Study On The Influence And Mechanism Of Digital Financial Inclusion On The Growth Of SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)plays an important role in economic growth and employment.However,even though SMEs have made great contribution to China’s economy and employment,the development of SMEs still faces many problems,such as the lack of effective protection of equal treatment,frequent damage to the rights and interests of enterprises,and still unsolved difficulties and high costs in financing.Therefore,the working mechanism for promoting the development of SMEs urgently needs to be further improved.In recent years,artificial intelligence,big data,cloud computing,blockchain and other digital technologies have developed rapidly,and their integration with traditional finance has gradually deepened.Digital financial inclusion(DFI),a new financial model,has emerged at the right time,providing new methods and ideas for easing the financing constraints of SMEs and promoting their growth.However,there are few literatures on the impact of digital financial inclusion on the growth of SMEs,and its mechanism needs to be further improved.This paper analyzes the effect and mechanism of DFI on the growth of SMEs,based on information asymmetry theory,long tail theory and other theories.Moreover,this paper constructs a fixed effect model for empirical analysis by using the data of the New OTC Market listed enterprises from 2011 to 2021.It is found that digital financial inclusion can significantly promote the growth of SMEs,and this conclusion is still valid after the robustness test of using instrumental variables,GMM model and replacing core explanatory variable indicators.In the mechanism analysis,we find that financing constraint is the partial mediator between digital financial inclusion and SMEs’ growth.Digital financial inclusion promotes SMEs’ growth by easing financing constraint.Moreover,enterprise financial risk can moderate the impact of digital financial inclusion on the growth of SMEs.For SMEs with higher financial risk,digital financial inclusion has a stronger impact on their growth.Digital financial inclusion can help SMEs improve their financial stability and facilitate their growth.In the heterogeneity analysis,we find that digital financial inclusion can alleviate the "ownership discrimination" in the traditional credit market,and has a stronger promoting effect on the growth of private SMEs.At the same time,digital financial inclusion can identify high-quality enterprises and give them more favorable credit support to promote their growth,so it has a stronger role in promoting the growth of "specialized,refined,unique and new" SMEs.Digital financial inclusion and traditional finance have complementary effects.Digital financial inclusion has a stronger role in promoting the growth of SMEs in regions with relatively backward financial development,which reflects the inclusive characteristics of digital financial inclusion.Among the sub-dimensions of DFI,coverage breadth and digitization degree have significant positive impact on the growth of SMEs.Based on the above research conclusions,this paper puts forward the following suggestions:(1)accelerating the promotion of digital inclusive financial services and expanding the application scenarios of digital financial inclusion;(2)Underdeveloped financial areas should grasp the development opportunities of digital financial inclusion,take advantage of latecomer advantages,and improve the efficiency of financial services for the real economy;(3)Promote the deep Integration of digital technology and finance,build the digital financial ecological chain of SME financing.This paper enriches the relevant research on digital financial inclusion and SMEs’ growth.On the basis of relevant research,the innovation points of this paper are as follows:(1)Taking enterprises listed on the New OTC Market as research samples,studying the effect of DFI on the growth of SMEs from the perspective of financial risks;(2)In the heterogeneity analysis,this paper finds that digital financial inclusion and traditional finance have complementary effects.Digital financial inclusion has a stronger role in promoting the growth of SMEs in regions with relatively backward financial development.Moreover,Digital financial inclusion can help financial institutions to identify high-quality enterprises and promote the growth of "specialized,refined,unique and new" SMEs.