Exploring the spatialities of institutional entrepreneurship in Taipei’s FinTech industry

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to developing the spatiality of institutional entrepreneurship as an analytical framework and using the framework to explore the case of Taipei’s financial technology (FinTech) industry. It argues that FinTech start-ups leverage multiple spatialities to engage in strategic involvement with the four forms of institutional change. Meanwhile, Taipei’s FinTech industry displays a dual-track institutional entrepreneurship strategy: conforming with the state–finance regime to gain legitimacy by being in the FinTech space and building the FinTech scene by developing local and translocal project networks. These dual strategic–institutional practices are central to changing existing financial service institutions, markets and regulations in a latecomer city context.

KEYWORDS:

• institutional entrepreneurship
• FinTech industry
• legitimacy
• spatiality
• regional diversification

JEL:

• D83
• L26
• R58
• O33

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author acknowledges the associate editor and two anonymous reviewers who took a lot of time and effort to provide excellent comments and constructive suggestions on this paper. The effort and comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks also to the participants of the Taiwan PE2 research group who provided insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The financial services industry contributed 6.72% of Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021.

2. The number of branches in the domestic bank sector grew from 3326 in 2000 to 3622 in 2019.

3. They range from algorithmic trading platforms to online lending platforms, InsureTech, and blockchain-based cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

4. FinTech Taipei is a regular FinTech conference and fair held mainly by state financial agencies.

5. The global gurus include Brett King, author of Bank 4.0: Banking Everywhere and Never at a Bank (2018), and Bill Roberts, head of open banking at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.

6. This start-up develops a blockchain-centred service platform for the hotel and food supply chain.

7. For the narrative, see https://today.line.me/tw/v2/article/Jm3aEx (accessed on 17 August 2021).

 

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan [grant numbers MOST 107-2410-H-152-010 and MOST 108-2410-H-152-024].