In recent years the important of leadership in the organization has become an area of interest. Leadership has been noted to impact corporate culture, employee commitment and response and the overall performance of the organization. Given the fact that leadership is such an important part of organizational development and discourse, effective methods for developing effective leadership in the organization are needed. Without definitive methods for leadership development, organizations will not be able to optimize the outcomes of leadership in the organization. Thus, there is a clear impetus to delineate what works best in the context of leadership development. This study used concurrent qualitative and quantitative research to understand better the effect of cross-cultural influences on the leadership development programmes and leadership practices development in a study population consisting of managers and supervisors in the Kuwaiti banking industry. Although Kuwaiti organisations employ many international employees and operate foreign subsidiaries, they have not created leadership development programmes to improve cross-cultural leadership skills for managers. As a result, Kuwaiti managers often rely on traditional transactional methods and an authoritarian style of leadership that may be less effective with employees from different nations and cultural backgrounds. The qualitative phase of the research collected data from Kuwaiti bank managers through interviews while the quantitative phase of the research collected data with survey instrument. The quantitative phase of the study also tested the validity of a conceptual model and hypotheses using structural equation modelling and regression analysis. The research was guided by distributed leadership theory, which considers leadership as a series of interactions between leader and follower with the follower sometimes adopting an informal role as temporary leader. The theory also considers the context in which the leader operates as a critical factor for motivating leadership practise. The testing and validation of the theoretical model in the study led to the acceptance of a new 'Effective Cross Cultural Leadership' (ECL) model. This model describes the relationship between the exogenous or independent variables of cultural differences, training and development in traditional Kuwaiti leadership, cross cultural leadership development programmes and international leadership practises with the endogenous or dependent variables of leadership development programmes and leadership practises development. The testing of the hypotheses of the study showed a statistically significant relationship between the four independent variables and the two dependent variables with exception of the relationship between the independent variable of international leadership practises and the dependant variable of leadership programmes development. The quantitative findings also indicated that demographic variables do not have a moderating effect on the model. The qualitative findings of the study determined that cultural differences between employees and managers influence the managers' leadership behaviours and their understanding of the type of leadership development programmes to improve their cross-cultural leadership skills. Managers with greater experience or knowledge of foreign cultures adopt more flexible leadership practises when leading international teams. The qualitative findings also determined that front office managers are more willing to use participative leadership styles in leadership practises, while back office managers rely on authoritarian leadership styles focusing on tasks in their leadership practises, indicating that the context influences leadership styles and practise. The findings of the study including the development and validation of the Effective Cross-Cultural Leadership (ECL) model contribute to the theoretical and practical knowledge of cross-cultural leadership in Kuwait that can be extended to other Middle Eastern nations. In addition, the study finding extends cross-cultural theory by indicating that international influences both internal and external to the organisation affect leadership styles despite national norms and preferences. These findings implied that Kuwaiti organisations experience significant pressure to adopt some international leadership practises and styles to accommodate the expectations and needs of the many international workers employed in Kuwait. The practical implication of these findings showed that Kuwaiti managers would benefit from leadership training emphasising that no standard or correct approach to leadership exists and that it can be acceptable for leaders to use participative styles when warranted by the situation.

