Embracing mobile financial inclusion in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic: The mediating role of cognitive and affective-based trust embeddedness

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the role of social capital in the formation of mobile financialservice users’ adoptive behaviours toward service providers in the context of the financialtechnological regime of Ghana. The study used a total of 417 sample data from a self-administeredquestionnaire to achieve its objectives. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze thedirect effects of social capital and the mediation role of cognitive-based trust and affective-based truston mobile financial service. The results of the study demonstrate that social capital, cognitive-basedand affective-based trust collaboratively impact on the adoptive lifestyle of mobile financial serviceusers. Specifically, both cognitive-based and affective-based trust mediate between social capital andmobile financial inclusion to inform users’ behavioral intentions. The results however, reveals thataffective-based trust plays a significant role in shaping mobile financial service users’ behavioralintentions than cognitive-based trust. In detail, the study indicates that social capital directly impactson the adoptive behavior of mobile financial service users. It is therefore, recommended that in thepresent era of Covid-19 pandemic and its attendant social distancing protocols, mobile financialservice providers should invest heavily in social media channels to develop their corporate socialcapital brand in order to deepen their bondage with users. The study makes a vital contribution to theevolving debate on mobile financial inclusion, information system and consumer psychology fromAfrican perspective. The study acknowledges the contributions of prior studies to the afore-mentionedstrands of discipline and the chasm in literature. Specifically, this study is the first of its kind toempirically examine the influential functions of social capital, cognitive-based trust and affective-basedtrust on mobile financial inclusion from the len of the Ghanaian financial technological landscape.The study will equip industry players with the needed know-how to enhance their profitability andoperational competitiveness.