[AISWorld] Special Issue on: "Innovation for Financial Services: Moving Beyond the Aesthetics"

[Denis Joseph Dennehy]

Special Issue on: "Innovation for Financial Services: Moving Beyond the
Aesthetics"


*Guest Editors*:
Dr. Anne-Laure Mention, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology and
University of Liège, Luxembourg
Dr. Denis Dennehy, University College Cork, Ireland



Sustainable innovation requires a collaborative attitude towards designing
and implementing an overarching innovation strategy. However, this is only
one element that contributes to the financial service company’s capability
to innovate. The organisational context and culture of the company plays an
influential role because the established structures and processes can
either act as drivers or inhibitors to innovation. In order to produce
radical innovations that reshape the sector’s landscape, change the way
business is being done and secure continuous value creation for all
stakeholders, it is critical to align the right structures and processes,
as well as provide leadership, so as the innovative mindset and strategic
planning is embedded within the company as a whole.



Innovation in financial services is very different than innovation in a
physical product environment. Most innovations can and will be copied by
competitors so looking for innovations catering solely for monetisation
purposes is not the best tactic. It is a structural approach, requiring an
interdisciplinary, ongoing and incremental process, encapsulating key
elements such as skills development, multidisciplinary teams and
collaboration. All these foster the company’s organisational readiness,
leading to the effective use and adoption of tools such as social network
platforms. The role of social networks, new entrants, and digital
currencies in the context of innovation for financial services are all seen
as particularly interesting evolutions. The growing appetite and search for
potential game changers can simultaneously present challenges and
opportunities for the financial services sector.



This special issue focuses on the multifaceted aspects of innovation in and
for financial services. It adopts a broad perspective on innovation,
encompassing investment products, services such as e- and mobile banking,
process, organisational and marketing innovations. It particularly
considers the various challenges related to innovation in and for financial
services, the role of external factors such as regulation, the recent
technological advances which have significantly impacted the way products
and services are developed, distributed and marketed. It also aims to
explore practices related to innovation across the ecosystem of financial
services, embracing not just financial firms but their customers,
suppliers, competitors and the new types of organisations with which
financial firms simultaneously cooperate and compete. Crowdfunding is also
of particular interest to this special issue.



This special issue invites you to submit your papers and looks forward to
receiving your quality contributions. The papers can be purely theoretical
or theory-driven, empirical work, either qualitative or quantitative.
Submissions from academics, consultants, managers and policy makers
exploring innovation are strongly encouraged.