FinTech companies have grown tremendously during the last decades and generated great impacts on traditional financial institutions and led to enormous alteration in the ways of providing the financial services. The continuous development of the financial services has stepped into a new stage, where new entrants impact incumbents even more and many challenges accompanied by threats might come to light. Questions started to appear about the future of the financial institutions, since the new entrants provide the same services of the incumbents in an effortless manner. The choice of this research topic was driven by the fact that previous research about FinTech focused solely on the evolution of FinTech companies and their segments, but studies have been neglected the impact of FinTech companies on financial institutions and how the latter remedy with that impact. Hence, the interest in how the financial institutions are influenced by FinTech companies resulted in the following research question: What is the impact of FinTech companies on financial institutions in Sweden? We formulated two more detailed questions to guide our study: 1) How the financial institutions remedy with the development of FinTech companies to protect their existence as financial services providers? 2) What kind of relationship have the financial institutions with the FinTech companies? The aim of this study is to extend the existing knowledge about the current and potential impacts of FinTech companies on financial institutions. Moreover, the purpose is to have a better understanding about how the incumbents remedy the effects of the new entrants and challenges that they confront. This study answered the research question through a qualitative method and the empirical data has been gathered from ten interviews with banks and insurance companies in Sweden. The findings of this thesis revealed that the FinTech companies obliged the financial institutions to develop their IT systems and services, either inhouse or by cooperating with FinTech companies and made them more open for collaboration than before. Further, the banking sector is more impacted by FinTech companies than the insurance sector. That makes them more likely to leave some segments for the new entrants in future. Concerning the attitudes, all the financial institutions are positive about FinTech companies and their impacts even though a few of the new entrants attempt to provide financial services with low security, generally most of them keen to improve the financial services.

The major Swedish banks have been affected by digitalization in the financial sector, where FinTech has contributed with new technological opportunities. The banks that partner with FinTech companies can develop effective and innovative solutions for both companies and individuals. However, the banks' cooperation with FinTech companies has resulted in various risks, mainly cyber and operational risks. The actors investigated were Handelsbanken, SEB and Swedbank. The purpose of the study is to analyze and investigate the relationship between banks and FinTech companies. With a focus on cooperation and competition as well as whether there are any potential risks that may arise in the relationships.  In order to answer the purpose, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with representatives from the banks as primary data collection. Secondary data have also been used, such as banks' annual reports and scientific articles. The theoretical frame of reference is important in relation to the research questions and the chosen theory of cooperation and competition is crucial for the purpose of the study. The results showed that all banks saw collaborations with Fintech companies as an opportunity to streamline their systems and develop services beyond their own capacity. However, these collaborations were different, where Handelsbanken avoided external collaborations unlike SEB and Swedbank. Finally, the study concluded that all banks experienced increased exposure to risks because of the emergence of FinTech.

Being influenced by advanced technology solutions, modern business is undergoing significant transformations. This is also true about the financial services sector, where innovative solutions are being actively used and new fintech companies are emerging. Against this background, the market share of large traditional banks reduces steadily. These trends are also observed in Sweden, which has one of the highest levels of digitalization of banking services in Europe. The described trends may indicate that Swedish traditional banks are unable to compete with fintech companies and adapt to the new business environment. Consequently, the purpose of the research is to assess the current and potential positions of large traditional Swedish banks in the financial services market. In particular, when considering the situation through the prism of service-dominant logic, it is necessary to understand the place that large traditional banks occupy in the overall process of value creation with the participation of the consumer. In this regard, the following questions have been examined within the research: RQ1. How can the largest traditional banks in Sweden preserve their market positions in the overall value creation process? RQ2. What services offered by the traditional banks are the most exposed to customer outflow? To answer the questions posed, the exploratory research has been carried out, which is based on a case study and an in-depth study of a specific example, namely the development of Swedbank in a changing market context. The research data has been mostly derived from the interview, although, to reduce its bias and subjectivity, the secondary data, providing an idea of market trends, has been also analyzed. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the main advantages of fintech companies are high specialization, seamless processes, and reduced government control. Against this background, traditional banks are losing market share, but in the future, the situation should stabilize. The reason is that traditional banks have the scale, infrastructure, and operant resources to deliver comprehensive financial services that require a customized approach and cannot be automated. In addition, large traditional banks could potentially act as a platform for the technological development of the entire industry. These circumstances determine the specific advantages and the development of incumbent banks in Sweden, although the involvement of consumers in the co-creation process through social media and mobile applications is still the problem.

