Strategic positioning of e-commerce business models in the portfolio of corporate banking

The emergence of e-commerce leads to a fundamental change for the financial industry. The transition into a digital economy produces numerous new opportunities as well as great risks. B2B e-commerce in particular is considered a promising field for the future. As B2B is very closely related to corporate banking, emerging B2B e-commerce business models should constantly be evaluated to see how they fit into the portfolio of current corporate banking activities. The paper provides a framework for a systematic examination of B2B e-commerce business models and their position in the portfolio of corporate banking. The paper indicates that certain business models, like e-marketplaces, seem to be less attractive despite huge investments of German banks in this field. However, models combining a bank´s core competence with new technology offer a high potential in e-commerce activities.