<![CDATA[Objective: This study examines the relationships among entrepreneurial capabilities, firm innovativeness, and business performance in fintech startups in Indonesia and Malaysia. Despite rapid fintech growth in emerging economies, limited research has explored how entrepreneurial capabilities influence performance through innovation mechanisms in a cross-country context. Research Design & Methods: We collected data from 300 founders and senior managers of fintech startups through a structured questionnaire using multi-item Likert-scale measures. We analyzed the dataset using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and a multi-group analysis approach (PLS-MGA) to evaluate differences in the results between Indonesia and Malaysia. Findings: The findings indicate that entrepreneurial capabilities meaningfully strengthen firms’ innovativeness and overall business performance. Firm innovativeness also positively affects business performance and partially mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial capabilities and performance. The relationships are consistent across both countries. Implications & Recommendations: The findings suggest that fintech startups should strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities and innovation to improve competitiveness. Policymakers should support fintech ecosystems through adaptive regulations and digital infrastructure. Contribution & Value Added: This study extends the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory to demonstrate that innovativeness mediates the relationship between fintech startup performance. It further offers cross-country evidence from Indonesia and Malaysia, emphasizing the importance of institutional context. Nonetheless, the study is constrained to selected variables and employs a cross-sectional research design.]]>
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