Big Data Analytics as an elementary Customer Loyalty Instrument for German banks – an empirical approach from a banker’s perspective

The German banking sector is undergoing a massive transformation phase due to increasing digitalization. This challenge is enormously influenced by demographic change, the low-interest phase, technological progress as well as supervision and regulation. As a result, banks in Germany are forced to deal with strategies for customer centricity. In this context, Big Data analytics can be seen as a useful tool to better understand customers, e.g. by predicting product affinities, purchase probabilities or distribution channel preferences. The consolidated view of Big Data Analytics and Customer Centricity is already considered in the scientific literature. The studies on the combination of Big Data Analytics and the German banking sector, on the other hand, are rudimentary so far. The main purpose of this research is to answer the following research questions: [I: “Does Big Data Analytics improve the quality of advice (measured by the principles of client advisory services) from an advisor's perspective and does it have an influence on customer loyalty?”] and [II: To what extent can Big Data Analytics make a positive contribution to the situation of banks in the age of digitalization?”]. To answer the research questions, the results of a survey of banking experts (N = 43) form the backbone of this empirical research. The findings of this paper can be of benefit to researchers and practitioners alike, in order to make the potential of big data analytics recognizable and usable for banks in the context of customer centricity.