Is there any association between FinTech and sustainability? Evidence from bibliometric review and content analysis

Abstract

This study highlights the latest trends in the literature on the relationship between FinTech and sustainability by applying a bibliometric review of documents published in the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis is a quantitative method that allows researchers to highlight core foundations and recent trends in a specific research field. This analysis was based on trend, evolution, bibliometrics, mapping, and qualitative content analyses. Based on a bibliometric review of 59 papers retrieved from the Scopus database, this study explores the most frequent keywords; the most influential authors, organizations, and countries; the most cited papers; the most co-cited reference papers; and sources. Evolution analysis was conducted using CiteSpace; bibliometric and mapping analyses were performed using VOSviewer; and content analysis was performed using WordStat. The results identified three major clusters: sustainability performance, blockchain technology, and digital transformation. Additionally, the results reveal that the analysis of the association between FinTech and sustainability has experienced increasingly important growth in 2021, reflecting the importance of financial technologies and innovations in business. The findings of this study have implications for Fintech and sustainability research and highlight the importance of Fintech in the development and execution of sustainability strategies and practices, as well as the most relevant research methods. This study provides an overview of how the literature on the association between FinTech and sustainability has developed, as well as a summary of the most influential authors along with countries, organizations, and journal sources. This study offers an opportunity for future research in this field.