The sustainable banking inudstry : factors associated with sustainable innovation

Abstract: TITLE: The sustainable banking industry - factors associated with sustainable innovation. FINAL SEMINAR: 2021-05-26COURSE: Master thesis in Business & Management - Organization at Uppsala University. AUTHORS: Kristofer Edin & Robin Nikolausson. ADVISOR: Josef Pallas.KEYWORDS: Sustainable innovation, Internal factors, External factors, Regulations, Technology, Market demand, Organizational culture, Market opportunities, Internal collaborations, Managerial dedication, Knowledge management.PURPOSE: This thesis aims to study factors associated with the development of sustainable innovation in the banking industry. Moreover, the ambition is to bring relevant findings and support for previous findings related to the information gap about how factors are associated with sustainable innovation and how they correspond to each other.METHOD: This research is using a case study methodology where one specific case company is being scrutinized. The study has used an exploratory study approach consisting of qualitative data gathering. Moreover, it is based on an inductive approach. The data consist of both primary data in terms of interviews with employees from the case company and of secondary data from various internet sources.LITERATURE REVIEW: Sustainable innovation, Technology, Regulations, Market demand, Organizational culture, Market opportunities, Internal collaboration, Managerial dedication, Knowledge management.EMPIRICAL FINDINGS: This thesis uncovers that there are both internal and external factors associated with sustainable innovation in the banking industry. The empirical findings thus correspond to the theory as it illustrates that the different factors are associated with sustainable innovation in the case company. However, the correctness of the theoretical suggestions varies in terms of the level of importance concerning the different factors. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION:The analysis illustrates that even as the eight factors are associated with sustainable innovation, it is difficult to decide their relative importance as they are not mutually exclusive, but dependent on each other. However, there are some empirical indications that some factors, such as market demand and organizational culture, are more dominant in the relationships among the different factors.