Finansbranschen utmärker sig som en bransch med höga krav på tillförlitlighet och trovärdighet. En grundförutsättning för finansföretagens överlevnad är kundens fortsatta förtroende där varumärket har en avgörande roll. När marknaden skiftar kan varumärken indirekt behöva anpassas för att till exempel behålla marknadspositionen eller för att nå ut till en bredare målgrupp. Då kan en rebranding- och repositioningprocess bli aktuell. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilka utmaningar ett företag verksamt inom finansbranschen kan möta vid rebranding och repositioning samt vilka olika typer av strategier och modeller som finns för att bemöta dessa eventuella utmaningar. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgörs av Miller et al. (2014) modell över corporate rebranding, en modell som presenterar en rebrandingprocess som följer en kronologisk ordning genom olika faser. Insamlingen av empirin skedde genom att studera sekundärdata i form av befintlig teori och litteratur kring områdena branding, positioning, rebranding och repositioning. Primärdata samlades in genom intervjuer med personer anställda på en kommunikationsbyrå och på ett företag som var högaktuella med en rebranding- och repositioningprocess. Urvalet av intervjupersoner till studien utgick från ett tvåstegsurval. I studien framkommer flertalet utmaningar som ett företag kan möta vid en rebranding- och repositioningprocess. För företag verksamma inom finansbranschen finns ytterligare utmaningar som behöver hanteras. Av studiens analys framkommer inga specifika modeller och strategier för finansföretag att nyttja vid en rebranding- och repositioningprocess. Modellerna och strategierna specialanpassas utifrån företagens rådande situation. / The financial industry stands out as an industry with high demands for reliability and credibility. A fundamental requirement for the survival of financial companies is the continued trust of the customers, where the brand plays a crucial role. When the market shifts, brands may indirectly need to be adapted, for example, to maintain market position or reach a broader target audience. In such cases, a rebranding and repositioning process may become relevant. This study aims to examine the challenges that a company operating in the finance industry may face during rebranding and repositioning, as well as the different types of strategies and models available to address these potential challenges. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Miller et al. (2014) model of corporate rebranding, which presents a rebranding process following a chronological order through different phases. The empirical data collection was conducted by studying secondary data in the form of existing theories and literature on the topics of branding, positioning, rebranding, and repositioning. Primary data was gathered through interviews with individuals employed at a communication agency and a company actively engaged in a rebranding and repositioning process. The selection of interviewees for the study was based on a two-stage sampling. The study reveals several challenges that a company may encounter during a rebranding and repositioning process. For companies operating in the finance industry, there are additional challenges that need to be addressed. The analysis of the study does not identify specific models and strategies for financial companies to utilize during a rebranding and repositioning process. The models and strategies are custom-tailored based on the companies' specific circumstances.

Au cours de la précédente décennie et avant la crise financière de l’automne 2008, les marchés financiers internationaux ont connu un développement considérable et l’émergence d’une véritable industrie de l’investissement institutionnel. Au sein de cette industrie, les analystes financiers sell side employés par les sociétés de courtage apparaissent comme des acteurs majeurs, autour desquels se forment l’évaluation des sociétés cotées et les recommandations d’investissement à destination de leurs clients gestionnaires de fonds amenés à passer leurs ordres de bourse auprès de ces sociétés de courtage. La recherche présentée vise à identifier les modes de gestion des analystes financiers dans le champ de l’industrie de l’investissement institutionnel et l’influence qu’ils exercent sur les représentations, pratiques et productions des analystes. La première partie de cette thèse, après avoir étudié la construction du métier d’analyste et son contexte, met en débat les cadres de références théoriques et les disciplines qui s’impliquent dans l’analyse de la gestion du travail de quelques-uns des principaux acteurs de la finance, en général, et des analystes financiers en particulier. La seconde partie mobilise une approche contextualiste, interdisciplinaire et multi-méthodes au service d’une investigation empirique. Celle-ci met en relief le rôle du droit dans des dimensions coercitives et normatives très prégnantes, encourageant aussi bien la concurrence entre structures que l’homogénéisation et la standardisation de l’organisation du travail. Elle montre comment, sous l’effet de la concurrence des banques d’investissement anglo-saxonnes et de l’introduction d’un nouveau mode de financement de l’analyse financière