Abstract:
Financial Inclusion has been conjectured as a
driver of social development with benefits accruing both at micro
and macro levels. Finance theory suggest that behavioral factors
influence the utilization of financial services and adoption of
emerging innovations and that financial has an effect on optimal
usage of financial services. Studies that examines the combined
effects of behavioral factors, financial innovations and financial
literacy in determining the effect on utilization of financial
services are scanty, yet the latter is deemed as a key driver in
realization of a number of United Nation’s Sustainable
Development Goals (2030). The study extended prior suppositions
by integrating the three variables into a novel model of moderated
mediation. Thus, the linkage between self-control, which is a
behavioral factor, adoption of financial innovations and
utilizations of diverse everyday financial services was examined.
The relationship between the three variables was further tested
for the moderating effects of various levels of financial literacy of
the sampled users of the financial services. Data was collected
using a structured questionnaire from the randomly sampled
owners/or their representatives of microenterprises in Nairobi,
Kenya. The hypotheses were tested using relevant models in
Process Macro [52]. The conditional indirect effects were attested,
thus the conclusion that financial innovations mediates the self-
control and financial inclusion relations if entrepreneurs hold
sufficient levels of financial literacy. The strength of the mediated
effect varied with levels of financial literacy. Implications for
theory growth and policy interventions are discussed.