Title: Research on the operational efficiency of Chinese fintech companies based on the DEA model

Authors: Xiaoling Song; Pei Peng; Xuan Qin

Addresses: Business School, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China ' College of Business, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China ' Business School, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China

Abstract: Fintech is important for China's 'new infrastructure' and for driving strategic innovation at the national level. Measurement systems are constructed considering cost income and company development. The DEA model is used to analyse the operating efficiency and slack variables of 55 listed fintech companies from 2014 to 2019. This paper distinguishes between the establishment years, enterprise attributes, and scale of companies. It concludes that companies with high establishment years are more efficient than those with low establishment years. The average comprehensive technical efficiency changes of non-state-owned enterprises are slightly higher than those with low establishment years. Non-SBM effective enterprises' investment redundancy indicators are total assets, payable employee compensation, and the number of employees, while insufficient output is reflected in net profit's indicator. Based on the research results, suggestions are made to promote the sustainable development of fintech in China, which is significant for the promotion of financial innovation in China.

Keywords: fintech; corporate operational efficiency; standard DEA model; dynamic DEA model; SBM-DEA model; slack variables; decision-making unit; DMU; establishment years; enterprise attributes; scale of companies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEF.2025.143234

International Journal of Electronic Finance, 2025 Vol.14 No.1, pp.22 - 41

Received: 07 Aug 2022
Accepted: 28 Apr 2023
Published online: 11 Dec 2024 *

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