par les volumes de courtage, les sociétés de « brokerage » ont adopté des stratégies de niche et intégré dans leurs configurations organisationnelles plutôt professionnelles de fortes dimensions mécanistes. Enfin, elle constate une uniformisation des modes de gestion des quatre principales sociétés de courtage françaises filiales de banques d’investissement. Les analystes français sont soumis à des modes de gestion qui privilégient clairement les dimensions marketing du métier qu’il s’agisse des modalités d’organisation du travail, des pratiques de recrutement, de communication interne, d’évaluation et de rémunération. Un des rôles essentiels assigné aux analystes consiste alors à accroitre les volumes de courtage ce qui les conduit à privilégier les activités aval de leur fonction. Mais cette dimension marketing qui caractérise la production des analystes doit être relativisée. En fonction de leur histoire professionnelle et des ressources qu’ils peuvent mobiliser, les analystes développent en effet des stratégies et des identités au travail différenciées. / Over the last decade and before the October 2008 credit crunch, international financial markets have witnessed a considerable development with the emergence of an important industry of institutional investment. Within this industry, financial analysts hired by brokerage firms play a major role while contributing to the assessment of listed companies through investment recommendations to asset managers, thereby obtaining from these clients orders for execution. The objective of this research is to pinpoint the role played by research analysts in the financial industry, and their influence over the representations and practices. The first part of this study, once constructed the analyst’s activity as a category, challenges the referential and theoretical grounds, as well as the fields involved in the work of some financial functions, and draws the attention to research analysts. The second part focuses on a contextual, multidisciplinary and multi-methodological approach to support an empirical investigation, which highlights the role played by law in both its coercive and prescriptive aspects, whether stimulating competition between structures or promoting the homogenization and standardization of work arrangements. We demonstrate how competition from Anglo-Saxon investment banks, as well as the adoption of a new business model resting on commissions generated by trading volumes, has led to the development of niche strategies, and introduced an important mechanistic dimension to the organizational configurations of brokerage firms. Lastly, it sheds light on the standardization of the managerial modes of the four main French brokerage firms, which are all subsidiaries of investment banks. French analysts are subject to management modes which clearly favor the marketing dimensions of the activity, as can be seen through the way their work is organized, the recruitment practices, the internal communication flows, their assessments and salaries. One of the roles assigned to analysts is thus to generate higher brokerage volumes, which as a consequence drives them towards marketing activities. This marketing dimension however needs to must be into perspective. Depending on their professional backgrounds and the resources they access, research analysts develop specific strategies and differentiated identities.

[pt] O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o posicionamento estratégico das instituições atuando no setor financeiro brasileiro, particularmente no segmento bancário, no ano de 2006 e identificar sua relação com o desempenho. Para isso, foi utilizada a tipologia de estratégias genéricas propostas por Michael Porter (1980, 1985). Foram selecionadas variáveis de cunho financeiro e operacional dos 50 maiores bancos brasileiros em atividade em 2006 (responsáveis por 85% dos ativos totais da indústria nesse ano) para a construção do modelo estatístico que envolve análise de clusters e análise multivariada. Foi possível concluir que a estratégia genérica de Enfoque em Custo apresentou o melhor desempenho neste ano. Ao contrário do esperado pela teoria, os bancos Stuck in the Middle não apresentaram o pior, mas o segundo pior resultado. A pior estratégia genérica em termos de desempenho foi a de Liderança em Custo Total. / [en] The main goal of this research was to evaluate the strategic positioning of the institutions operating in the brazilian financial sector, specially in the banking segment, in the year of 2006 and identify how it relates with the performance. To achieve this objective it was used the typology of generic strategies proposed by Michael Porter (1980, 1985). It was used financial and operating variables for the 50 major brazilian banks in activity in 2006 (responsible for 85% of the assets in the industry in that year) to construct the statistical model based on cluster analysis and multivariate analysis. It was possible to conclude that the generic strategy of Focusing on Low Cost had the best performance in that year. In contrast what was expected by the theory, the banks Stuck in the Middle didn`t have the worst, but the second worse performance. The worst generic strategy in terms of performance was the Low Cost strategy.

