Online banking in Italy. “Widiba Bank” case study, PESTLE and DEA analysis

Given the great interest and impact generated by the previous article on the “Widiba Bank” case study published in this journal, the authors intend now to provide more insights on the analysis of the current Italian framework. A PESTLE analysis is therefore carried out to identify the main financial and environmental alternative strategies. The object of research is the chosen company Widiba Bank because, despite being a latecomer in the Italian online banking industry, its success demonstrated the importance of the adoption of targeted strategies in the digitized world. The performed analysis PESTLE allowed to provide many insights from different perspectives. The paper then confirmed the analyses by comparing the last 5 years’ performances (measured by the ROE ratio and Deposits Growth as Inputs, and Assets Growth as an Output) of the Italian Online Banking industry (average of the years 2016-2019). The data are retrieved from the Italian Public Registry of Incorporated Companies (managed by the Italian Chambers of Commerce) and processed using the DEA SOLVER software. This article strategically enhanced the knowledge of a previous one focused on the same bank by providing different perspectives and, therefore, a comprehensive view of the Widiba bank case study. It, therefore, aims at producing useful resources for business schools, practitioners, and experts.