Revisiting the Demographic Determinants of Financial Behavior and SME Performance: A Systematic Literature Review on Ethnicity, Gender and Financial Capability
Published:
2026-09-14Abstract
The financial performance of micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs) is shaped not only by the availability of capital or market conditions, but also by the socio-demographic characteristics of the entrepreneurs who manage them. Despite growing scholarly attention to financial literacy and its influence on business performance, the relationships between demographic factors particularly ethnicity, gender, and financial capability remain scattered across disconnected bodies of literature spanning multiple disciplines and geographic contexts. This systematic literature review synthesizes findings from 31 studies with the aim of constructing an integrative framework that explains how demographic factors shape financial behavior and, in turn, influence SME performance. Articles analyzed in this review were published between 2015 and 2024 and selected using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol. Applying stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria, articles were sourced from the Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. The findings reveal that financial capability, encompassing knowledge, skills, attitudes, and self-confidence functions as a primary mediating variable between demographic characteristics and the quality of financial decision-making. Gender influences access to financial resources, risk tolerance, and entrepreneurial orientation, while ethnicity and cultural values shape financing preferences, trust in formal financial institutions, and long-term planning behavior. Furthermore, financial inclusion and access to formal credit serve as factors that either strengthen or weaken these relationships across diverse national and cultural contexts. Taken together, these findings underscore the need for policy interventions that account for demographic factors, as well as the development of financial education programs that are responsive to the diverse needs of SMEs.
Keywords:
Financial Capability Financial Behavior SME Performance Gender Ethnicity Financial Inclusion Systematic Literature ReviewReferences
Abbas, S. K. (2025). Lending by algorithm: Fair or flawed? An information-theoretic view of credit decision pipelines. SN Computer Science, 6, Article 679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-025-04222-8
Akinbami, E. (2024). Exploring the impact of cultural diversity on financial literacy among immigrant SMEs in Dublin: A qualitative analysis (Master's thesis). National College of Ireland.
Arnold, C. B. (2025). Assessing the impact of financial, educational, and managerial resources on the success of minority-owned businesses (Doctoral dissertation). Marshall University.
Bass, S. J. (2024). Impact of financial self-efficacy and financial literacy on small-business decision-making behaviors and performance perception (Doctoral dissertation). Oklahoma State University.
Beck, D. E. (2025). Unmasking the veil: Racial discrimination by financial institutions towards minority entrepreneurs (Doctoral dissertation). National University.
Blanco, L. R., Garcia, C., Gulbins, B., & Gutierrez, R. (2024). Systematic review of racial/ethnic and gender differences in financial knowledge in the United States. Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing, 2, 91–120. https://doi.org/10.1017/flw.2024.10
Carter, S., Mwaura, S., Ram, M., Trehan, K., & Jones, T. (2015). Barriers to ethnic minority and women's enterprise. International Small Business Journal, 33(1), 49–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242614556823
Dangcil, A. Y., Ruiz, M. A. A., Mateo, M. R. R., & Alejo, J. A. (2024). Financial literacy and women entrepreneurs' financial behavior. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Creative Economy, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.31098/ijebce.v4i2.2036
Garcia-Santillan, A., Zamora-Lobato, M. T., Tejada-Pena, E., & Valencia-Marquez, L. (2025). Financial education, attitude, and knowledge. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 18(3), 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18030151
Hidalgo-Mayorga, M. A., Puente-Riofrio, M. I., Perez-Salas, F. P., Guerrero-Arrieta, K. G., & Lopez-Naranjo, A. L. (2025). Financial literacy as a tool for social inclusion. Social Sciences, 14, 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14110658
Mijid, N., & Bernasek, A. (2013). Decomposing racial and ethnic differences in small business lending: Evidence of discrimination. Review of Social Economy. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2012.761751
Richardson, C. L. (2023). Successful strategies for obtaining financial funding by minority-owned small businesses (Doctoral dissertation). Walden University.
Stone, D. L., Canedo, J. C., Harrison, T. L., Lukaszewski, K. M., Suazo, M., & Krueger, D. C. (2017). The relations between entrepreneurs' ethnicity, familism values, beliefs, and use of financial planning. Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship.
Valle, T. (2021). Measuring and characterising the functional business financial literacy of entrepreneurs (Doctoral dissertation). University of Cape Town.
Vaidya, R., & G.C., R. (2021). Relation of financial literacy with financial attitude and financial behavior among Tharu woman small borrowers. Journal of Business and Management Review, 2(10), 665–676. https://doi.org/10.47153/jbmr210.2312021
Ward, R. E. (2017). Factors that influence middle class women's financial capability (Doctoral dissertation). RMIT University.
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Fera, Muslimin, Juliana Kadang, Vitayanti Fattah, Darman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Downloads
How to Cite
