Innovation in the Financial Sector: A Case Study of Danske Bank´s MobilePay

Abstract

The rapid growth of technology poses an increasingly growing threat to the banking sector. With tech companies, looking to gain market share from the banking sector, the sector needs to innovate itself. In order to gain insights into how the banking sector might enable itself to innovate, a case study of the successful innovation MobilePay by Danske Bank was made. The thesis set out to analyse the effect the strategic choices, made by Danske Bank in developing MobilePay, had on the success of creating a new market. In order to complete the analysis, this thesis used theory within the area of Organizational Ambidexterity, Blue Ocean Strategy, New Product Development, and First Mover Advantage. The purpose of this thesis is, to gain insight into how the strategic choices, made by Danske Bank, enabled them to develop MobilePay, and successfully create a new market. The study found that organizational ambidexterity played a vital role in making Danske Bank aware that radical innovation was needed, in order to survive in the future. The study also showed that a strong customer focus was crucial to the success of MobilePay. Furthermore, the results of this study indicated that choosing a strategy, which focuses on reducing uncertainty combined with an agile development method, increases the chances for success in creating a new market. The results of this case-study is relevant to anyone wanting to gain insight into how strategic choices helped ensure the success of MobilePay. The results are also relevant to other researchers, as a foundation for other case studies looking to identify key factors that can lead to successful market creation.