Strategic information management in the UK retail banking sector

Reports results of a British Library Research and Innovation Centre funded questionnaire and interview survey project to investigate the role of information and its relationship with strategy formulation in the UK banking sector. The choice of focus was due to the acceptance of information as playing a pivotal role in retail banking, not only in terms of externally collected data (traditional business information), but also in terms of the information processes involved in strategy formulation. The sample consisted of 15 retail banks and five large retailing organizations with financial services arms (the latter included to reflect the provision of retail banking outside the traditional banking sector). The second stage of the project involved the investigation of strategic information from the viewpoint of information managers. Results indicate the importance of accurate, current and high quality information as a critical input to strategy formulation. However, information gathering and analysis activities are viewed increasingly as an element of all managers, work within retail banking and the concept of an information professional, serving the information needs of other managers, is perceived as being increasingly archaic.