FinTech in Latvia: Status Quo, Current Developments, and Challenges Ahead

Rupeika-Apoga, Ramona; Wendt, Stefan

doi:10.3390/risks9100181

Cited by 16 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Additionally, researchers noted that digitization has a positive effect on sustainability, cost reduction, revenue growth, and financial performance [8,11,15,16]. The digital transformation of MSMEs has the potential to accelerate the achievement of environmental sustainability goals [17].…”

Section: Theoretical Background 21 Sustainable Digital Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to Sustainable Digital Transformation in Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Rupeika-Apoga

Petrovska

2022

Sustainability

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Digital transformation empowers micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to rethink the way they make decisions and apply technology in meaningful and sustainable ways. The aim of this study is to investigate the main barriers to MSMEs’ sustainable digital transformation, given their global importance and function as the backbone of any economy. We apply the concept of sustainable digital transformation (SDT), which refers to the process of digitalizing the economy in a long-lasting, green, and organic way by building on its key strength: innovative companies and their business ecosystems. The study is based on a representative survey of 425 Latvian MSMEs, which was conducted in the spring of 2021. We combine a survey of MSMEs with a qualitative comparative analysis. Our study identified seven barriers to sustainable digital transformation for MSMEs, which can be classified into three levels of importance. We found that the most important barriers to MSMEs are IT security issues and the shortage of specialists in the external labor market. Furthermore, we discovered that some barriers differ depending on company attributes, such as the number of employees, revenue, and the ability to implement digital transformation independently. However, the barriers were evaluated similarly by company owners and managers. These findings can help MSMEs’ managers and owners, policymakers, and practitioners understand which barriers are impeding MSMEs’ sustainable digital transformation.

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Section: Theoretical Background 21 Sustainable Digital Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to Sustainable Digital Transformation in Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Rupeika-Apoga

Petrovska

2022

Sustainability

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“…This was supported by the tight budget policy of the government, which led to budgets with a small deficit or even a surplus, and restricted lending to banks from the state bank by increasing interest rates on loans. Secondly, Latvia created its national financial market by the legal framework in Western Europe, faced with the strong development of the banking sector and the privatization of banks, as well as the need to respond to the internal banking crisis in 1994-1995(Rupeika-Apoga & Wendt, 2021. The development of the financial sector was marked by the liberalization of financial services, the cancellation of restrictions on currency exchange and administrative regulation of banks' interest rates, the liberalization of capital and current accounts and the opening of the market to foreign competition.…”

Section: Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financialization: curse or salvation? The case of Latvia, a small and post-transition economy

Stawska¹,

Rupeika-Apoga²,

Malaczewski³

et al. 2022

JESI

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The role of financial sector has increased significantly since the 1980s, introducing a new term or phenomenon i.e. the financialization of the economy. There is still some imprecision about the nature and dynamics of financialization, including its impact on the economy. The main task of the financial sector is to allocate funds for its most productive use, while ensuring sustainable development. Recent studies show that excessive financial deepening negatively impacts the economies of developed countries, but is this true for posttransition economies? The aim of this paper is to look into the relationship between financialization and the state of a small and posttransition economy, the Latvian economy. Using a European database and methodological framework we analyze this relationship in Latvia between 1999Q1 and 2017Q4. In our study, we apply the standard Vector Auto-Regressive model (VAR). Our research results do not indicate that financialization causes significant changes in the state of the Latvian economy. The interpretation of this result is related to the degree of financial deepening in Latvia.

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“…Therefore, there is extensive literature available on this topic, which were studied by Rupeiga-Apoga, Lace, Mavlutova, Andriuskevicius, Volkova, Arefjevs, Spilbergs, Natrins, etc. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Other authors including Tambovceva, Uvarova, Romānova, Rupeika-Apoga, Atstaja, Brizga, and Titko have researched various aspects of sustainable development of Baltic countries [20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Transformation as a Driver of the Financial Sector Sustainable Development: An Impact on Financial Inclusion and Operational Efficiency

et al. 2022

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The increase in studies on how digital transformation based on the application of digital technologies affects the sustainable development of various sectors of the economy has been observed. Although digital transformation is important for the financial sector sustainable development, the drivers and links between them are weakly addressed by researchers. The study is aimed at exploring how digital transformation due to the application of innovative technologies and solutions, especially digital payments, is leading to the financial sector sustainable development through financial inclusion and operational efficiency. The current research presents the study of the financial sector digital transformation and its sustainable development based on a systematic literature review, a secondary data analysis, and expert interviews to provide further research directions and draw practical suggestions for professionals on the financial sector digital transformation toward sustainable development in the future. A systematic literature analysis is performed based on text analytics, a bibliometric analysis, and network maps aimed at acknowledging the existing research outcomes and identifying the research gaps on the digital transformation agenda in the financial sector. The collected data on the digital payments’ dynamic in the EU were analyzed with the use of statistical methods, including a correlation and regression analysis. Structured expert interviews were used to validate research findings and to highlight key issues of the digital transformation in the financial sector of Baltic countries. The authors have paid special attention to the sustainable development of the financial sector’s economic dimension and its efficiency indicators, such as financial inclusion and digital payments’ intensity. A social dimension is limited toward financial inclusion based on digital payments’ offering. The research results indicated recent trends in digital transformation and types of usage of digital technologies in the EU and Baltic countries to ensure the sustainable development of financial institutions. Furthermore, the results revealed a significant increase in the digital payments’ intensity during the last years in the EU, as well as a close relationship between digital payments with financial inclusion and operational efficiency of financial institutions.

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FinTech in Latvia: Status Quo, Current Developments, and Challenges Ahead

Cited by 16 publications

References 27 publications

Barriers to Sustainable Digital Transformation in Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Barriers to Sustainable Digital Transformation in Micro-, Small-, and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Financialization: curse or salvation? The case of Latvia, a small and post-transition economy

Digital Transformation as a Driver of the Financial Sector Sustainable Development: An Impact on Financial Inclusion and Operational Efficiency

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