A mixed methods study investigating intangibles in the banking sector

Chen, Lei (2012) A mixed methods study investigating intangibles in the banking sector. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Despite increasing attention paid to intangibles research since the end of the 20th century, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the interactions among different intangible elements and their performance implications due to the lack of appropriate intangible measurements and the low level of intangible disclosure in the public domain.
From a resource-based view (RBV), this thesis seeks to investigate the role of intangibles in the European banking sector using mixed methods. A quantitative approach is adopted to test the relationships among different intangible elements and between them and bank performance for a sample of 63 banks from 2005 to 2007. The empirical results show that top management human capital (HC) has a positive impact on either customer relationships or bank financial performance, and the combination of different intangible elements tends to better explain the variation in banks’ return on assets than they do individually. Meanwhile, a qualitative approach is employed to assess intangible measurement, disclosure, and modelling by conducting semi-structured interviews with 11 bank managers and 12 bank analysts. A grounded theory model of intangibles is developed, which reveals how intangibles and tangible/financial resources interact in the bank value creation process. In addition, it explores the communication gaps between bank managers and bank analysts regarding the concept of intangibles, intangible measurement and intangible disclosure. More importantly, the adoption of mixed methods research allows this thesis to achieve evidence triangulation and complementarity. Both approaches produce evidence in support of the resource integration of the RBV theory and the importance of top management HC. Besides, the qualitative study provides the means to explore the way of improving the specified models and intangible proxies used in the quantitative study.
This thesis makes a contribution to the development of mixed methods research in the fields of finance, accounting and management by providing an example of how quantitative and qualitative approaches can be integrated to investigate a research question. It also contributes to the intangible literature and banking literature in terms of improving our understanding of the role of intangibles in the bank business model.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Intangibles, banking, mixed methods
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HG Finance; H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Accounting and Finance
• Supervisor's Name: Holland, Prof. John and Danbolt, Prof. Jo
• Date of Award: 2012
• Depositing User: Ms Lei Chen
• Unique ID: glathesis:2012-3267
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 22 Mar 2012
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 14:05
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/3267