The Internet and the Deconstruction of the Integrated Banking Model

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs), with the Internet being one of the most significant, is shaking the foundation of the banking industry. Simply deploying the Internet as a more efficient distribution channel will not bring sustainable strategic advantages. To compete effectively, banks may need to embrace a new set of strategic priorities, based on the 'unbundling' of banking services and processes, and the 'deconstruction' of the integrated banking model. Such a radical transformation threatens the profitability and survival of some existing incumbent banks, and at the same time, it brings a cohort of new opportunities and powerful new players to the market. This paper reviews existing studies on the use of the Internet in banking, and highlights two prevailing models and the strategic thinking behind them. Based upon recent empirical evidence gathered from in-depth case studies and other information sources in the UK, the paper discusses a number of emerging tendencies and explores possibilities to reconcile the discrepancies between the two prevailing models. The paper calls for a radical departure from existing strategies in the banking industry based on the concept of process integration and service bundling. A new framework is outlined for banks and other financial organizations in developing and evaluating their strategies. The latest evidence suggests that at least eight models of Internet banking, somewhere on the spectrum between the two prevailing models highlighted by previous studies, have emerged in the UK. These models are illustrated briefly in the paper. This is still a rapidly evolving area, and new research is clearly needed to understand the key dynamics of the banking industry in the networked economy. Finally, some themes for further research are highlighted.     

引入外资战略投资者对我国商业银行效率的影响

在当前外资入股我国银行业显著加速的背景下,研究引入外资战略投资者对我国商业银行效率影响,回答引入外国战略投资者后是否能够影响商业银行效率具有重要的实践价值.本文将商业银行按股权结构分为三大类,在随机前沿法理论模型的基础上依据修正的产出法构建了成本利润方程,实证研究了引入外资战略投资者后对我国商业银行效率的影响.实证结果表明:在引入外资战略投资者后,不仅改善了银行的成本效率,同时促进了银行利润效率的提升;研究还证明银行业实施的"财务重组-引入战略投资者-上市-完善治理制度"改革提高了银行效率.     

Branch banking in the year 2000

The topic of branch banking in the United States in the year 2000 is obviously one that has been in the minds of California bankers for some time because California is the largest state in the United States to permit virtually unlimited statewide branch banking. It is a topic that must also be in the minds of a large number of European and Asian bankers as well because several non-U.S. banking systems have already established large branch networks in the United States. It is a difficult topic because no one knows precisely what will be the status of branch banking in the year 1990, let alone the year 2000. This article makes some predictions.     

Competitive conditions in the Central and Eastern European banking systems

The aim of this study is to conduct an empirical analysis of the competitive conditions in the banking systems of Central and Eastern European countries. The well-known model of Panzar and Rosse [1] is implemented on bank-level data over the period 1999–2006. The estimates based on the separate country panels suggest a wide variation in the competitive conditions of the banking systems examined, with some being characterized as (monopolistically) competitive and other as non-competitive. Finally, the results from the full sample indicate that bank revenue is substantially influenced by structural and macroeconomic conditions.     

Global Software Development: Commitment,Trust and Cultural Sensitivity in Strategic Partnerships

Much research has studied off-shore outsourcing from a Western client perspective. This article tries to shed light on what an Indian vendor perceives as important to manage large and complex strategic partnerships in IT outsourcing, and in particular how mutually profitable, long-term relationships with European clients are created and maintained, both at company and project levels. We investigate this issue through qualitative interviews with various vendor representatives in offshore and on-site teams in a top tier multinational company of Indian origin.In the analysis of interview accounts of close collaboration processes in two large and complex projects, where off-shoring of software development is moved to a strategic level, we found that the vendor was able to establish a strategic partnership through long-term engagement with the field of banking and insurance as well as through conscious relationship management with the clients. Three major themes describe important aspects of the strategic partnerships: 1) senior management commitment and employee identification with the projects, 2) mutual trust and transparency, and 3) cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity. The article draws attention to the important collaborative work done by people who are able to span boundaries in the complex organizational set-up of global IT development projects.     

Rationalizing branch banking

Large organizations and particularly organizations with the complex structure of branch banking, require time to change. The author does not suggest that there are any clear answers to the strategic planning problems facing branch banking. Today's advanced technology provides new tools to respond to change and progress. To do this accurate assessment of market segments, an effective internal management structure, efficient management and a level and quality of staff to use the new technology are required. This, in turn, will demand new recruitment and training methods.     

Aligning operations,marketing, and competitive strategies to enhance performance: An empirical test in the retail banking industry

The close linkage between competitive strategy and functional strategic activities is asserted to be a precondition to the achievement of optimal business performance. This study explores how the relationship between (and among) operations, marketing, and competitive strategies affects organizational performance in the banking industry. Our findings show that: (a) competitive strategy moderates the relationship between operations and marketing strategic activities, and organizational performance, (b) certain integrated strategic decisions of operations and marketing functions have a significant impact on organizational performance, and (c) the performance of retail banks within a strategic group differs depending on the quality of the strategic fit.     

