DIGITALIZING FOR SURVIVAL : A CASE STUDY OF POSITIONING IN THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION OF BANKS

Sammanfattning: The Swedish banking sector is facing a crossroad. The services that once were at the core of the banking industry are being challenged by technological innovations, and the previously so stable industry sees new competitors enter the market. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the reasoning behind one of Sweden's largest banks choice of positioning itself as a digital frontrunner (Nordea, 2018). This thesis also serves to uncover the key characteristics that an organization's positioning strategy should include to be resilient in a digital revolution. Within a theoretical framework, including positioning, organizational identity, sensemaking, and dynamic capabilities, a case study has been conducted to explore Nordea's choice of path. Through both a qualitative industry comparison and a qualitative in-depth study, the authors reveal that the process of sensemaking has enabled a Nordea's change in positioning strategy, ultimately resulting in its current positioning as digital frontrunners. Additionally, this thesis finds that Nordea has been able to differentiate from two of its largest competitors due to its choice of positioning. Conclusively, these findings indicate that due to the character and the dynamic capabilities associated with its current positioning strategy, Nordea is set to endure the future of the financial services market.