The role of mobile money adoption in moderating the influence of access to finance in firm performance

Purpose Africa is becoming the fastest-growing continent despite significant challenges to accessing finance and the use of technology. This paper aims to examine the direct effect of mobile money adoption on firm performance and its moderation effect by examining how it moderates the effect of access to finance on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were done to test the hypotheses. Findings The main findings show a negative significant relationship between mobile money adoption and firm performance, while access to finance had a positive relationship. The moderation effect though positive was not significant. Research examining the effect of mobile money adoption in Africa on firm performance is limited, and existing studies have focused on the determinants of mobile money usage. By examining the direct and contingency effect on other determinants of firm performance, this research makes both theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, this research shows that not all strategic resources are valuable in improving firm performance. Practically, this research provides insights into how technology could be embedded into business processes for firms to benefit from such technology. Originality/value This research has complemented by the extant literature by assessing the role of mobile money adoption in moderating the influence of access to finance on firm performance.