Raising research possibilities on Fintechs from the SME’s Innovation Management and Penrose Firm Growth theory approaches

Abstract

The emergence of Fintechs as competitors in the financial industry has created a debate concerning their ability to compete with traditional banking institutions. There is the advantage of using virtual platforms, which makes possible to reach a wider public. Fintechs deal with investors and other stakeholders, with innovation, differing from traditional institutions. Also, they face threats that come from frauds and regulation issues. So, to propose ways to study fintechs, this article  aims to build research questions and possible topics for future studies in fintechs, using as basis the Innovation Management and Penrose’s Theory of Firm Growth. The methodology used was a literature review with documental analysis, in the form of essay, describing two theoretical axes, in order to find connection between the theories. According to Bense (1947), the essay discusses the development of new theories and studies, focusing on the object and finding different views. The objectives were achieved, making possible to present research questions from the theories. The findings showed that there is an incipient connection between both theories, where few studies point to the possibility of explaining the behavior of small firms (fintechs) using elements from both theories.   This research is limited by the scope, to focus on an specific type of firm (fintech), and by the difficulty in establish parameters for the selection of representative works in each field. The novelty in this paper is to propose the use of these theories as basis for a new approach in the study of fintechs.