Introduktion Digitaliseringen har lett till att flera nya aktörer trätt in på finansmarknaden och kundbehov har ändrats. Bankerna har därför behövt genomgå förändringar för att klara sig på marknaden. Detta har de gjort genom att bland annat ha ingått samarbeten med fintechbolag. Aktörerna skiljer sig markant från varandra vilket gör att de har mycket att lära från varandra. Denna studie handlar om det ömsesidiga lärandet i ett samarbete mellan fintechbolag och banker i Sverige. I studier framgår att 7 av 10 banker ser fintechbolag som det största hotet i branschen medan 8 av 10 banker ser fintechbolag som samarbetspartners vilket visar på att en relation som bildas mellan dessa aktörer kallas för coopetition. Cooperation och competition. Syfte Denna studie ämnar bidra med förståelse för det interorganisatoriska lärandet i en coopetitionrelation mellan banker och fintechbolag genom att kartlägga hur aktörers absorberande inlärningskapacitet leder till lärande. Frågeställningarna i studien är: Vilka yttre villkor påverkar den absorberade inlärningskapaciteten hos fintechbolag respektive banker? Hur påverkar nivån på coopetition samt graden av beroende mellan banker och fintechbolag sambandet mellan absorberande inlärningskapacitet och det interorganisatoriska lärandet? Hur ser det interorganisatoriska lärandet ut mellan banker och fintechbolag vid coopetition? Vad lär sig de olika aktörerna från dessa typer av samarbeten? Metod Denna studie är en komparativ flerfallstudie genomförd med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod. Vidare har studien ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv med en abduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in via åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre respondenter från storbanker och fem respondenter från fintechbolag i Sverige. Slutsats I studien har det framkommit att fintechbolagens yttre villkor är att de är unga och små bolag med begränsade tidigare erfarenheter och att bankernas yttre villkor är att de är stora och gamla företag med tidigare erfarenheter av samarbeten med fintechbolag. I studien framkommer det även att både banker och fintechbolag ser relationen som de har med respektive part som samarbetsdominerad. Från empirin har vi kunnat urskilja att det finns ett visst asymmetriskt beroende mellan banker och fintechbolag i deras samarbeten då bankerna har mer att säga till om. Ytterligare en slutsats är att lärandet mellan banker och fintechbolag går till så att de delar och skapar kunskap tillsammans genom kontinuerliga möten och workshops med målet att gemensamt uppnå innovation. Informell informationsdelning är även det något som sker konstant mellan företagen som leder till lärande åt båda håll. I nuvarande samarbeten lär sig fintechbolag hur det faktiskt är att verka som stora bolag genom lärdomar kring rutiner, avtalsprocesser och hantering av kundrelationer. I studien framkommer att bankerna lär sig från fintechbolagen hur de som organisation ska arbeta för att bli mer agila och digitala i sin verksamhet. / Introduction Due to digitization several new players have entered the financial market and customer needs have changed. Banks have therefore had to undergo a change in order to succeed in the market. They have done this by, among other things, entering into partnerships with fintech companies. These players differ markedly from each other which means that they have much to learn from one another. This study aims to help understand interorganizational learning in collaborations between fintech companies and banks in Sweden. Studies show that 7 out of 10 banks see fintech companies as the biggest threat in the industry, while 8 out of 10 banks see fintech companies as partners, indicating that a relationship between these players is called coopetition. Cooperation and competition. Purpose This study aims to help understand interorganizational learning in a coopetition relationship between banks and fintech companies by mapping out how actors' absorptive learning capacity leads to interorganizational learning. Research questions: What peripheral conditions affect the absorptive learning capacity of fintech companies and banks? How does the level of coopetition and the degree of dependence between banks and fintech companies affect the relationship between absorbing learning capacity and interorganizational learning? What does interorganizational learning look like between banks and fintech companies in coopetition? What do the different actors learn from these types of collaborations? Method This study is a comparative multi-case study conducted using a qualitative method. Further the study has a phenomenological perspective with an abductive approach. The empirical material was collected through eight semi-structured interviews with three respondents from major banks and five respondents from fintech companies in Sweden. Conclusion The study found that the peripheral conditions of the fintech companies are that they are young and small companies with limited past experience and the banks' peripheral conditions are that they are large and old companies with previous experience of working with fintech companies. The study also reveals that both banks and fintech companies consider the relationship they have with each other as cooperation-dominant. There is a certain asymmetric dependence between banks and fintech companies in their collaborations as the banks have more impact. Another conclusion is that banks and fintech companies share and create knowledge together through continuous meetings and workshops with the aim of jointly achieving innovation. Informal information sharing is also something that constantly occurs between the companies that leads to learning in both directions. In current collaborations, fintech companies are learning what it is like to operate as a large company through learnings about routines, contract processes and customer relationship management. The study shows that the banks learn how they as an organization should work to become more agile and digital in their operations.

