Governing Fintech for sustainable development: evidence from Italian banking system

Purpose - Customer satisfaction has been traditionally the main goal aimed at by managers. Focusing on the banking industry, the importance of this concept is even greater because of the increasing focus of banks on mobile services to reach out to a larger set of customers. To investigate user’s behavior in a Fintech context, this study aim to focus on two relevant issues: service quality and perceived risk. For the purpose, the authors integrated a technology quality-based model with a green image perspective to investigate the impact on customer satisfaction in Fintechs users. Design/methodology/approach - The primary data is based on a survey directly taken from a questionnaire survey. The survey is collected by researchers. This research used probability sampling technique with convenience sampling. The data of this study data is derived from an online survey of Italian households performed between August 2020 and December 2020. In accordance to other studies, the questionnaires used Likert scale model that was conducted by measuring five categories of responses. For methodology, the authors analyzed data by structural model equations. Findings - The authors find that some of quality services factors impact on user satisfaction as well as the trust in Fintech providers. Moreover, the empirical findings highlight that the importance of a green reputation in Fintech providers from the perspective of consumer as it enhances both the trust and the satisfaction in internet banking services offered. It is needed to highlight that the most important thing for a Fintech provider is to secure loyalty and to be sustainable from a green perspective. The authors found that trust and green image give great influence on use intention. Therefore, it is most important for financial providers to develop financial products with trust and e-loyalty in mind. Research limitations/implications - This study suggests that nowadays Fintech companies should invest more resources in the increasing of green image because it is positively associated with trust and customer’s satisfaction. The authors incentive the financial institutions to promote the sustainable development and green strategies in their planning as concern for the environment and sustainability affects consumers, who increasingly consider certain non-financial attributes in their investments, such as environmental, social and governance criteria. Future research that includes different cultural settings would enhance generalizability and external validity as the respondents all live in Italy. Originality/value - For the purpose, the authors integrated a technology quality-based model with a green image perspective to investigate the impact on customer satisfaction in Fintechs users. This paper, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to study consumer satisfaction in Fintech context in this sense. Although existing research has investigated relevant aspects of customer trust, satisfaction, these issues have not been discussed from a green perspective. Apart from that, the main contribution of this paper is its exploration of the influence of green image on loyalty and satisfaction. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, however, no studies have been done on sustainable banking in Italian banking sector, focused on Fintech services. In this paper, the authors attempt to fill this research gap.