How to support young adults on their paths towards financial independence? : An exploration from the viewpoint of customer-dominant logic
Hirvonen, Annika (2019)
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019121126149
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019121126149
Tiivistelmä
There is a wide social consensus in Finland on the importance of strengthening the financial capabilities of youths. The current government’s agenda has included financial skills as a cross-sectional theme across different educational levels, and to promote this agenda the Ministry of Justice has just launched an initiative aiming at improving the financial know-how and capabilities of Finnish citizens. Also banks are contributing to promoting the financial capabilities of Finnish youths for example by collaborating with charitable organizations in various financial skills initiatives. Despite the good efforts made by schools, homes and different organizations to promote financial capabilities, the finish line seems still quite far ahead of us. This leaves us with the question: Is there something else, something different, we could be doing to better support our youths on their paths towards financial independence and to help them in building sustainable financial capabilities?
The purpose of this thesis is to develop a deep understanding of the lives of Finnish young adults in the context of transitioning towards financial independence. It is intended for this understanding to later be used when developing new concepts to match the opportunities or problems discovered. This thesis is conducted for one of the largest banks in Europe.
The thesis is built upon the concepts of transitioning to adulthood in the context of financial independence. The viewpoint of the thesis is to approach the exploration of young adults’ lives from a customer-centered frame of reference, spreading out to cover the framework, mindset, process and methods used in this thesis. Therefore, the theoretical framework is further built upon with the theory of customer-dominant logic, which places the customer to the center, and Design Thinking, which provides both the mindset as well as the process and the methods to bring the theory into practice in a customer-centric way.
The empirical part is approached through the Double Diamond process, with the first two phases covered by the scope of this thesis. During the Discover phase, we dive into to lives of the youth through in-depth interviews of young adults and the parents of young adults, embracing the divergent nature of this phase. Next, clarity is brought to the table as the Define phase sets out to make sense of the data generated during the first phase. Through the application of qualitative content analysis and affinity mapping, key insights are discovered and further developed into design drivers and personas to facilitate their usability and transferability.
The thesis supports development of new solutions targeted at young adults by deepening the understanding of their lives with a multitude of insights, some of which bring valuable practical examples to the already existing theory base. One of the key findings of the thesis is the evidence suggesting moving from the parental home would be a so-called “critical moment”, meaning a time when young adults would be most open to behavioral change, which is highly relevant when considering the timing of financial initiatives. Other key findings include the hobby-like interest in investing, the importance of flexible solutions that do not feel too much like a restriction for the youth, as well as the bank’s ability to facilitate living abroad as a potential determining factor when selecting a bank. Based on the feedback from the client company, the outcomes of this thesis are found useful and will be promptly taken into use.
The purpose of this thesis is to develop a deep understanding of the lives of Finnish young adults in the context of transitioning towards financial independence. It is intended for this understanding to later be used when developing new concepts to match the opportunities or problems discovered. This thesis is conducted for one of the largest banks in Europe.
The thesis is built upon the concepts of transitioning to adulthood in the context of financial independence. The viewpoint of the thesis is to approach the exploration of young adults’ lives from a customer-centered frame of reference, spreading out to cover the framework, mindset, process and methods used in this thesis. Therefore, the theoretical framework is further built upon with the theory of customer-dominant logic, which places the customer to the center, and Design Thinking, which provides both the mindset as well as the process and the methods to bring the theory into practice in a customer-centric way.
The empirical part is approached through the Double Diamond process, with the first two phases covered by the scope of this thesis. During the Discover phase, we dive into to lives of the youth through in-depth interviews of young adults and the parents of young adults, embracing the divergent nature of this phase. Next, clarity is brought to the table as the Define phase sets out to make sense of the data generated during the first phase. Through the application of qualitative content analysis and affinity mapping, key insights are discovered and further developed into design drivers and personas to facilitate their usability and transferability.
The thesis supports development of new solutions targeted at young adults by deepening the understanding of their lives with a multitude of insights, some of which bring valuable practical examples to the already existing theory base. One of the key findings of the thesis is the evidence suggesting moving from the parental home would be a so-called “critical moment”, meaning a time when young adults would be most open to behavioral change, which is highly relevant when considering the timing of financial initiatives. Other key findings include the hobby-like interest in investing, the importance of flexible solutions that do not feel too much like a restriction for the youth, as well as the bank’s ability to facilitate living abroad as a potential determining factor when selecting a bank. Based on the feedback from the client company, the outcomes of this thesis are found useful and will be promptly taken into use.