Organizational implications of CAM

The new competitive conditions of the 1980's have thrown American and European manufacturing into a turmoil. Computerized process technology can help ease the problems through increasing productivity, quality and flexibility. However, its benefits will not be realized unless manufacturing managers attend to the technology's strategic and organizational implications. Issues in specifying the connections between computerized processes and strategic objectives are discussed. A conceptual framework is proposed which identifies some of these connections. Determining the appropriate work organization and compatible systems and procedures are also discussed. Recommendations are made for dealing with these issues.     

Do performance and environmental conditions act as barriers for cross-border banking in Europe?

This paper attempts to analyse whether banking technology and environmental conditions act as barriers for the entry of foreign banks in each European banking industry. We evaluate how the efficiency score of a representative commercial bank of a given European country changes if it decides to move abroad. To carry out this analysis, we use a sample of 700 banks belonging to 11 European countries. Countries are paired and each couple is studied by using four DEA production frontiers. These frontiers allow us to measure the technological and environmental gaps between the two countries considered and, based on them, to predict the new efficiency score of the representative bank of a country that decides to operate in a different country. The results indicate, as expected, that being technologically advanced appears to be a significant deterrent to foreign competition, and that adverse environmental conditions constitute a real barrier for cross-border banking activity. Additionally, the results suggest that host-nation banking performance is a good safeguard against cross-border competition.     

INFLATION RISK PREMIA IN THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATES

This paper estimates the size and dynamics of inflation risk premia in the euro area, based on a joint model of macroeconomic and term structure dynamics. Information from both nominal and index‐linked yields is used in the empirical analysis. Our results indicate that the inflation risk premium on euro area 10‐year nominal yields was approximately equal to 20 basis points on average over the 1999–2007 period. The inflation premium has also been subject to moderate, but statistically significant fluctuations. For the post‐2003 period in which reliable index‐linked bond prices are available, our results suggest that increases in the raw break‐even inflation rate above 2%, the upper bound of the European Central Bank's definition for price stability, have mostly reflected variations in the inflation risk premium, while long‐term inflation expectations have remained well anchored.     

Total factor productivity and shareholder returns in banking

This paper examines shareholder value drivers in European banking focusing on the efficiency and productivity features of individual banks. In particular, we analyse the value relevance of bank cost efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) (in all its components, including technological change, pure technical efficiency change and scale efficiency change) to see how these influence shareholder value creation in European banking. The paper focuses on the French, German, Italian and U.K. banking systems over the period 1995–2002 and includes both listed and non-listed banks. We find that TFP changes best explain variations in shareholder value (measured by market-adjusted returns, MAR, for listed banks and by the ratio of EVA_bkg to invested capital at time t−1 for non-listed banks). In both samples, we also find that technological change seems to be the most important component of TFP influencing shareholder value creation in European banking.     

Future of European human resource management: A contingent approach

The ability to cope with an increasingly open European Market, enhanced mobility between nation states and the threat of competition from the Far East will be highly prized organisational skills in the third millenium. Many commentators have argued that ‘Europeanisation’ (broadly defined) is an irreversible process and companies will have to cope proactively with this or perish. However, in this article we argue that many of these predictions are based on an uncritical acceptance of the ‘internationalisation’ thesis, and on subjective assessments of possible future trends — rather than on sound empirical research within strong theoretical frameworks. Accordingly, this article takes a critical look at some widely-held assumptions about internationalisation, Europeanisation and the (potential) development of European Human Resource Management (EHRM). It then goes on to suggest a framework of research which will be more able to capture future developments in EHRM and thereby facilitate more robust exchanges on strategic HRM with those companies operating in a European setting.     

Regional Disparities and Labour Mobility: the Euro-11 versus the USA

In this paper we assess whether regional disparities in the euro area stimulate labour mobility, using migration behaviour in US states as a benchmark. Large regional disparities within European countries and size differences between them and US states led us to select regions as the appropriate unit of analysis for Europe. While the level of net immigration flows with respect to population is similar in the USA and the euro area, our study shows that its sensitivity to regional disparities differs considerably. Indeed, migration is much more significantly influenced by income disparities in the USA than it is in the Euro-11, both in the short and the long term. Furthermore, the responsiveness of net migration inflows to shocks to the relative unemployment rate is negative in the regions of the USA, but nil in those of the Euro-11. Finally, risk factors (identified in the theoretical model as the variance of income) are significant determinants of migration decisions in Europe but not in the USA.     

THE EURO AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF INTERNATIONAL DEBT FLOWS

Greater financial integration between core and peripheral European Monetary Union (EMU) members not only had an effect on both sets of countries but also spilled over beyond the euro area. Lower interest rates allowed peripheral countries to run bigger deficits, which inflated their economies by allowing credit booms. Core EMU countries took on extra foreign leverage to expose themselves to the peripherals. We present a stylized model that illustrates possible mechanisms for these developments. We then analyze the geography of international debt flows using multiple data sources and provide evidence that after the euro's introduction, core EMU countries increased their borrowing from outside of the EMU and their lending to the EMU periphery. Moreover, we present evidence that large core EMU banks' lending to periphery borrowers was linked to their borrowing from outside of the euro area.     

