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(New) Business Models & Digitalization

The rapid digitalization of society and the economy has given rise to innovative business models at the intersection of “Industry 4.0.” These enable companies to tap into new markets and challenge banks' traditional role in financing. With precise data from the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can, for example, offer their customers forward-looking financing options based on rental or subscription models rather than traditional purchase transactions. The resulting benefits include order-based and liquidity-preserving cash flows to third parties, which are highly relevant, particularly in disruptive and volatile markets. Additionally, the high acquisition costs are eliminated, which facilitates access to innovative technologies. In the long term, these developments will also transform banks’ corporate banking business - a topic that has been rarely addressed in the financial literature to date.

The aforementioned changes and interrelationships, as they pertain to the challenges facing regional banks (cooperative banks and savings banks), were already examined in a joint study conducted with Professor Dr. Elmar Lukas (University of Magdeburg), a member of the ifG Marburg expert panel, as part of a fundamental empirical study, which, in turn, is intended to serve as a starting point for in-depth analyses by both the medium-sized (platform) providers and the supporting (regional) banks in the context of @Smart Finance.