The long-term effect of digital innovation on bank performance: An empirical study of SWIFT adoption in financial services

Susan V. Scott, John van Reenen and Markos Zachariadis

Research Policy, 2017, vol. 46, issue 5, 984-1004

Abstract: We examine the impact on bank performance of the adoption of SWIFT, a network-based technological infrastructure and set of standards for worldwide interbank telecommunication. We construct a new longitudinal dataset of 6848 banks in 29 countries in Europe and the Americas with the full history of adoption since SWIFT’s initial operations in 1977. Our results suggest that the adoption of SWIFT (i) has large effects on profitability in the long-term; (ii) these profitability effects are greater for small than for large banks; and (iii) exhibits significant network effects on performance. We use an in-depth field study to better understand the mechanisms underlying the effects on profitability.

Keywords: Technology adoption; Bank performance; Financial services; Network innovation; SWIFT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N20 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (63)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The long-term effect of digital innovation on bank performance: an empirical study of SWIFT adoption in financial services (2017)
Working Paper: The long-term effect of digital innovation on bank performance: An empirical study of SWIFT adoption in financial services (2017)
Working Paper: The Long-Term Effect of Digital Innovation on Bank Performance: An Empirical Study of SWIFT Adoption in Financial Services (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:46:y:2017:i:5:p:984-1004

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2017.03.010

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