The strategic options of fintech platforms: An overview and research agenda

Abstract

AbstractThe failure rate of fintech platforms is disproportionately high, which may be because (1) there is a lack of published knowledge on the appropriate strategies to adopt and/or (2) the traditional prescriptions for strategy may be less relevant in the context of fintech platforms. To ascertain either or both of these possibilities, we conducted a comprehensive review of the fintech literature and found that not only is there a relative paucity of research on Fintech Strategies, but there are also important limitations associated with the existing works. To address these limitations, we first identified the unique characteristics of fintech platforms and the strategic implications of those characteristics. Next, we adapted a framework made up of six conventional core logics of strategy and juxtaposed the prescriptions of those logics with the unique characteristics identified. Finally, we constructed a research agenda consisting of a number of open questions based on our analysis to provide directions for future research in this area. The agenda suggests that fintech platform strategies have to account for competing institutional logics stemming from the platforms' dual identity and the tensions between conforming for legitimacy and differentiating for competitive advantage. There is also a need to account for an exceptionally dynamic and unpredictable regulatory landscape, as well as the responses and competitive actions of influential market incumbents.