부산대학교 도서관

Commercial banks are knocking each other down in a race to find the perfect new product or business that will insure long-term profitability and competitive advantage in a deregulated market for financial services. The problem, say these authors, is that there is no perfection in this market, no strategic nirvana that can ever be reached. Because all banks are going after the same high-margin businesses or products, margins inevitably will shrink. Commercial banks should focus on their management and organizational structures as the source of renewal and competitive advantage. In fact, many have neglected or even destroyed their search for product and market innovation. The most sophisticated, however, now understand the importance of structure and are searching for novel methods to deal with the thorny organizational issues surfacing in the brave new world of banking. The authors identify four stages through which most banks travel--owner driven, supportive, entrepreneurial, and collaborative--and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. They show how the first two stages have gradually faded in light of new strategic demands and how most large money-center and regional banks have adopted an entrepreneurial or profit-center approach to take account of new market innovations. That organizational form, however, has certain costs, including increased division among units and less far-reaching strategic direction. So the authors believe most banks must move toward more collaboration among their diverse parts in order to build a stronger overall structure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]