The thesis investigates the nature of the relationship between the banking sector depth and long-term economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, assesses the banking sector development status in each of the States, and underlines the policy implications in the light of the banking-growth nexus and the banking development benchmarking models’ findings for the region by undertaking three projects. The thesis examines the nature of the relationship between banking sector depth and long-term economic growth in the NRBC—as a proxy for the GCC States— vis-à-vis the rest of the world countries. For the empirical investigation, a dynamic panel data approach, i.e. Generalised Method of Moments (GMM), is adopted over the period 1961 to 2013. By utilising mixed effects and System GMM frameworks, the research identifies the countries with the strongest banking-growth relationships and establishes the banking sector development determinants in those countries. Employing a novel benchmarking process, the thesis assesses the status of the banking sector development in each of the GCC member countries and simulates the change in the banking sector depth across the Gulf region over a period of ten years to highlight the potential policy implications for the sector development. The findings of the thesis suggest that the relationship between banking sector depth and long-term economic growth in the NRBC is non-linear, where the relationship between the banking sector depth and economic growth turns from positive to negative beyond certain levels of sector depth. In comparison to other countries, the results indicate that the banking-growth nexus in the NRBC exhibits a smaller total effect magnitude as well as a shorter time between the change in the sector depth and its effect on economic growth. The benchmarking of the banking sectors in the GCC region suggests that in five of the six member countries the banking sectors are underdeveloped. The simulation results predict that the banking sectors will develop further in half of the countries in the region, given their current levels of banking sector development determinants, while two countries require reforms in terms of undertaking regulations and policies to avoid seeing their sector development levels deteriorate. The thesis contributes to theory by confirming findings in the literature and expanding the body of knowledge through novel findings. This research also contributes to policy by demonstrating the significance of the banking sector development for long-term economic growth in the NRBC, providing policymakers in the Gulf States with the status of their banking sectors, and underlining the banking sector depth determinants that ought to be considered when setting regulations and policies that are aimed at developing the banking sector further.

This study focuses on the institutionalization of information security in the banking sector. This study is important to pursue since it explicates the internalization of information security governance and practices and how such internalization develops an organizational resistance towards security breach. The study argues that information security governance and practices become institutionalized through social integration of routines and system integration of relevant technologies. The objective is to develop an understanding of how information security governance and practices in the Indonesian banking sector become institutionalized. Such objective is built on an argument that information security governance and practices become institutionalized through social integration of routines and system integration of relevant technologies. Pursuing this study is necessary to conceptualize the incorporation of security governance and practices as routines, the impact of security breaches on such routines, and the effects of a central governing body on such routines altogether. Accordingly, the concept of institutionalization is developed using Barley and Tolbert’s (1997) combination of institutional theory and structuration theory to explain the internalization of security governance and practices at an organizational level. Scott’s (2008) multilevel institutional processes based on institutional theory is needed to elaborate security governance and practices in an organization-to-organization context. The research design incorporates the interpretive case-study method to capture communicative interactions among respondents. Doing so provides answers to the following research questions: (1) how institutions internalize information security governance and practices, (2) how an external governing body affects the institutionalization of information security governance and practices in institutions, and (3) how security breaches re-institutionalize information security governance and practices in institutions. Several important findings include the habitualized security routines, information stewardship, and institutional relationship in information-security context. This study provides contributions to the body of literature, such as depicting how information security becomes internalized in an organization and the interaction among organizations engaged in implementing information security.