银行股权关联、银行业竞争与民营企业融资约束

本文以公司参股银行为视角,在行为金融理论、企业组织理论与信贷融资理论相融合的分析框架下,构建基于异质预期的信贷配置模型,探讨了银行股权关联和银行业竞争影响民营企业融资约束的传导机理。以A股民营企业2006~2013年的数据为例,运用Heckman两阶段回归等方法,我们发现:参股银行和提高银行业竞争性均能显著缓解民营企业的融资约束,参股比例越高该效应越强,且两者在缓解融资约束方面存在替代关系。但进一步的分析显示,银行股权关联对资本配置的影响具有两面性:即银行股权关联所带来的融资优势能够减少因资金短缺导致的投资不足,但代理问题的存在也可能导致银行股权关联被部分异化,使其对于资本配置的正向作用减弱甚至被异化为利益寻租的工具。上述结论既丰富了委托代理理论与公司财务理论的相关研究成果,也有助于我们深入理解银行股权关联的"正面效果"和"负面效果"。     

战略阻绝效应对战略联盟决策的影响分析

本文将对战略联盟决策的分析纳入SCP范式,并通过构造在位者和潜在进入者之间的三阶段博弈模型来分析战略阻绝效应对战略联盟决策的影响.本文认为:在位者的合适的战略联盟行为具有战略阻绝效应,可以通过改变潜在进入者的进入预期、影响进入者的行为并促进在位者的支付,这种支付的改变将拓宽战略联盟的决策空间,在位者将在更高的联盟成本或更低的固定边际成本下降程度上建立战略联盟.     

AN ESTIMATED DYNAMIC STOCHASTIC GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL OF THE EURO AREA

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with sticky prices and wages for the euro area. The model incorporates various other features such as habit formation, costs of adjustment in capital accumulation and variable capacity utilization. It is estimated with Bayesian techniques using seven key macroeconomic variables: GDP, consumption, investment, prices, real wages, employment, and the nominal interest rate. The introduction of ten orthogonal structural shocks (including productivity, labor supply, investment, preference, cost‐push, and monetary policy shocks) allows for an empirical investigation of the effects of such shocks and of their contribution to business cycle fluctuations in the euro area. Using the estimated model, we also analyze the output (real interest rate) gap, defined as the difference between the actual and model‐based potential output (real interest rate). (JEL: E4, E5)     

需求不确定下生产能力与竞争优势之间的关系

在需求不确定的条件下,用生产能力刻画产量决策的柔性,用古诺模型描述企业间的(产量)竞争,建立一个两企业战略竞争博弈模型,并利用博弈均衡构建柔性水平与竞争优势之间的函数关系。比较静态分析结果表明,(1)其他条件不变,一家企业的相对竞争优势随着自己的生产能力增加而增加,但随着对手的生产能力增加而降低;(2)生产能力较高的企业将获得较高的绝对竞争优势。这些结果暗示,柔性水平与竞争优势之间呈现一种正向的变动关系。这一结论一方面在一定程度上澄清了战略管理文献中呈现出的"战略柔性与竞争优势之间的联系方向模凌两可"这一问题;另一方面,由于引入了竞争性战略互动,从而将基于个人理性决策的结果扩展到战略相互依赖的竞争性情形下。     

Strategic management of consumer services

A period of more rigorous strategic management is under way in consumer service businesses. In banking, insurance, lodging, media, retailing, housing, restaurants and education, more growth must come from competitive share shift. This paper b shows the need for a different set of strategies to win in services than have been shaped in the product business context. Specific illustrations show how leading U.S. consumer service companies are building strategic advantage while also improving the value of their business.     

考虑消费者策略行为的供应链两周期定价与契约设计

针对由一个制造商与一个零售商构成的供应链,考虑消费者的策略性跨期购买行为,构建了两周期动态博弈模型,分析了消费者策略性程度对两周期均衡结果、消费者剩余和社会福利的影响,比较了分散式与集中式决策的均衡偏差,设计了与消费者策略性程度相关的两周期收益共享契约与"两周期收益共享+转移支付"组合式契约。研究表明：分散式决策下,消费者策略性程度有利于增加消费者剩余和社会福利,但会对供应链成员不利;某些情形下,消费者策略性程度会使分散式与集中式决策的系统利润差值增大;当消费者策略性程度相对较低时,两周期收益共享契约不仅可实现供应链完美协调,还可增加消费者剩余和社会福利;当消费者策略性程度较高时,通过组合式契约可实现供应链完美协调,但此时消费者策略性程度的增强可能对消费者剩余和社会福利产生负面影响。