How the Development of Financial Inclusion Reshapes Micro-foundations: An Analysis of the Impact on Corporate Investment and Financing

Abstract

Against the backdrop of digital technology driving financial inclusion towards a deep integration into the data ecosystem, this paper comprehensively reviews cutting-edge domestic and international literature and constructs an integrated analytical framework to systematically clarify how it reshapes the investment and financing decisions of micro-level enterprises. Research shows that on the “financing side,” digital financial inclusion, relying on multi-dimensional data accumulation, breaks down information barriers between banks and enterprises, promoting a shift in the credit paradigm towards “data credit,” and substantially alleviating the financing constraints of SMEs. On the “investment side,” by optimizing corporate liquidity management and leveraging the credit penetration effect of the supply chain, it significantly reduces the cost of precautionary cash holdings, prompting corporate investment to shift from “defensive contraction” to long-term “synergistic expansion.” Further integration of cutting-edge literature reveals that this micro-reshaping effect exhibits significant structural heterogeneity in the technological innovation attributes, digital foundation, and business niche of enterprises. Simultaneously, when the supply of funds exceeds an appropriate boundary, the empowering effect of financial inclusion exhibits an inverted U-shaped nonlinear characteristic, inducing excessive corporate debt and “decoupling from the real economy.” This article systematically reveals the inherent transmission mechanism of “financing relief - investment activation”, providing solid theoretical support for the precise formulation of differentiated regulatory policies and the effective prevention of micro-level risks.