Paper Number
ECIS2026-1842
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Agentic conversational agents (CAs) are rapidly diffusing in regional banking, yet their implications for digital transformation (DT) remain poorly understood. Drawing on identity-centric DT theory, we conceptualize agentic CAs as a driver of DT rather than incremental IT-enabled organizational transformation. We report a revelatory single-case study in Germany’s Cooperative Financial Network, comprising 22 semi-structured interviews, internal documents, and observations gathered through company visits. Our analysis yields a “Data Structure of Agentic Conversational Agent-Driven Banking Transformation” that links three aggregate dimensions: “strategic objectives”, “organizational changes” and “governance and ethical challenges”. All these dimensions can be incorporated into a “Model of Agentic Conversational Agent-Driven Digital Transformation” that explains the reciprocal mechanisms of action between them. We thus theorize why agentic Conversational Agents qualitatively exceed legacy chatbots in their transformative potential and specify capability bundles that executives must develop to harness them responsibly.
Recommended Citation
Wendt, Maurice and Schaarschmidt, Mario, "Conversational Agent-Driven Digital Transformation In Regional Banking" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/digitrans/digitrans/4
Conversational Agent-Driven Digital Transformation In Regional Banking
Agentic conversational agents (CAs) are rapidly diffusing in regional banking, yet their implications for digital transformation (DT) remain poorly understood. Drawing on identity-centric DT theory, we conceptualize agentic CAs as a driver of DT rather than incremental IT-enabled organizational transformation. We report a revelatory single-case study in Germany’s Cooperative Financial Network, comprising 22 semi-structured interviews, internal documents, and observations gathered through company visits. Our analysis yields a “Data Structure of Agentic Conversational Agent-Driven Banking Transformation” that links three aggregate dimensions: “strategic objectives”, “organizational changes” and “governance and ethical challenges”. All these dimensions can be incorporated into a “Model of Agentic Conversational Agent-Driven Digital Transformation” that explains the reciprocal mechanisms of action between them. We thus theorize why agentic Conversational Agents qualitatively exceed legacy chatbots in their transformative potential and specify capability bundles that executives must develop to harness them responsibly.
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