Despite the relevance of the Fintech startup phenomenon, few literary efforts have been devoted to the study of the structure and dynamics of Fintech startup ecosystems. Addressing this gap requires an appropriate model for ecosystems themselves, able to capture the hundreds of interactions occurring between players. The present work is an attempt to bridge this gap in the Italian context. This objective is pursued by modelling the ecosystem itself as a social network in which nodes are represented by two categories of actors: Fintech startups and their partners. Edges are then drawn between partnering entities. After having manually collected all relevant actor data, the network was constructed through the use of Python and visualised via Gephi 0.9. Social network analysis techniques were then applied to investigate the structure, main players and collaboration communities of the Italian Fintech startup ecosystem. Regarding structure, the resulting network was significantly fragmented and characterised by the presence of a largest connected component containing the majority of actors. Two prominent players emerged: the Fintech ecosystem developer Fintech District and the startup Fabrick. These players are found to affect both the structure and dynamics of the Italian Fintech startup ecosystem itself. The analysis also detected the presence of five distinct collaboration communities within the ecosystem. By highlighting the most relevant ecosystem players and their partnerships, the study may provide entrepreneurs with the basis for the development of an effective partnership strategy or aid financial incumbents and investors in partner and investee selection respectively. Finally, the work may be exploited by policymakers to drive future interventions.
Nonostante la rilevanza del fenomeno delle startup Fintech, sinora pochi sforzi letterari sono stati dedicati allo studio delle dinamiche e della struttura degli ecosistemi di startup Fintech. Il tema richiede l’introduzione di un modello appropriato per l’ecosistema stesso che sia in grado di cogliere le centinaia di interazioni che intercorrono fra i suoi attori. Il presente elaborato costituisce il tentativo degli autori di colmare questa lacuna nel contesto italiano. Questo obiettivo viene perseguito tramite la modellizzazione dell’ecosistema attraverso un social network i cui nodi sono costituiti da due categorie di attori distinti: le startup Fintech ed i loro partner; mentre gli archi congiungono entrambi gli attori coinvolti in una partnership. Terminato il processo della raccolta manuale di tutti i dati riguardanti gli attori coinvolti, il network è stato successivamente costruito attraverso Python e visualizzato tramite il software Gephi 0.9. In seguito, sono state applicate tecniche di social network analysis allo scopo di studiare la struttura, i principali attori e le comunità collaborative costituenti l’ecosistema italiano di startup Fintech. La struttura del network si è rivelata frammentaria e caratterizzata dalla presenza di un largest connected component contenente la maggior parte degli attori. Dall’analisi sono emersi due attori di rilievo: la startup Fabrick e il Fintech District, un promotore dell’ecosistema Fintech in Italia. Questi attori influenzano significativamente sia le dinamiche che la struttura dell’ecosistema italiano di startup Fintech. Inoltre, l’analisi ha evidenziato la presenza di cinque diverse comunità di collaborazione all’interno dell’ecosistema stesso. Attraverso l’identificazione degli attori ecosistemici più importanti e delle loro rispettive partnerships, lo studio fornisce ad imprenditori le informazioni necessarie allo sviluppo di una strategia di partnership efficace. Inoltre, il presente elaborato può facilitare il processo di selezione di partner ed opportunità di investimento rispettivamente ad opera di intermediari finanziari tradizionali ed investitori. Infine, i risultati ottenuti potranno guidare futuri interventi governativi di sviluppo dell’ecosistema Fintech italiano.
The Italian Fintech and Insurtech startup ecosystem : a social network analysis
Di Giacinto, Alessio;Guaita, Valentina
2020/2021
Abstract
Despite the relevance of the Fintech startup phenomenon, few literary efforts have been devoted to the study of the structure and dynamics of Fintech startup ecosystems. Addressing this gap requires an appropriate model for ecosystems themselves, able to capture the hundreds of interactions occurring between players. The present work is an attempt to bridge this gap in the Italian context. This objective is pursued by modelling the ecosystem itself as a social network in which nodes are represented by two categories of actors: Fintech startups and their partners. Edges are then drawn between partnering entities. After having manually collected all relevant actor data, the network was constructed through the use of Python and visualised via Gephi 0.9. Social network analysis techniques were then applied to investigate the structure, main players and collaboration communities of the Italian Fintech startup ecosystem. Regarding structure, the resulting network was significantly fragmented and characterised by the presence of a largest connected component containing the majority of actors. Two prominent players emerged: the Fintech ecosystem developer Fintech District and the startup Fabrick. These players are found to affect both the structure and dynamics of the Italian Fintech startup ecosystem itself. The analysis also detected the presence of five distinct collaboration communities within the ecosystem. By highlighting the most relevant ecosystem players and their partnerships, the study may provide entrepreneurs with the basis for the development of an effective partnership strategy or aid financial incumbents and investors in partner and investee selection respectively. Finally, the work may be exploited by policymakers to drive future interventions.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/183280