Titel: Relationen mellan traditionella storbanker och fintechföretag - Konkurrens eller samarbete? Ämne: Självständigt uppsatsarbete inom företagsekonomi, 30 hp Författare: Angelica Svensson & Fredrika Årzén Forskningsfråga: Hur ser relationen ut mellan traditionella storbanker och fintechföretag inom kreditgivning till företag? Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva relationen mellan traditionella storbanker och fintechföretag på kreditgivningsmarknaden för företag i Sverige idag. Vidare ska studien analysera och skapa en förståelse för den här relationen, samt utveckla teoretiska begrepp avseende konkurrens och samarbete. Metod: En kvalitativ metod med en abduktiv forskningsansats har varit utgångspunkten för studiens genomförande. Litteraturgenomgången och den teoretiska referensramen bygger på inhämtad information från litteratur samt tidigare forskning. Intervjuer har genomförts med 9 respondenter från både traditionella storbanker och fintechföretag. Slutsats: Resultatet som studien kommer fram till visar på att traditionella storbanker och fintechföretag har olika utlåningstekniker de utgår ifrån, med bakgrund i att det finns olika motiv och drivkrafter som driver dem. Motiven och drivkrafterna påverkar möjligheten till konkurrens och samarbete, då deras respektive utgångslägen ser olika ut inför en samverkan. En paradoxal strategisk process kan ses uppstå utifrån deras olika motiv och drivkrafter att beakta i ett sammanhang där de är verksamma på samma marknad. / Title: The relationship between traditional large banks and fintech companies – Competition or collaboration? Topic: Independent Project in Business Administration 30 credits  Author: Angelica Svensson & Fredrika Årzén  Research question: What is the relationship like between traditional commercial banks and fintech companies in corporate lending? Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe the relationship between traditional commercial banks and fintech companies in the corporate lending market for business in Sweden today. Furthermore, the study aims to analyze and develop an understanding of this relationship, as well as develop theoretical concepts regarding competition and collaboration. Method: A qualitative method with an abductive research approach has been the basis for conducting the study. The literature review and the theoretical framework are based on gathered information from literature and previous research. Interviews have been conducted with 9 respondents from both traditional commercial banks and fintech companies. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate that traditional commercial banks and fintech companies employ different lending techniques driven by their distinct motivations and incentives. The diverse driving factors influence the possibilities of competition and collaboration, as their historical backgrounds vary when considering cooperation. A paradoxical strategic process can be observed due to their differing perspectives and the different factors they need to consider when operating in the same market.

The aim of this study is to assess whether there is a relationship between capital structure and financial performance among Swedish FinTech companies. Previous studies have examined this relationship in other industries and in other countries with mixed and sometimes contradictory results. The theoretical framework consists of theories such as trade-off theory, pecking-order theory and the life cycle theory. For the purpose of the study, a regression analysis of 204 Swedish FinTech companies was conducted between the years 2017-2019. The results show that FinTech companies are financed with approximately half of liabilities, most of which consist of current liabilities. Consistent with the pecking-order theory, the results of the current study indicate a negative and significant relationship between leverage and profitability measured as ROE. In addition, larger- and older companies seem to be more profitable. / Denna studie strävar efter att bedöma huruvida det finns ett samband mellan kapitalstruktur och finansiell prestation bland svenska FinTech-företag. Tidigare studier har undersökt detta förhållande på andra branscher och i andra länder med blandade och ibland motsägelsefulla resultat. Det teoretiska ramverket består av teorier som trade-off teorin, pecking-order teorin samt livscykelteorin. För studiens ändamål genomfördes en regressionsanalys på 204 svenska FinTech-företag mellan åren 2017-2019. Resultaten visar att FinTech-företagen är finansierade med ungefär hälften skulder, varav merparten består av kortfristiga skulder. Konsekvent med pecking-order teorin indikerar resultaten i den aktuella studien ett negativt och signifikant samband mellan skuldsättning och lönsamhet mätt som ROE. Dessutom verkar de större- och äldre företagen vara mer lönsamma.