Low rates of entrepreneurial entry can constrain innovation, productivity and job creation, particularly in economies characterised by limited financial capability and high perceived start-up risk. This study examines whether financial knowledge stimulates entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and clarifies whether its influence is direct or operates through belief-based mechanisms within the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Using nationally representative data from the 2023 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey for Romania (N = 1,051 non-entrepreneurs), we estimate a covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) with a WLSMV estimator to test mediation pathways via opportunity recognition, fear of failure, subjective norms, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The results show no significant direct effect of financial knowledge on EI. Instead, financial knowledge influences EI indirectly by reducing fear of failure and strengthening entrepreneurial self-efficacy and subjective norms, while the opportunity recognition pathway is not supported. These findings extend TPB-based entrepreneurial intention research by conceptualising financial knowledge as an enabling cognitive resource that shapes intention formation through belief-based mechanisms. Practically, the results suggest that financial education alone is unlikely to increase entrepreneurial entry unless combined with confidence-building and network-oriented support. By separating direct from indirect effects, the study helps reconcile mixed evidence on the financial knowledge–entrepreneurial intention link.
Dézsi-Benyovszki et al. (Tue,) studied this question.