Determinants of fintech lending adoption among Indonesian SMEs: An integrated UTAUT2–TAM perspective

This study examines the determinants of fintech lending adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). The study aims to provide a comprehensive explanation of how cognitive, social, contextual, economic, and behavioral factors shape SMEs’ behavioral intention and actual usage of fintech lending platforms. Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey of Indonesian SME owners and managers, the proposed relationships were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, habit, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use significantly contribute to behavioral intention and/or usage behavior. Perceived ease of use exhibits the strongest direct effect on behavioral intention among the TAM-related predictors (β = 0.236), while behavioral intention emerges as the strongest predictor of actual usage behavior (β = 0.396), followed by facilitating conditions (β = 0.282) and habit (β = 0.202). These findings indicate that fintech lending adoption among SMEs is shaped not only by perceived functional benefits but also by ease of interaction, enabling conditions, social influences, economic evaluations, and repeated usage patterns. The study contributes to technology-adoption literature by demonstrating the complementary explanatory value of TAM and UTAUT2 in a high-risk financial technology context and offers practical implications for fintech providers and policymakers seeking to improve platform usability, strengthen enabling infrastructure, encourage continued use, and expand inclusive access to digital financing among SMEs.