Bakgrund: Finansmarknaden befinner sig i en förändringsfas där banker agerar i en allt mer komplex miljö. Till följd av en snabbt föränderlig marknad måste banker besitta förmågan att förändras och få saker att hända. Innovation har fått allt större fokus till följd av nya direktiv, såsom PSD2, och uppkomsten av nya aktörer på marknaden. Vidare är banksektorn en förtroendebransch där även lojalitet påvisats vara positivt för aktörer inom banksektorn. För att behålla sin position på den turbulenta finansiella marknaden behöver banker därmed arbeta med innovation, samtidigt som banker ständigt behöver fokusera på kundrelationer. För ett effektivt innovationsarbete krävs därtill en förståelse för hur innovation påverkar kundrelationer i form av lojalitet och förtroende. Syfte: Studien ämnar till att öka förståelsen för hur innovation påverkar lojalitet och förtroende inom banksektorn. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ flerfallsstudie där sju fall har studerats. Vidare grundas studien i det hermeneutiska synsättet med en abduktiv ansats. Empiriinsamlingen består av åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med medarbetare på svenska banker samt en semistrukturerad intervju med medarbetare på ett bankgemensamt innovationsprojekt. Empirin har även kompletterats med dokumentstudier. Slutsats: Studien visar att innovation ökar bankers möjligheter till att påverka de faktorer som bygger lojalitet och förtroende, samtidigt finns det stöd för att även de faktorer som motverkar lojalitet och förtroende påverkas. Det personlighetsbaserade förtroendet inom banksektorn har till följd av innovation skiftat till att riktas mot banken eller tjänsten istället för en enskild medarbetare på banken. Även det processbaserade förtroendet ökar till följd av ökade interaktioner. Då bytesbarriärerna minskar till följd av innovation visar studien att lojalitet inom banksektorn i större utsträckning kommer baseras på sann eller ingen lojalitet, och mindre på falsk och latent lojalitet. Slutligen visar studien att banker ser både utmaningar och möjligheter med innovation. Möjligheterna är främst kopplade till partnerskap och personaliserade erbjudanden. Utmaningarna är främst kopplade till Open Banking, att kunder blir illojala på bredden, minskade bytesbarriärer och risken för skandaler. / Background: The financial market is going through rapid changes where banks are acting on an increasingly complex market. This means that organizations within the financial industry must have the ability to change and adapt. The focus on innovation has increased as a result of new directive, such as PSD2, and the large increase of new organizations. Furthermore, both loyalty and trust are important within the banking sector. In order for banks to keep their position within the market, banks must simultaneously combine an innovative focus and a focus on customer relationships. To be able to work with innovation effectively there is a need for understanding of how loyalty and trust is affected by innovation. Aim: The aim of the study is to increase the understanding of how innovation affects loyalty and trust within the banking sector. Methodology: The study uses a qualitative multiple case study design where seven cases have been studied. The study is based on the hermeneutic philosophical standpoint with an abductive approach. The empirical data consists of eight semi structured interviews with bank employees and one semi structured interview with an employee at a bank collaboration. The empirical data has also been completed with additional documents. Conclusion: The result of the study indicates that innovation can be used as a way of increasing the factors that build both loyalty and trust. At the same time, the factors that reduce loyalty and trust is also affected by innovation. As an effect of innovation, trust based on personality within the banking sector is directed towards the bank or a specific service, rather than towards a specific employee at the bank. Trust based on processes is increased by the increased amount of interactions. The switching barriers are reduced by innovation, which indicates that loyalty within the banking sector will mainly be based on true or non- existing loyalty, and less based on latent and false loyalty. With innovation, banks identify several opportunities and challenges. The opportunities are mainly linked to partnership and personal offerings. The challenges are mainly linked to Open Banking, disloyalty by using several banks, reduced switching barriers and scandals.

Esta tese propõe a seguinte pergunta de pesquisa: como estará caracterizado o ambiente competitivo dos bancos comerciais no Brasil nos próximos 10 anos e quais as principais estratégias e recursos que lhes habilitarão a competir nesse horizonte de tempo? Para respondê-la, pôs-se o objetivo geral de analisar as principais variáveis de configuração do ambiente competitivo dos bancos comerciais no Brasil e as possíveis estratégias competitivas correspondentes no referido horizonte de tempo. As abordagens de pesquisa utilizadas foram entrevistas semiestruturadas e um painel Delphi com treze especialistas do setor bancário: executivos, gestores, analistas e acadêmicos. A partir de uma análise de conteúdo aplicada sobre as respostas do roteiro, os principais resultados evidenciados são: tendência de uma crescente regionalização dos bancos brasileiros para a América Latina, associada a uma internacionalização para o continente africano; uma tendência de manutenção da concentração da indústria no País, com restritos espaços de atuação para bancos de pequeno e médio portes; possíveis disrupções na arena de competição devidas a novas tecnologias que impactam no modelo de negócios dos bancos, até de setores pouco relacionados à intermediação; consolidação do telefone celular como principal catalisador das transações bancárias e meios de pagamento. A consolidação das perspectivas registradas no painel Delphi não só confirmam os resultados supracitados, mas