G20 - Financial Institutions and Services: GeneralReturn

Financial institutions have not paid much attention to customers in the past. In the Slovak republic, this approach has changed only since the late 1990s. Banks have recognized that understanding the customer and its behaviour is key to their success. This contribution aims to answer the research question of whether there are different segments of customers (generations) that would differ in the level of perception of the bank's brand subconsciously. The data used in the presented study was obtained by our survey carried out by a sample size of 2000 respondents (Slovak citizens older than 15 years of age). The given data has been statistically evaluated by testing hypotheses and the factor analysis supported by the implementation of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Test, Bartlett's test of sphericity, and calculation of Cronbach's Alpha for brand value sources in general as well as for all generation. In accordance with previously mentioned, the results consist of the identification of specifics in brand value sources in the banking industry on the case study of Slovak Republic creating so a platform for future research of relevant disparities in cross-cultural brand value sources from the psychographic point of view. Implications for the Central European audience: There are some implications of the article in managerial practice. First of all, the paper presents a valuable source of relevant information for brand managers. They are anticipated to enhance and deepen the understanding of managerial previous practice as well. Overall, the findings help to understand the complexity of internal and external factors motivating consumers to interact with the brand, generating added value for consumers.

A number of socio-economic phenomena that are intensifying nowadays, in particular an increase in competition and customer expectations, forces enterprises to seek new sources of innovation, including process (technological) ones to ensure their ability to compete effectively. It turns out that they are increasingly transferring them from their environment, and the success of this undertaking is dependent on their absorptive capacities. Therefore, the main goal of this article was to identify the key absorptive capacities that are endogenous determinants of the effectiveness of the process of the absorption of process innovations in the activity of Poland’s financial companies. The empirical part of the article was written on the basis of an online survey carried out in 2015-2016. It was sent to the heads of 155 commercial financial sector companies registered in Poland, namely all banks, property and life insurance companies, investment funds and universal fund management companies. In total, 111 entities filled in the online survey questionnaire. In the conducted study an attempt was made to assess the direction and strength of dependence between the level of development of specific absorptive capacities of financial companies and the scale of the effects achieved as a result of the absorption of process innovations. Personal and organizational absorptive capacities of financial companies in Poland remain in a positive and strong linear relationship with their effectiveness achieved in the scope of the absorption of process innovations. The results identified the key absorptive capacities that determine the effects obtained in the process of absorbing technological innovations, taking into account the specific conditions prevailing in the service sector.