Learning process challenges and outcomes in the fintech domain

Purpose: Despite widespread interest in fintech product investment, financial literature lacks the operationalization of the scientific attributes of fintech products. Additionally, dual processing theory has been overlooked by marketing scholars in the fintech domain. The purpose of this research is to introduce a new “Financial and Technology” framework inspired by the dual processing theory to fintech product marketing using the cryptocurrency case. Design/methodology/approach: Given the limited scholarship focusing on science literacy in investment scenarios, prior to the main study data collection, a pretest involving discussion with industrial and academic experts was undertaken to appreciate the study context. In addition, a survey involving 213 college students at a university in the southwest United States was undertaken. The main study involved two extensive surveys involving 543 college students from the same university in Study 1 and 782 Mturk members of the public in Study 2. Findings: The study combines the influence of science literacy (i.e. interest, knowledge and insights into blockchain technology [BCT]) and investment profitability (i.e. perceived investment security) on individuals’ cryptocurrency investment intention (CII). The results across different populations highlight the importance of both learning technology attributes and the anticipation of financial rewards in predicting investment behavior. The results also indicate science literacy’s progressive influence on the intention to invest across populations. More specifically, the results uncover an interesting contradiction: an advanced understanding of underlying technologies hampers the younger generation’s CII. However, among the public, interest in technology novelty plays the most critical role in investment intention. Research limitations/implications: The first contribution concerns the proposition of a framework of “Fin + Tech” incorporating both science literacy and investment reward security within the context of financial behavioral intention. The second contribution concerns the progressive behavioral intention at different levels of learning in BCT – namely, interest, knowledge and insights. These three constructs represent the progressive status of learning and call for more attention from marketing scholars on progressive behavioral prerequisites. The third contribution of this paper finds that population features influence science literacy in predicting financial behavior outcomes. Concerning the limitations of the study, the cross-sectional data and the use of college students in study 1 are weaknesses, as they affect generalizability. Originality/value: Our findings indicate that high-end understanding – insights into the technology itself – hampers the intention to purchase, so practitioners may have to target those with lower professional knowledge or understanding. In addition, the conventional wisdom which holds that a deepened understanding of technological mechanisms would increase financial behaviors does not hold in our study among the younger generation. This raises the question of how fintech product marketers can best communicate with their desired audiences (e.g. how detailed their product introductions should be). Almost all cryptocurrencies are introduced with very vague, complicated, technological terminologies. The best practice seems to be emphasizing the increased potential in value returns while keeping communication substantially simpler and more transparent.