In recent years, IT has come to play an important role in companies. So successful execution of business processes often depends on mission-critical IT-solutions. Managing such IT is challenging. Companies have to keep up with rapid developments, but also consider long-term consequences while doing so. How do they survive in the long run without surrendering in the short run? What should be done in-house? What should be bought from external providers? How should they allocate scarce IT resources? This book answers these questions on the basis of four cases from the financial industry. After describing and analyzing IT portfolios, it investigates the questions of sourcing and technology adoption. Finally, it explores the relationship between mission-critical IT and business operations. The study suggests different ways of analyzing the role applications play in a company rather than the applications themselves. The character of an application may be in the eye of the beholder. Framing applications from both business and IT perspectives is also important, especially in information intensive companies. The Resource Allocation Matrix provides a tool for characterizing four types of IT-management efforts: agile action, firefighting, business transformation and platform construction. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2003

隨著網際網路的普及，智慧型手機與物聯網開始興起，根據資策會的調查，台灣約有49.5%的智慧型手機占有率，大約每2人就有一人擁有智慧型手機，而物聯網的興起，製造了大量的數據與資料，而這些數據與資料透過不同的處理方式，可帶給企業不同的商業智慧與洞見，而傳統產業因此面臨了巨大的轉變與挑戰，優步(Uber)就是改變傳統計程車產業與物聯網的一個例子，顧客不再需要招手才能搭上計程車，靠著網路、手機APP與GPS定位系統即可獲知車輛資訊、到達時間與聯絡司機，而優步可掌握乘客資訊、行車路線與顧客服務。不僅僅是計程車產業，亞馬遜的崛起也代表了傳統零售業的轉變，因此如何面對巨量資料對傳統企業都將是一項挑戰。 巨量資料的導入與分析可以提供企業掌握消費者行為，也可透過數據分析研發新服務與產品，此研究從三方面來探討金融產業與網路科技業導入巨量資料系統的關鍵因素，分別為導入流程、企業本身與巨量資料系統，另外藉由三家個案公司訪談，並輔以文獻所探討的研究架構來進行驗證”金融業與網路科技業導入巨量資料的流程為何?”、”金融業與網路科技業導入巨量資料時的關鍵因素?”、” 金融業與網路科技業導入巨量資料後有何優勢?” 本研究最後發現，金融業與網際網路業導入巨量資料分成三個階段，首先企業會先詮釋自身對巨量資料之定義，定義自身巨量資料之意義後，企業會開始集體研討導入流程，依照自身對巨量資料的詮釋來集體擬定對企業最好的導入流程，此階段通常會是三階段中耗時最長，也需做許多內外部研究、規劃與管理。最後一階段為實做階段，企業會依照集思廣益後所擬定出的計畫來完成巨量資料的導入。而本研究透過個案訪談也發現七項導入巨量資料之關鍵因素，包含，導入隊伍的組成、高層管理者的支持、導入時機、巨量資料系統的選擇、明確的目標與策略、內外部員工訓練與支援。最後企業運用第三方與開放式資料軟體來處理巨量資料使企業更了解顧客需求與運用於新產品研發。 / With the popularity of internet, smart phones and Internet of Things begin to emerge. According to Institute for Information Industry, there are approximately 49.5% of smart devices in Taiwan, which mean every two people will own at least one smart device. In addition, more devices are connected to the internet. Therefore, tremendous amount of data is created and increased exponentially. With applicable and correct techniques, Big Data can provide valuable insight and business intelligent. Traditional industries are forced to change. For example, Uber is one innovative idea that changes the ways people ride taxi. Riding taxi become more efficient and effective with Uber. This research explores critical factors of Big Data implementation on financial and internet technology industries from three perspectives. This includes key processes of the Big Data implementation, enterprises factors, and the Big Data system. Moreover, literature review was conducted to. In addition, three case studies were interviewed and analyzed based on research framework. Lastly, three research questions are answered. First, what are the key process for financial and internet technology industries implementing the Big Data system? Second, what are the critical factors for financial and internet technology industries implementing the Big Data system? Third, what are the potential benefits after the Big Data implementation? The research findings are primarily categorized into two parts. First, there are three phases of financial institution and internet technology industries implementing the Big Data system. The three phases included defining, brainstorming and implementation phases. The three phases are described below: 1. Defining Phase: Companies will first define their own interpretation of Big Data in order to plan and coordinated their implementation. 2. Brainstorming Phase: Companies averagely spent most of the time in this phase. The implementation team leads must brainstorm to find the best way to enforce and carry out the Big Data project by searching, organizing and surveying internal and externally. 3. Implementation Phase: Companies follow their previous made proposal steps by steps. This research also concluded and found several critical factors during the Big Data implementation. The critical factors included but not limited to: 1. An implementation team regardless the size to carry out the Big Data project 2. Top management’s commitment on implementation 3. Timing on the implementation 4. Big Data system selection 5. Clear goals and objectives