aponta que, nessa indústria, a governança, marca e reputação são os ativos intangíveis considerados os mais importantes para a competitividade dos bancos no futuro. Segue-se a eficiência em custos, esta possível não só por tecnologias de acesso pelo cliente, mas por uma extensiva revisão de processos nas operações e na gestão do relacionamento com o cliente. A pesquisa dá suporte a argumentos teóricos acerca da efemeridade de grupos estratégicos e contribui para a discussão e escolha de indicadores coerentes para a mensuração da vantagem competitiva em bancos comerciais. / This dissertation proposes the following research question: how will the competitive environment of commercial banks in Brazil be featured over the next ten years and what are the main strategies and resources that will enable them to compete in that time horizon? To answer it, it was established the overall objective of analyzing the main configuration variables of the competitive environment of commercial banks in Brazil and conceivable corresponding competitive strategies in that time horizon. The research approaches used were semi-structured interviews and a Delphi Panel with Thirteen experts from banking industry: executives, managers, analysts and academics. From a content analysis applied over responses, the main results are: tendency of a growing regionalization of Brazilian banks to Latin America, associated with an internationalization for the African continent; a tendency of enduring concentration of the industry in the country, with restricted operation gaps for small and medium banks; possible disruptions in the competitive arena due to the impact of new technologies on the prevailing banking business model, even from little brokering-related sectors; consolidation of the cell phone as the main catalyst of bank transactions and means of payment. The consolidation of the registered Delphi panel perspectives not only confirm the aforementioned results, but points out that, in this industry, governance, brand and reputation are intangible assets considered most important for the competitiveness of banks in the future. It follows cost efficiency, possible not only thanks to client-access technologies, but also to an extensive review of operations processes and customer relationship management. The research supports the theoretical arguments about the ephemerality of strategic groups and contributes to the discussion and choice of consistent indicators for the measurement of competitive advantage in commercial banks.

A Responsabilidade Social Corporativa vem ganhando destaque nas empresas, no governo, na sociedade e no campo acadêmico. Apesar disso, ainda não é possível identificar uma definição comum ou um conjunto de princípios centrais sobre o assunto. Pesquisadores ainda discutem o que significa ser socialmente responsável ou mesmo se as empresas devem ter responsabilidades sociais. Outra discussão se refere aos impactos financeiros da Responsabilidade Social Corporativa. Enquanto alguns autores afirmam que a adoção de práticas socioambientais melhora o desempenho financeiro, outros defendem que as práticas são geradoras de custos que as empresas nunca vão recuperar. Diante dessa discussão, diversos autores argumentam que o simples engajamento, em atividades consideradas socialmente responsáveis, não garante a geração de benefícios às empresas, mas, sim, se as práticas estiverem alinhadas com a Estratégia. Diante disso, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo estudar como é feito o alinhamento entre Responsabilidade Social Corporativa e Estratégia. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, foi feita a fundamentação teórica sobre o tema e a pesquisa de campo, em empresa do setor bancário, reconhecida por boas práticas de Responsabilidade Social Corporativa. O estudo é exploratório, com abordagem qualitativa, e realizado por meio da estratégia de Estudo de Caso. Os dados primários foram coletados por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas e, os dados secundários, por meio dos relatórios de Sustentabilidade da empresa estudada e de relatórios de outras instituições que atuam com o tema no setor bancário. Os resultados mostraram que, atualmente, a empresa lida com a Responsabilidade Social Corporativa por meio do conceito de Sustentabilidade e adota uma postura proativa. Os responsáveis pelo pensamento estratégico da empresa reconhecem a importância do tema e promovem mudanças em suas estratégias, alterando visões de longo prazo, estruturas organizacionais e práticas de negócios. O processo de alinhamento do tema com a Estratégia da empresa vem sendo feito, principalmente, por meio do diálogo com stakeholders; da escolha de questões consideradas estratégicas; do envolvimento da alta gestão e das diversas áreas de negócios e do monitoramento de resultados. O estudo contribui com a formação do constructo de Responsabilidade Social Corporativa e com a distinção entre esse conceito e o de Sustentabilidade. Além disso, contribui para ampliar o conhecimento sobre as implicações estratégicas da Responsabilidade Social Corporativa e da complexa relação entre Desempenho Financeiro e Desempenho Social. A pesquisa também aponta algumas barreiras para gestão das questões socioambientais. A principal delas é a falta de conhecimento e de ferramentas práticas para lidar com o tema. / Corporate Social Responsibility is gaining prominence in business, in government, in society and in the academic field. Nevertheless, it is still not possible to identify a common definition or a set of core principles about the subject. Researchers still debate the means of