The theme of this book "New strategies for financial services providers"
is an equally relevant and important topic in science and practice. In
the (post) informa- tion age economy, the German financial services
market and many big financial services providers are in a deep crisis.
Increasing competition due to deregulation and improved transparency
through new means of communication on the one hand, and empowered
customers demanding individualized solutions for their fi- nancial
problems e. g. because of new working circumstances, increase the pres-
sure on the market participants to alter their strategies according to
these new challenges. Many firms have reacted defensively either by
merging in the hopes of realizing scale effects - a high-risk venture
considering the last few years - or by adapting "me-too-strategies"
(also known as "lemming-banking") that do not provide for a sustainable
competitive advantage. Based on a profound analysis of developing
mega-trends in the years ahead, es- pecially in information and
IT-intense market, Dr. Kundisch develops a new anti- cyclical strategy
that aims at using IT as an enabler to strengthen customer rela-
tionships and focus on individualized solutions wherever it seems
economically sound to do so. However, he does not stop after the
development of the strategy, but provides two important concepts that
may help turn this vision and strategy into reality. Thus, he favorably
and refreshingly differentiates against many contributions that stop at
the fairly abstract strategic level.