A Study On Commercial Banking Competitiveness Based On Complex Adaptive System Theory

Competitiveness has long been seen as the key of success for enterprises. As a special kind of enterprises, banks keep to focus their efforts to gain competitiveness on striving out for more recourses and advantages than others, while the study on banking competitiveness still has some limitations until the occurrence of the theory of Complex Adaptive System(CAS).The article puts the prevailing theory of CAS into the traditional study of competitiveness and reveals the limitations of the latter in survival and long-lasting development,reviewing the essence and contents of banking competitiveness by the principal conception and characteristics of'adaptive agent'. The purposes of the article are to study the banking competitiveness from a new vision and try to make some supplement to the traditional competitiveness theory.Firstly, the article summarizes on the theory of competitiveness, complex and CAS, setting sound ground for the further study of the article.Secondly, on the judgment that the social economic system is a typical CAS and banks are special adaptive agents in it, the article focuses on the new ideas on competitiveness, which is defined as adaptive abilities to situation and thus categorized into three main abilities, i.e., the abilities of feeling and echoing situation, allocating resources, and innovating and utilizing information.Thirdly, the article selects China Minsheng Bank as the sample to describe its efforts on raising adaptive competitiveness, focusing on the practice of strategy, IT system, social responsibility, corporate governance, organizational structure and innovation.Fourthly, to demonstrate the practical value of the CAS competitiveness theory, the article extends the study to the topic of how banks take actions against the global financial crisis to gain survival and long-last development, discussing the methods to collect lessons from the financial crisis and gain competitive advantages by establishing learning organizations.Finally, on the basis of summarizing the experience of the sample bank, the article raises some comments and suggestion on raising banking competitiveness from the respects of feeling and echoing situation effectively, allocating resources scientifically, and innovating and utilizing knowledge bravely. It is noted that from feeling and echoing situation to allocating resources and to innovating and utilizing information rotationally, the CAS theory shows a new road for banks'leveling up their competitiveness. The further study on CAS competitiveness must be of great importance to understand banking competitiveness and find out the best ways to deal with problems including fighting with financial crises.