The role of corporate governance in the digital transformation journeytheoretical dissertation and first empirical evidence in the european banking context

Resumen

The banking industry has been secure and highly profitable for many years. However, recent industry disruption has come knocking at the door of these financial giants. The turning point was the global financial crisis experienced between the years 2007-2009, and then, especially for the European sector, the sovereign debt crisis, which not only led to large losses and even the collapse of a significant number of established banks but shook the trust of financial customers worldwide. These factors, combined with the fact that banking has been undisturbed for centuries, meant it was time for a change, and that change has been the rapid rise of financial technology companies or Fintech. Unlike before, emerging innovative financial technologies are profoundly changing how we spend, move, and manage our money. These issues have become even more relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic. From an internal perspective, it demonstrated the importance of digital transformation and digital tools at all levels of the organisation. From the customers' perspective, it dramatically shifted their behaviour and expectation of financial service providers. Given the pervasiveness and rapidity of this change, it becomes crucial to have individuals at the top of the organisation (i.e., CEO, top management team, and the board of directors) who can understand the scenario, spot opportunities, make successful strategic choices, and implement them effectively. The issue of governance becomes more crucial in light of the latest major corporate scandals and recent legislation to promote sound and prudent management of financial institutions and sustainable governance. Nevertheless, academic research is slow to contribute significantly to understanding the phenomenon, mainly due to the significant lack of data on digital transformation. This work fits into this gap, attempting to contribute, albeit minimally, to understanding how a particular governance setup can help promote digital transformation. Given the absence of data to measure digital transformation, we try to facilitate future research by testing valuable proxies. Notably, the thesis consists of three chapters to deepen these reflections and empirically analyse the phenomenon.