Submitted Abstract
The main objective of the research visit of the FAShION project is the scientific collaboration between the seconded fellow (Dr. Pierre-Jean Barlatier) and the FinTech Capability team of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University (in particular Prof. Anne-Laure Mention) on the topic of investigating the role of FinTech regulatory sandboxes from an open innovation perspective. The other two objectives of the research visit are the research collaboration between the fellow and researchers of the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, and the investigation of further funding opportunities to sustain the collaboration between RMIT and the institution of origin (LIST). The main outcomes of this collaboration are twofold: i) producing internationally competitive new knowledge on the cutting-edge topic of FinTech regulatory sandboxes (FRS) and Blockchain-based Innovations, and ii) sustaining a long-term collaboration between the two institutions. Financial innovation and regulation do not usually go hand in hand. In times of continuous technological breakthroughs within the FinTech landscape, entrepreneurial endeavours are constantly emerging with disruptive business models providing different and differentiated offerings, while generating business opportunities. Regulation tends to be slower compared to technology and is not able to keep up with the continuous technological developments, within the FinTech industry, in a proactive, agile and responsive way. In order to better manage this tension between innovation and regulation in the FinTech landscape, some regulatory agencies have launched FinTech regulatory sandboxes (FRS) to offer a space to companies to experiment with new business models that currently do not have a legal framework. FRS are platforms that represent a new regulatory approach allowing innovative services/products/business models to be tested in the marketplace, with demonstrated feasibility, ensuring regulatory compliance, free of the usual legal and regulatory requirements. Therefore, FRS addresses both regulation and innovation challenges, but extant research has so far paid more attention to the regulatory aspects than the innovation ones. The FAShION project intends to fill this gap in exploring the innovative potential of FRS thanks to an open innovation perspective. More precisely, the FAShION project aims at shedding light to the dynamic, innovative and integrative role of FRS by exploring the following research questions: 1. Can FRS serve as a ‘diagnostic tool’ to help entrepreneurs determine their innovation capacity, while planning strategically towards scale, growth and impact generation? 2. Do FRS help building long-term experimentation capabilities (cyclical process of testing-validated learning-pivoting) that are essential to innovation? 3. How are FRS co-creating value within their innovation ecosystem? 4. Can FRS shape regulatory reforms and policy-making processes that can enable a holistic and multidimensional ecosystem for FinTech innovation? 5. What can other OI intermediaries learn from the development of FRS testing capabilities? To address the above we will adopt both qualitative, multi-stakeholder perspective and design science approach to generate knowledge and design principles of the sandbox approach with a specific attention to Blockchain-based FinTech innovations. RMIT’s FinTech Capability is among the few groups with extensive experience and international reputation on the area of FinTech innovation and has a unique Blockchain Innovation Hub. This expertise, mixed with the experience of the seconded fellow on open innovation, creates the potential for a significant scientific result. The present research visit proposal comes as a continuation of ongoing research projects between LIST and RMIT, and collaboration between Dr. Barlatier and Prof. Mention, and it aims at setting the basis for a fruitful sustainable collaboration between the fellow and the RMIT team.