From Innovation to Use: Configurational Pathways to High Fintech Use Across User Groups

Despite high expectations for Fintech growth, its real-world expansion has fallen short due to its inherent complexity. Although Fintech is innovative, its multidimensional nature has made it difficult for companies to develop effective, tailored solutions for its diverse user groups. To foster the development of effective and practical Fintech solutions that can expand the user base, a novel and integrative approach is required. Therefore, this study aims to explore specific solutions to enhance Fintech use by holistically combining and intertwining various attributes. Based on the diffusion of innovation theory and the information systems success model, we propose a conceptual Fintech model consisting of three dimensions: innovation, financial service, and information technology. To investigate this model, we adopt fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), a set-theoretic method suited to identifying combinations of Fintech attributes that lead to specific outcomes. The results reveal that the configurations of Fintech attributes leading to high Fintech use differ across four user groups: Infrequent users, Lurkers, Task-driven users, and Power users. The findings also show that information technology plays multifaceted roles depending on its combination with other Fintech attributes. This study explains the interdependencies among Fintech attributes and their combined effects on Fintech use, offering deeper insights into Fintech research through a configurational lens.