{"title":"The “Halo” of Financial Innovation: Financial Technology and Total Factor Productivity Growth in Chinese Energy Companies","authors":"Yafei Kang, Haoyu Zhang, Wenji Wang, Xiangyang Yang, Nana Chen","doi":"10.1002/mde.70098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n <p>This paper examines how financial technology (Fintech) development affects the total factor productivity (TFP) of energy companies in China using panel data from 2010 to 2022. The results show that Fintech significantly improves corporate TFP. Mechanism analyses indicate that Fintech enhances productivity by easing financing constraints, increasing policy support such as financial subsidies and tax incentives, and promoting R&D-oriented innovation investment. The effect is stronger for mature firms and non–state-owned enterprises, reflecting clear heterogeneity across firms. In addition, regional marketization and attention to the digital economy serve as important external moderators that reinforce the influence of Fintech on TFP. These findings deepen the understanding of digital financial innovation in the energy industry and provide new evidence on how Fintech contributes to high-quality and low-carbon development.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":18186,"journal":{"name":"Managerial and Decision Economics","volume":"47 5","pages":"1201-1218"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Managerial and Decision Economics","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mde.70098","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/3/8 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper examines how financial technology (Fintech) development affects the total factor productivity (TFP) of energy companies in China using panel data from 2010 to 2022. The results show that Fintech significantly improves corporate TFP. Mechanism analyses indicate that Fintech enhances productivity by easing financing constraints, increasing policy support such as financial subsidies and tax incentives, and promoting R&D-oriented innovation investment. The effect is stronger for mature firms and non–state-owned enterprises, reflecting clear heterogeneity across firms. In addition, regional marketization and attention to the digital economy serve as important external moderators that reinforce the influence of Fintech on TFP. These findings deepen the understanding of digital financial innovation in the energy industry and provide new evidence on how Fintech contributes to high-quality and low-carbon development.
期刊介绍:
Managerial and Decision Economics will publish articles applying economic reasoning to managerial decision-making and management strategy.Management strategy concerns practical decisions that managers face about how to compete, how to succeed, and how to organize to achieve their goals. Economic thinking and analysis provides a critical foundation for strategic decision-making across a variety of dimensions. For example, economic insights may help in determining which activities to outsource and which to perfom internally. They can help unravel questions regarding what drives performance differences among firms and what allows these differences to persist. They can contribute to an appreciation of how industries, organizations, and capabilities evolve.