Financial Management Behavior in The Digital Era: The Mediating Role of Self-Control in The Effects of Financial Technology and Social Environment

Objective: This study aims to analyze the influence of Financial Technology and Social Environment on Financial Management Behavior and to examine the role of Self-Control as a mediating mechanism among users of digital financial services in Indonesia. Research Design & Methods: This study employs a quantitative approach using a survey design. Data were collected from 120 respondents who are users of digital financial services in Indonesia, selected using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS to evaluate the measurement model and structural model, as well as to test the direct and indirect relationships among the variables. Findings: The results of this study indicate that Financial Technology and Social Environment do not have a significant direct effect on Financial Management Behavior, but both have a positive effect on Self-Control. Furthermore, Self-Control was found to be the most dominant predictor of financial management behavior. The results of the mediation analysis confirm that Self-Control significantly mediates the relationship between Financial Technology and Social Environment and Financial Management Behavior. These findings confirm that the contributions of financial technology and the social environment to financial behavior primarily occur through the mechanism of self-control. Contribution: This study expands on Self-Regulation Theory by demonstrating that technological and social factors influence financial management behavior primarily through the internal mechanism of self-control, rather than through direct effects. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening self-regulation capacity in the development of digital financial interventions. Novelty: The novelty of this study lies in identifying Self-Control as the psychological mechanism that bridges the influence of Financial Technology and the Social Environment on Financial Management Behavior, thereby demonstrating that these external factors do not directly shape financial management behavior but operate through an individual’s self-regulation process.