Strategic Adoption of Digital Banking Innovations as a Source of Competitive Advantage for Zambian Commercial Banks: A Case Study of Access Bank

Hollis Makungu and Moffat Chawala
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Hollis Makungu: Graduate School of Business, University of Zambia
Moffat Chawala: Copperbelt University

African Journal of Commercial Studies, 2026, vol. 7, issue 2

Abstract: In the modern Zambian financial landscape, technological innovation has evolved from a support function to a critical driver of institutional survival and competitive advantage. This study investigated the impact of the strategic adoption of digital banking innovations on the competitive advantage of commercial banks in Zambia, with a focus on Access Bank Zambia. Anchored in the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory, the study examined whether digital banking tools constitute valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized (VRIO) resources capable of enhancing competitive positioning. A positivist research philosophy and quantitative descriptive design were adopted. Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to 287 middle and senior management staff, achieving a response rate of 89.2% (n=256). Inferential analysis using SPSS version 27 revealed that mobile banking accessibility is a dominant predictor of institutional performance, explaining 45.8% of the variance (R² = 0.458, p

Keywords: Strategic Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Mobile Banking; Access Bank Zambia; Digital Risk Management; Institutional Survival (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G21 M15 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cwk:ajocsk:2026-66

DOI: 10.59413/ajocs/v7.i2.47

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