Redesigning business networks

Driven by factors like globalization, increased competition, and declining customer loyalty, the financial industry is facing a structural transformation. Operating in a changing market, the (re)design of business models and thus also the business network is a mayor challenge for financial institutions. One way of succeeding in this endeavor is to focus on core competencies. Banks therefore adjust their business models in order to reduce their degree of vertical integration by outsourcing complementary activities. This business redesign requires an integrated approach to align the future business model with the involved processes and information systems while also taking the surrounding conditions of the company and its market into account. Present approaches show a restricted usability as they focus either on strategic aspects or process-efficiency only. Moreover, these procedures often lack methodological support so that they are rarely applicable in practice. This paper introduces an integrated approach of business network redesign for the financial industry that covers the layers strategy, process and systems. The methodology considers the necessity for a common understanding of the underlying processes when reshaping the business model / network. Since research is still in progress, this paper concentrates on the basic instruments which are used to describe a distinct business environment: a reference network and a reference service map both derived from a reference process. As the research focuses on the financial services sector, the paper exemplifies these reference models for the investment process from a bank's point of view. Finally, the instruments are applied to a case study to verify their content and examine their applicability.