FinTech innovation, financial ecological environment, and industry-finance integration: evidence from chinese firms

Industry-finance integration serves as an essential pathway for financial services to support the real economy. This study examines its effect on firms’ total factor productivity. The results indicate that industry-finance integration enhances firms’ TFP by alleviating financing constraints, improving corporate profitability, and strengthening firms’ risk-taking capacity. Moreover, this positive effect is further amplified in regions characterized by higher levels of FinTech advancement and more robust financial ecological environment. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the TFP gains associated with industry-finance integration are especially evident among state-owned enterprises, large firms, and companies led by managers with financial expertise. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how external environments shape the outcomes of industry-finance integration and offers valuable insights for promoting its sound development to better serve the real economy.