Financial institutions digital transformation: the stages of the journey and business metrics to follow

This paper examines the stages of the digital transformational path that lies in front of incumbent banks in their conversion into digitally driven institutions and contributes by providing clarity in the parameters that define each stage and the key metrics to be tracked. It is a general review paper, with main tools employed the relevant scholar and grey literature & field observations. The paper identifies three phases for banking institutions’ digital transformation and proceeds with defining the characteristics of the phases and the distinct actions required for an institution to progress through them, employing a set of proposed key tracking indicators. The outcome adds to the, rather limited, academic literature on the subject and can be applied to all relevant banking institutions. Research needs further insides to articulate better the findings and expand them on a cross-examination of relevant theories and approaches. This paper aims at contributing to a growing, contemporary discussion, hopefully assisting in greater collaboration between practitioners and academics.