Financial Behavior among Generation Z in Indonesia: Examining the Role of Financial Self-Control: Evidence from Tondano Raya, Indonesia
Keywords:
Financial behavior, Financial literacy, Financial self-control, Financial technology, Generation ZAbstract
Research on financial behavior often assumes that financial literacy directly leads to responsible financial behavior. However, emerging evidence suggests that this relationship may depend on psychological and technological factors. This study examines the relationships among financial literacy, financial technology, financial self-control, and financial behavior among Generation Z in Tondano Raya, Indonesia, with particular attention to the mediating role of financial self-control, which is theoretically conceptualized as the self-regulatory mechanism through which financial knowledge and technology-related experiences may be translated into actual financial behavior. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 111 Generation Z respondents who actively use digital financial services. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping procedures (5,000 resamples). The results indicate that financial self-control and financial technology are positively associated with financial behavior. Financial technology also exerts a significant indirect effect on financial behavior through financial self-control. In contrast, financial literacy does not have a significant direct effect on either financial behavior or financial self-control, and its indirect effect through financial self-control is likewise unsupported. The model explains 47.1% of the variance in financial behavior, indicating moderate explanatory power. Within the context of Generation Z in Tondano Raya, these findings indicate that financial knowledge alone may be insufficient to encourage responsible financial behavior, whereas self-regulatory capacity and engagement with digital financial technologies appear to play more immediate roles. The findings provide contextual evidence that interventions aimed at improving Generation Z's financial behavior may benefit from integrating financial education with strategies that strengthen self-control and promote effective use of digital financial services, while also offering empirical support for the role of psychological self-regulation in technology-enabled financial decision-making.
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