being socially responsible or even whether companies should have social responsibilities. Another discussion refers to the financial impacts of Corporate Social Responsibility. While some authors claim that the adoption of social and environmental practices improve financial performance, others argue that the practices generates costs that businesses will never recover. Given this discussion, several authors argue that the mere engagement in activities considered socially responsible, does not guarantee the generation of benefits to businesses, but rather whether the practices are aligned with the Strategy. Thus, the present work aims to study how the alignment between Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategy is designed. To reach that goal, the theoretical foundation was made on the subject, followed by a field research in a bank company, recognized for best practices in Corporate Social Responsibility. The study is exploratory, qualitative approached and conducted by Case Study. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews and secondary data through the Sustainability Reports of the investigated company and through reports from other institutions that work with the theme in the banking sector. The results showed that, currently, the company deals with the Corporate Social Responsibility through the concept of Sustainability and adopts a proactive posture. Those responsible for the strategic thinking of the company recognize the importance of the issue and promote changes in their strategies, changing long-term visions, organizational structures and business practices. The process of aligning the subject with the Strategy of the company is done primarily through dialogue with stakeholders, the choice of issues considered strategic, the involvement of senior management and the various business areas and monitoring results. The study contributes to the formation of the construct of Corporate Social Responsibility and the distinction between this concept and Sustainability. Moreover, contribute to increase the knowledge about the strategic implications of Corporate Social Responsibility and the complex relationship between Financial Performance and Social Performance. The survey also indicates some barriers to the management of social and environmental issues. The main one is the lack of knowledge and practical tools to deal with the issue.

This thesis contains three main parts. In the first part, we adapt a model developed for the US economy to the unique Chinese economic and institutional context. The uniqueness is mainly from two perspectives: the dual-channel housing financing system in China and the existence of the shadow banking sector (which differs from the shadow banking in developed economies) in China’s housing market. It would be difficult to obtain a clear picture of the Chinese housing market and macroeconomy without a thorough understanding of these two characteristics. This is due to the crucial role played by shadow banking and other informal finance institutions within the context of China in both the development and purchase of housing, in supporting productive economic activities in general, and that the housing market is in turn intricately connected to the health of the Chinese economy, being a key ‘barometer’. The second part of the research is the quantification of the determinants of the scale of shadow banking in China. The quantification is crucial since policy makers need to be aware of how sensitive shadow banking is to various factors. We develop a theoretical framework to explain the evolution of the scale of shadow banking in China. As part of this research, we investigate whether the real interest rate of household saving deposits, the required reserve ratio and bank loans to business and household are the main factors in explaining the evolution of China’s shadow banking. In the third part of research, we employ a credit risk and macroeconomic stress test to investigate the vulnerability of the commercial banks in China. Our originality here is the integration of both the role of shadow banking and housing market related loans in the commercial banks’ stress test scenarios at the macro level. Since a systematic analysis regarding the effect of changes in the macroeconomy and housing market on the credit risk of commercial banks in China is scarce, we use bank stress tests to analyse the credit risk in terms of the non-performing loans ratio of commercial banks in China; this is in response to changes in the macroeconomic factors and housing market. We address the role of the variation of the scale of shadow banking in China in terms of its contribution to the credit risk because of its uncertainty and close link with the commercial banks. Stress tests often focus on a single bank or financial institution yet we apply the same principles to examine the financial system as a whole in China, which would allow us to quantify the systemic risk in the entire Chinese financial system; and which variables, especially shadow banking contribute to the risks and by how much. This thesis contributes to the understanding of how China’s dual-channel housing finance system and shadow banking affect the evolution of house prices; and also, the main driving factors of the scale of China’s shadow banking and whether the housing market related loans and shadow banking pose risks to commercial banks. Possible research questions raised by the main findings of this thesis will enrich the debate on China’s housing market, shadow banking and regular banks, especially at a time when China is reforming its economic structure.

