Abstract:

The last two decades, European Banks have learned to face change in their corporate markets from increasing competition, the growing internationalisation of business and the altered economic and industrial climate. The paper shows how research can play a key role in marketing and management decisions, service development and enhancement and provides evidence for a number of interesting conclusions including: 1. how electronic banking systems should be positioned and marketed to overcome their limited penetration of the corporate middle market; 2. how banks should develop their services and structures to meet changing corporate priorities in choice of bank and use of banking services; 3. implications for bank marketing and service policies of increasing volatility in corporate banking markets; 4. the likely effect of changing characteristics of financial decision-makers. Findings and conclusions are based on a range of recent UK corporate market studies which demonstrate the role of research in monitoring change and providing information and guidance to banks and other financial institutions operating in these changing markets.