This book examines how strategic thinking is evolving in response to the realities of the digital economy. Traditional strategy frameworks, built for slower, more stable environments, no longer capture the complexity of today’s business landscape, where innovation is constant, data is abundant, and competition is shaped by digital platforms and ecosystems.
Focusing on the global digital banking sector―one of the most digitally advanced industries―the book draws on original research, including interviews with 39 senior strategy leaders. It explores how organisations are navigating strategy in practice, highlighting shifts in decision-making, organisational logic, and the role of technology in shaping strategic options.
Rather than proposing that classical strategy be discarded, the book argues for its adaptation. It offers a grounded, research-based view of how organisations are integrating agility, experimentation, and digital infrastructure into their strategic processes. The goal is not to replace strategic theory, but to update it―reflecting the conditions of a digital-first economy.
This book bridges multiple disciplines, including strategic management, organisational theory, information systems, and innovation. While its case focus is on digital banking, the insights are relevant across sectors facing digital transformation.
Designed for scholars, practitioners, and educators, this book provides both empirical depth and conceptual clarity. It contributes to the growing conversation about what strategy means in an environment defined by speed, fluidity, and ongoing technological change.
David Vander is the former CEO of Avolution Software, a global leader in Enterprise Architecture software, and previously CEO of LiveTiles, a publicly listed B2B SaaS Intranet platform. A 16-year Microsoft veteran, he held leadership roles such as Global Sales Excellence Lead and Worldwide Financial Services Lead.
With over 25 years' experience, David is respected for his technical vision, commercial expertise, and leadership. He serves as the longest-tenured board member of the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN) and sits on three tech start-up boards. David holds six degrees, including a PhD in Business Strategy.
Distinguished Professor Rahat Munir is the Head of the Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance at Macquarie University, Sydney. Before embarking on his academic career, he held several senior roles within the banking sector, while actively pursuing research in his field. He globally recognized for his expertise in curriculum development, innovative teaching practices, and accreditation, including AACSB and AMBA. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles in leading global journals, along with books, book chapters, monographs, conference papers, and commissioned reports. His extensive research, which primarily focuses on management accounting and controls, extends into other significant fields such as education, corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance, corporate culture, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He has delivered numerous invited and keynote presentations and his expert opinions have been featured in international media outlets, including radio, television, newspapers, newsletters, and websites.
His commitment to teaching and research excellence has been recognized through several international awards. These include the Business/Higher Education Roundtable Award for excellence in accounting teaching collaborations and CPA Australia’s awards for achievements in academia.
Stephen Brammer serves as Dean of the School of Management at the University of Bath, having spent the first eleven years of his academic career at Bath before taking up senior positions at the Universities of Warwick and Birmingham in the UK, and Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. An economist by training, Professor Brammer holds BA (Hons), MA, and PhD degrees in economics from the University of East Anglia. Stephen is recognised globally for his research in the fields of corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation, stakeholder management, and sustainability. His research focuses on business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability with an emphasis on firm-stakeholder relationships, the strategic management of these, and corresponding impacts on organizational performance and reputation.
Stephen has published in many leading management journals, including the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Perspectives, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and the British Journal of Management.
