THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION IN SME DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM ROMANIAN FINANCE PROFESSIONALS

Monica Crespai, Ioana-Carmen Bozintan, Ciprian Patrauceanu, Daniel Badulescu

Abstract


Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, yet uneven financial literacy continues to limit access to funding, innovation uptake, and operational resilience. This study examines how finance professionals perceive the relevance and usefulness of financial education for SMEs, situating these views within the institutional context and role-specific responsibilities. Based on a questionnaire administered to specialists from Romania’s banking and non-bank lending institutions, our study investigates how professionals assess educational initiatives that shape SMEs’ behavior and preferences for training formats (online courses, seminars, customized programs, and applied simulations). Findings indicate distinct perceptual orientations - from an innovation-driven stance that assigns a central role to financial education to a more traditional, cautious view marked by lower openness to alternatives - together with clear differences in learning preferences across professional groups. Moreover, financial education is perceived in close connection with attitudes toward financing instruments and organizational culture. Recommendations addressed to policy makers, training providers, and lending institutions emphasize differentiated, context-sensitive educational approaches tailored to institutional settings, professional roles, and the specific needs of targeted audiences, rather than uniform interventions.

Keywords


financial education; SMEs; professionals’ perceptions; entrepreneurial ecosystem; institutional context; educational programs;

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12709/mest.14.14.02.11

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