TY - JOUR T1 - Alliances in Financial Ecosystems: A Source of Organizational Legitimacy for Fintech Startups and Incumbents JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2019 A1 - Christopher Svensson A1 - Jakob Udesen A1 - Jane Webb KW - financial ecosystems KW - fintech startups KW - organizational legitimacy KW - relational perspective KW - strategic alliances AB - Financial ecosystems are transforming around new financial technology, or “fintech”. As such ecosystems transform, the basis for being seen as legitimate also changes for all actors. Thus, alliances between actors within financial ecosystems are increasingly formed to help gain, maintain, and repair organizational legitimacy. From interviews with fintech startups in Sweden and with venture capitalist firms investing in fintech startups in Sweden, we explore the intertwined quests for organizational legitimacy in a transforming financial ecosystem. As Swedish fintech startups seek to establish a sense of their legitimacy, simultaneously incumbents seek to maintain and repair their organizational legitimacy. Adopting a legitimacy-based view of strategic alliances, we set out the aspects of organizational legitimacy that incumbents and fintech startups look for in a potential partner and how these aspects meet the legitimacy needs of each partner. We argue that alliances further enhance the organizational legitimacy of both fintech startups and incumbents. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 9 UR - https://timreview.ca/article/1209 IS - 1 U1 - Chalmers University of Technology Christopher Svensson is a Business Developer and fintech enthusiast working at Minna Technologies, a fintech startup in Sweden. He has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on Quality and Operations Management, from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He has also studied Economics at the Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law, Sweden. His multidisciplinary background within Technology Management and Economics has shaped Christopher’s particular interest in how technology startups transform and disrupt industries. U2 - Chalmers University of Technology Jakob Udesen is an Associate Business Developer working at Tetra Pak. He holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, with a focus on the Management and Economics of Innovation, from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. A part of his Master’s level studies was carried out at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Portugal. Jakob has a strong interest in how to manage innovation processes to ensure the best financial outcomes, and he has a deep understanding of agile processes as well as classic management approaches. U3 - Chalmers University of Technology Jane Webb is a PhD candidate in Innovation Management and Organizational Behavior at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. Her doctoral research draws on a two-year ethnographic study of a partnership of 15 organizations testing and demonstrating electric vehicles and related services “live” in a city. Her interest is in how participants in collaborative innovation successfully nurture a web of goals to keep joint work alive. Jane has previous experience in policy, project, and operations management in the public sector, as well as in design research. ER -