pratt, Stephen & Altinay, Levent, 2019. "Understanding entrepreneurial intentions: A developed integrated structural model approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 172-182.
    7. 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.
    8. Hamed Ali Al Azzani & Normal Mat Jusoh & Aamir Abbas, 2024. "Market and Supply Chain Orientation; Dynamic Capabilities Leading to Innovation and Operational Capabilities," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.
    9. Lee, Neil & Sameen, Hiba & Cowling, Marc, 2015. "Access to finance for innovative SMEs since the financial crisis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 370-380.
    10. Prange, Christiane & Verdier, Sylvie, 2011. "Dynamic capabilities, internationalization processes and performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 126-133, January.
    11. Rebel A. Cole, 2013. "What Do We Know about the Capital Structure of Privately Held US Firms? Evidence from the Surveys of Small Business Finance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 42(4), pages 777-813, December.
    12. Vinson, Jeremy M. & Curtis, Mary B. & Conover, Teresa L. & Chui, Lawrence, 2020. "Ethical relativism in accounting: A cross-cultural examination of the influence of culture and risk taking propensity on ethical decision-making," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    13. van Rijnsoever, Frank J. & Eveleens, Chris P., 2021. "Money Don't matter? How incubation experience affects start-up entrepreneurs' resource valuation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    14. Sascha Kraus & William McDowell & Domingo Enrique Ribeiro-Soriano & María Rodríguez-García, 2021. "The role of innovation and knowledge for entrepreneurship and regional development," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3-4), pages 175-184, March.
    15. Warsame, Mohammed Hersi & Ireri, Edward Mugambi, 2016. "Does the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) matter in Sukuk investment decisions?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 93-100.
    16. Soriano, Domingo Ribeiro & Huarng, Kun-Huang, 2013. "Innovation and entrepreneurship in knowledge industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1964-1969.
    17. 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.
    18. Rakshit, Sandip & Islam, Nazrul & Mondal, Sandeep & Paul, Tripti, 2021. "Mobile apps for SME business sustainability during COVID-19 and onwards," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 28-39.
    19. 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).
    20. Obey Dzomonda, 2022. "Environmental Sustainability Commitment and Access to Finance by Small and Medium Enterprises: The Role of Financial Performance and Corporate Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. 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).
    24. 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.
    25. Danso, Albert & Adomako, Samuel & Lartey, Theophilus & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Owusu-Yirenkyi, Diana, 2020. "Stakeholder integration, environmental sustainability orientation and financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 652-662.
    26. Christiane Prange & Sylvie Verdier, 2011. "Dynamic capabilities, internationalization processes and performance," Post-Print hal-02312587, HAL.
    27. A. Irimia-Diéguez & F. Velicia-Martín & M. Aguayo-Camacho, 2023. "Predicting Fintech Innovation Adoption: the Mediator Role of Social Norms and Attitudes," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    28. 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.
    29. Long, Xingle & Chen, Yaqiong & Du, Jianguo & Oh, Keunyeob & Han, Insoo, 2017. "Environmental innovation and its impact on economic and environmental performance: Evidence from Korean-owned firms in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 131-137.
    30. Purwanto Purwanto & Irwan Abdullah & Abdul Ghofur & Shodiq Abdullah & Misbah Zulfa Elizabeth, 2022. "Adoption of Islamic microfinance in Indonesia an empirical investigation: an extension of the theory of planned behaviour," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2087466-208, December.
    31. 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.
    32. Naegels, Vanessa & Mori, Neema & D'Espallier, Bert, 2022. "The process of female borrower discouragement," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    33. 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.
    34. 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).
    35. Mansouri, Sasan & Momtaz, Paul P., 2022. "Financing sustainable entrepreneurship: ESG measurement, valuation, and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(6).
    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. Yi-Ju Lo & Tung Hung, 2015. "Structure offshoring and returns on offshoring," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 443-479, June.
    2. Xiao Zhang & Luqun Xie & Jiatao Li & Li Cheng, 2022. "“Outside in”: Global demand heterogeneity and dynamic capabilities of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(4), pages 709-722, June.
    3. Muhammad Arif & Mudassar Hasan & Ahmed Shafique Joyo & Christopher Gan & Sazali Abidin, 2020. "Formal Finance Usage and Innovative SMEs: Evidence from ASEAN Countries," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Choi, Yoona & Cui, Lin & Li, Yi & Tian, Xizhou, 2020. "Focused and ambidextrous catch-up strategies of emerging economy multinationals," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6).
    5. Elisa Ughetto & Marc Cowling & Neil Lee, 2019. "Regional and spatial issues in the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises and new ventures," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 617-619, May.
    6. Priyono Anjar & Nursyamsiah Siti & Darmawan Baziedy A., 2019. "Managing ambidexterity in internationalisation of SMEs from an emerging country: A dynamic capability perspective," HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, Sciendo, vol. 10(3), pages 7-26, December.
    7. Bhattarai, Charan Raj & Kwong, Caleb C.Y. & Tasavori, Misagh, 2019. "Market orientation, market disruptiveness capability and social enterprise performance: An empirical study from the United Kingdom," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 47-60.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Navarro-García, Antonio & Ledesma-Chaves, Pablo & Gil-Cordero, Eloy & De-Juan-Vigaray, María Dolores, 2024. "Intangible resources, static and dynamic capabilities and perceived competitive advantage in exporting firms. A PLS-SEM/fsQCA approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    11. Keonhyeong Lee & Liyuan Wang, 2023. "Chinese High-Tech Export Performance: Effects of Intellectual Capital Mediated by Dynamic and Risk Management Capabilities," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    12. Hang Wu & Yiying Qu, 2021. "How Do Firms Promote Green Innovation through International Mergers and Acquisitions: The Moderating Role of Green Image and Green Subsidy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    13. Viktor Fredrich & Siegfried Gudergan & Ricarda B. Bouncken, 2022. "Dynamic Capabilities, Internationalization and Growth of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The Roles of Research and Development Intensity and Collaborative Intensity," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 611-642, August.
    14. Segundo Camino-Mogro & Mary Armijos & Paul Vera-Gilces, 2022. "High-growth firms and international trade: evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 299-332, January.
    15. Tobias Pehrsson & Navid Ghannad & Anders Pehrsson & Tobias Abt & Siyuan Chen & Fabian Erath & Tobias Hammarstig, 2015. "Dynamic capabilities and performance in foreign markets: Developments within international new ventures," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 28-48, March.
    16. 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.
    17. Bojan Morić Milovanović & Mirjana Grčić Fabić & Vjekoslav Bratić, 2023. "Strategic Approach to Configurational Analysis of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Strategic Networking, and SME Performance within Emerging Markets of Selected Southeast European Countries," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, February.
    18. Villar, Cristina & Alegre, Joaquín & Pla-Barber, José, 2014. "Exploring the role of knowledge management practices on exports: A dynamic capabilities view," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 38-44.
    19. Nguyen Anh Khoa Dam & Thang Le Dinh & William Menvielle, 2019. "A systematic literature review of big data adoption in internationalization," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(3), pages 182-195, September.
    20. Francisco Puig & Miguel González-Loureiro & Pervez N. Ghauri, 2014. "Internationalisation for Survival: The Case of New Ventures," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(5), pages 653-673, October.

    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_s11365-024-01025-w. 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.