The thesis examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sustainability strategies of Swiss commercial banking institutions. It explores how immediate crisis management needs intersect with growing expectations around sustainability finance and stakeholder engagement. The research compares three Swiss financial institutions, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), Raiffeisen Switzerland, and Julius Bär, focusing on green financing innovation, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) support tools, and stakeholder engagement during pre-pandemic, acute crisis, and post-pandemic phases. The methodological approach uses a qualitative comparative case study, including design document analysis of over 50 institutional publications, consisting of annual reports, sustainability reports, and press releases, from 2019–2022. It synthesizes stakeholder theory, institutional theory, and crisis management theory to understand how banking institutions manage diverse stakeholder requirements while maintaining coordination and resilience in uncertain times. The empirical analysis reveals that while all three institutions demonstrated proactive responses to pandemic-generated challenges, their adaptation depended on their institutional identity and bank governance structure. Sustainability was also embedded in ZKB's regional economic development framework, by a publicly mandated organization, focusing on stability and community-driven types of financing solutions. Raiffeisen Switzerland chose to take a decentralized, community-based approach, enhancing its microlending in local SMEs whilst pulling together a portfolio of grassroots environmental initiatives. Julius Bär, representing the private banking segment, integrated sustainability through sophisticated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) driven investment architectures, digitally enhanced wealth advisory platforms, and strategic participation in global climate finance consortia. Three Swiss banks implemented ESG frameworks within governance structures, focusing on stakeholder transparency and engagement. Sustainability was repositioned as a competitive differentiation in a conscious marketplace. Despite initial concerns that COVID-19 would sideline sustainability efforts, the crisis accelerated their integration. The thesis examines how Swiss commercial banks strike a balance between urgent crisis response and long-term sustainability objectives. This thesis concludes that external shocks such as COVID-19 can force sustainability into the core of a strategy and that it is possible to transform sustainability into a core strategic imperative through any of these shocks. The institutional form, public, cooperative, or private, importantly impacts the integration of sustainability. All three institutions demonstrated remarkable adaptability and resilience. To increase organizational preparedness for future systemic challenges, the study suggests improving ESG measurement frameworks, aligning stakeholder engagement strategies with governance models, and incorporating sustainability considerations into enterprise risk management architectures.
Magali van Hecke (Tue,) studied this question.