Financial institutions make use of a variety of delivery channels for servicing their customers. The primary channel utilised as a means of acquiring new customers and increasing market share is through the retail branch network. The 1990s saw the Internet explosion and with it a threat to branches. The relatively low cost associated with virtual delivery channels made it inevitable for financial institutions to direct their focus towards such new and more cost efficient technologies. By the beginning of the 21st century -and with increasing limitations identified in alternative virtual delivery channels, the financial industry returned to a more balanced view which may be seen as the revival of branch networks. The main purpose of this study is to provide a roadmap for financial institutions in managing their branch network. A three step methodology, representative of data mining and management science techniques, will be used to explain relative branch efficiency. The methodology consists of clustering analysis (CA), data envelopment analysis (DEA) and decision tree induction (DTI). CA is applied to data internal to the financial institution for increasing' the discriminatory power of DEA. DEA is used to calculate the relevant operating efficiencies of branches deemed homogeneous during CA. Finally, DTI is used to interpret the DEA results and additional data describing the market environment the branch operates in, as well as inquiring into the nature of the relative efficiency of the branch. / Thesis (M.Com. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The non-interest and profit-loss sharing schemes of Islamic finance (IF) are attracting increasing global attention. Despite exposure to the similar opportunities as other Western countries that have adopted the financial business model there is little evidence of Islamic finance windows operating in the conventional institutions in Canada. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to bring the issue forward in Canadian social science literature by exploring the perceived challenges to, and the potential of, the development of IF offerings with a focus on factors affecting the supply and management decisions in the industry. The study used an inductive approach with archival data and critical survey of literature to arrive at the hypotheses surrounding the challenges. These were tested deductively by semi-structured interviews and panel discussions both in Canada and the US on a sample of senior officials involved in both IF and conventional financial institutions. Using a thematic analysis the study arrived at findings supporting the hypotheses related to awareness, regulation, management intent and internal resources. In the external environment, factors affecting strategic decision on offering IF services are mainly due to regulation, lack of awareness, even among Muslim communities, or misgivings about Sha’riah authenticity. Internally, highly customized IT infrastructures, lack of funds and foreign investment make it unfeasible. Management interest when proposed with the concept is high but not in a top-down manner and there is an overall uncertainty avoidance culture and little proactivity with market research. Access to specific Sha’riah knowledge is not considered a hurdle anymore. It is apparent that investments in Sha’riah compliant stocks would be easiest to set up. Mortgage structures can be affected by the capital market structure, even if not tax structures. Knowledge on this can have implications for banks seeking to expand their investment portfolios and aid government policies.

