Data Strategy of Banks in a Platform Ecosystem Environment – Evaluation of Opportunities and Risks from the Perspective of Different Role Holders

Abstract

Banking today is increasingly taking place in platform ecosystem environments. Many new players are conquering the market and offering compelling banking products that provide added value and user experience. This trend drives banks to participate in this ecosystem, develop new business models, and provide sustainable solutions to their customers according to the holistic approach. However, these far-reaching decisions imply a comprehensive data strategy for banks. This paper evaluated opportunities and risks from the perspective of different role-holders. For this purpose, this paper applied a purely deductive research approach based on previous assumptions. It has a qualitative exploratory design based on structured interviews followed by Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA). The categories and coding used within the QDA were generated through an interview guide. Esteemed experts from the banking, consulting, IT provider, software development, and startup industries were assigned to the three role groups of banks, IT providers, and regulators and interviewed to provide insights and new findings on various issues of data strategy, data exchange, interaction, and data governance frameworks. The research findings shed light on how banks strategically use and deal with data within platform ecosystems to improve the customer experience and create value for different stakeholders, as well as the associated potential risks with banks' data strategy, its categorization, and IT alignment with their business strategy. Understanding how these risks can be effectively managed and mitigated is crucial. Finally, it looked at how banks work with other ecosystem players to create frameworks and standards for data governance that ensure data security, interoperability, and trust within platform ecosystems.