Driving fintech innovation: key insights and strategic questions for incumbents’ board of directors and advisors

Andreas Spyropoulos

Chapter 10 in Research Handbook on FinTech, 2026, pp 189-199 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This report explores fintech innovation from the side of board directors and board of advisors, the level of understanding and preparedness, the skills and the key questions board directors and advisors need to be asking. The changing profile of directors and advisors in the fintech sector underlines the need for a subtle mix of technological fluency, strategic vision, regulatory acumen, and collaborative leadership to guide governance in this fast-changing industry. The successful fintech boards integrate financial expertise, market foresight, and a customer-centric approach to drive sustainable growth and innovation. They have been instrumental in fostering confidence, responsibility, and openness; increasing adaptability in turbulent markets. In the contemporary world, the integration of environmental, social, and governance dimensions within strategic decision-making processes is part and parcel of good board leadership. Anything but peripheral, sustainability is a core determinant of value creation, and therefore long-term resilience and growth potential. This requires trusting boards to embed sustainability into decisions on corporate strategy, risk management, and allocation of capital representative of wider stakeholder and shareholder interests that encompass areas other than financial returns, including climate change and human rights, among other material ESG issues relevant to business performance. Future research should also explore how sustainability is addressed in specific industries, and the interlinkages between governance practices, policy frameworks, and ESG performance should be examined. Understanding such dynamics can help illustrate how regulatory change can facilitate corporate sustainability. In this regard, it is important that industry leaders, policymakers, and civil society in general collaborate in the establishment of global standards and frameworks that shall support sustainable development. Such an expanded approach could enable fintech boards to spearhead their organizations in long-term value creation and navigate the nooks and complexities of a fast-evolving marketplace.

Keywords: Fintech; Digital; Innovation; Strategy; Leadership; Integrity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035321414
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035321421.00025 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22791_11

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().