The impact of information technology on customer and supplier relationships in the financial services

This study examines the role that information technology plays in supporting relationships between customers and suppliers in the financial service industry. It traces the interrelationships among the different sectors of this industry – brokerage houses, retail banks, institutional banks, mutual funds, insurance underwriters, and others – and identifies roles that information technology and electronic service delivery can play in creating and supporting inter‐organizational integration across sector boundaries. It further identifies the opportunities for and threats to these relationships caused, in large part, by the continuing evolution of information technology. This study will help managers in the financial services to analyze the opportunities and assess the risks of building tighter relationships with their customers and suppliers through electronic commerce.