Corporate entrepreneurial strategy and fintech innovation: a moderation analysis with financial flexibility

The rapidly advancing fintech sector highlights the need for exploring the factors affecting fintech innovation. Therefore, this study enriches the literature and uncovers a new dimension by investigating the impact of corporate entrepreneurial (CE) strategy on fintech innovation, along with the moderating role of financial flexibility in this relationship. By employing the sample of 1049 Chinese A-shared firms over the period 2014-2022, the empirical results reveal that CE strategy significantly promotes fintech innovation. The relationship is found stronger for state-owned enterprises. Furthermore, financial flexibility significantly strengthens the relationship between CE strategy and fintech innovation, signifying that financial flexibility facilitates the successful execution of CE strategy pertaining to fintech innovation by providing necessary funds and strategic agility. The outcomes remained robust after a series of analyses and checks. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting the importance of developing entrepreneurial culture while upholding financial flexibility to flourish in competitive fintech prospects.