O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar a distribuição regional do crédito no estado do Rio de Janeiro, em particular o comportamento de agências e a distribuição do movimento financeiro bancário, e suas relações com a dinâmica de desenvolvimento econômico no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Para cumprir com este objetivo foram construídos indicadores a partir de dados relativos à atividade econômica e do balanço consolidado das agências bancárias dos 92 municípios fluminenses para o período de 2000 a 2009. Através da análise destes indicadores conclui-se que a despeito da forte concentração econômica e de crédito na região metropolitana do estado do Rio de Janeiro, as cidades do interior vem apresentando um dinamismo diferenciado evidenciando certa tendência à desconcentração do crédito, acompanhando a tendência de desconcentração econômica, reforçando a relação entre desenvolvimento econômico e financeiro e a concepção de que o movimento financeiro se concentra no entorno de cidades de forte dinamismo econômico. / The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the regional distribution of credit in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in particular the behavior of agencies and the distribution of financial turnover banking and its relations with the dynamics of economic development in the state of Rio de Janeiro. To reach this objective, indicators were built from data on economic activity and the consolidated balance sheet of banks of 92 municipalities of Rio de Janeiro for the period 2000 to 2009. Through the analysis of these indicators is concluded that despite the strong economic concentration and credit in the metropolitan area of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the inner cities have shown a dynamic differentiated from the metropolitan area showing a certain tendency towards decentralization of credit, following the trend of economic decentralization, strengthening the link between economic and financial development and the design that focuses on financial flow around cities with strong economic dynamism.

This master thesis is focused on assessing the impact of the global financial crisis on the EU banking sector. The main objectives is the description and analysis of measures taken by U.S. and European policies in response to the collapsing banking market. In the first part I deal with the beginning of the crisis in the U.S., defining the causes of the crisis, impact on the U.S. banking rescue and analysis of individual steps by the government and FED. The second and third part is already fully paid to the situation in the European Union. Besides of the stimulus policies of the ECB, which shoud prevented the deepening recession in the EU, I try to analyze and evaluate the impact of the Larosiere report. Large space is devoted to evaluation of Stress test of European's banks 2010, which were carried out by the ECB. In conclusion, I try to show my subjective outline of future development of European's banking market.

這篇論文討論關於中國銀行部門國際化及競爭力的問題 共有三個問題: 1.國際化如何存於中國銀行體系 2.國際化是否成功地促進中國銀行的競爭力 3.如果有競爭力化下,中國銀行會變得如何? / This paper addresses the questions related to the internationalization of China’s banking sector and implications for the competitiveness in China’s banking sector: 1) How did internationalization exist in China’s banking sector? 2) Did internationalization successfully create the competitiveness in China’s banking sector? 3) With such phenomenon, what will be the implications towards China’s banking sector? Therefore, this paper first will propose a framework for recognizing the internationalization in the China’s banking sector by comparing the banking sector in China before and after its WTO entry. Secondly, it will examine the competitiveness in China’s banking sector by analyzing the four indicators: 1) financial liberalization, 2) technological progress, 3) rating by international rating agency, and 4) Economic Growth. Also this paper will examine the competitiveness of two major commercial banks: Bank of China (BOC) and China Construction Bank (CCB) as a case study by analyzing the three indicators. They are: 1) profitability, 2) non-performing loans ratio, and 3) expansion. Finally, this paper will discuss the prospects and challenges in China’s banking sector.