فرهنگ، سواد مالی و عملکرد SME در غنا Culture, Financial Literacy and SME Performance in Ghana

1.0 Introduction Small and Medium Scale Enterprises’ (SMEs) contribution towards the achievement of the sustainable development goals of developing economies cannot be underestimated. These firms are known to be major contributors to employment generation, economic empowerment and social wellbeing of the majority of the citizens in developing economies who do not have access to formal sector employment mostly offered by the public sector. In view of this, ensuring the growth of SMEs should be of paramount interest not only to the owners, who are generally seen as the primary beneficiaries, but also to the state. Generally, SMEs are run on the ideals and values of the owners. Thus, their success or failure depends on the resources available to the owners. These resources, Nunoo and Andoh (2012) argue, include the financial literacy level of the SME-Owner and cultural values, as this study argues, especially when access to finance is no longer a major problem to SMEs in some developing economies like Ghana (Nunoo & Andoh, 2012; Besley, Coate, & Loury, 1993; Townsend, 1994). Financial literacy and Cultural values of SME owners are key untapped organizational resources that that could enhance SME performance (Growth) through sustained competitive advantage. According to Remund (2010), financial literacy can be summarized as: (1) Knowledge of financial concepts; (2) Ability to communicate about financial concepts (3) Aptitude in managing personal finances (4) Skill in making appropriate financial decisions (5) Confidence in planning effectively for future financial needs. It is generally expected that financial literacy would improve the quality of financial decisions and hence performance. Meanwhile, empirical works on financial literacy (mostly in developed countries) dwell more on determining the financial literacy levels and their determining factors (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2006, 2007a,b; Ciemleja, Lace & Titko, 2014) with very few addressing the consequences of financial literacy or illiteracy. The general conclusion has been that financial illiteracy is widespread. Even though Ciemleja et al. (2014) contend that an inappropriate measurement instrument could lead to inappropriate responses, the generally low level of financial literacy around the world is a source of worry because of the negative spill-over effects associated with ill-informed financial decisions (PISA/OECD, 2012). This condition has triggered a number of research interests around the world with some economies implementing national policies to arrest the negative effects of financial illiteracy, even though developing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have given it minimal attention, as at now.