Financial institutions make use of a variety of delivery channels for servicing their customers. The primary channel utilised as a means of acquiring new customers and increasing market share is through the retail branch network. The 1990s saw the Internet explosion and with it a threat to branches. The relatively low cost associated with virtual delivery channels made it inevitable for financial institutions to direct their focus towards such new and more cost efficient technologies. By the beginning of the 21st century -and with increasing limitations identified in alternative virtual delivery channels, the financial industry returned to a more balanced view which may be seen as the revival of branch networks. The main purpose of this study is to provide a roadmap for financial institutions in managing their branch network. A three step methodology, representative of data mining and management science techniques, will be used to explain relative branch efficiency. The methodology consists of clustering analysis (CA), data envelopment analysis (DEA) and decision tree induction (DTI). CA is applied to data internal to the financial institution for increasing' the discriminatory power of DEA. DEA is used to calculate the relevant operating efficiencies of branches deemed homogeneous during CA. Finally, DTI is used to interpret the DEA results and additional data describing the market environment the branch operates in, as well as inquiring into the nature of the relative efficiency of the branch. / Thesis (M.Com. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Creating standardized infrastructures for new technologies has become a frequent event in recent years, forcing competing firms to together collaborate in order to develop and mutually agree on a common standard. This is due to technologies such as blockchain (distributed ledger) technology that need interoperability to reach its full potential, making the collaboration aspect crucial for organizations that want to adapt to the technology. Therefore, this study’s purpose is to identify and analyze the challenges of creating such a standardized infrastructure. A case study was used to analyze these challenges, which involved experts of blockchain technology and three Nordic banks connected to the blockchain consortium R3. First, a pre-study took place with the help of blockchain experts, who helped identify potential problems regarding blockchain (distributed ledger) technology. Secondly, a main study was conducted consisting of four interviews with key persons representing the banks, in addition to collecting secondary data via news articles, and press releases. With the help of co-opetition theory and a technical description of blockchain (distributed ledger) technology, an analytical model was developed to support the analysis of the data collection. The analysis focus on aspects of co-opetition drivers, co-opetition capabilities, co-opetition dynamics and blockchain aspects, which were used to showcase the challenges of collaborating on creating a standardized infrastructure. The result of this study highlights the importance of learning and educational aspects, the size of a cooperation and threats from other competing solutions, which generates challenges. In addition to the identified challenges, this study has also contributed to an understanding of how these aspects can come to affect a collaboration.

Tidigare forskning visar att kvinnor i mansdominerade branscher upplever ett antal utmaningar i formav långa arbetsdagar, manlig jargong och sexism. Stor del av den tidigare forskningen jag har tagit delav fokuserar på manligt och kvinnligt ur ett perspektiv där kvinnors utvecklings- och karriärmöjligheterär i fokus. Syftet med denna studie är istället att skapa fördjupad förståelse av kvinnor med finansiellayrkens upplevelser och erfarenheter av att arbeta i en mansdominerad bransch. Detta gjordes genom attstudera hur kvinnorna uppfattar sig själva i relation till sin yrkesroll samt hur de beskriver och förhållersig till den arbetsplatskontext de arbetar i. Studien utgår från en socialkonstruktionistisk ontologi med ett strukturalistiskt ochsocialkonstruktionistisk perspektiv på kön i organisationer. Det empiriska materialet utgörs av tiosemistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnor som arbetar med finansiella yrken i ett antal olikaorganisationer inom finansbranschen. Materialet har analyserats utifrån det teoretiska ramverketbestående av Kanters strukturella teori, ett ”doing gender”-perspektiv samt begreppet könsstereotyper.Resultatet visar hur kvinnorna är delaktiga i processen av skapandet av kön genom att de upprätthålleroch anpassar sig efter den manliga normen. När kvinnor och mäns stereotypiska egenskaper ställs motvarandra, framträder mannens egenskaper som mest eftersträvansvärda. Kvinnorna beskriver själva attde främst upplevt fördelar av att arbeta i en mansdominerad bransch där synligheten hjälpt dem på vägenframåt i karriären. Analysen visar däremot att deras upplevelser även kantas av en ständig anpassningtill den manliga normen samt en verklighet där de stundtals blir ifrågasatta och förminskade.