Empirical Analysis of Digital Transformation Maturity and Competitive Positioning in Nigerian Financial Services Firms

Digital transformation maturity is increasingly a determinant of competitive positioning in financial services, and empirical analysis of this relationship in Nigeria's financial sector fills a significant gap in understanding digital strategy outcomes across banking, insurance, and capital markets. This study empirically analysed the relationship between digital transformation maturity and competitive positioning among 30 financial services firms across banking, insurance, pension, and capital market operator categories in Nigeria. Digital transformation maturity was assessed using a validated eight-dimension Digital Maturity Model covering strategy, culture, technology, data, customer experience, operations, innovation, and governance. Competitive positioning was measured by market share change, product innovation leadership score, customer acquisition efficiency, and brand equity index. Data were collected from 120 digital transformation leaders and C-suite executives through structured questionnaires. Path analysis and multiple regression were employed. Results showed that data capability maturity was the strongest predictor of competitive positioning improvement (beta = 0.55, p < 0.001). Customer experience technology maturity was a significant predictor of market share growth (beta = 0.47, p < 0.001). Cultural readiness for digital was a significant antecedent of technology adoption maturity (path coefficient = 0.51, p < 0.001). Insurance companies had the lowest mean maturity scores (mean: 2.4 out of 5) and showed the weakest competitive positioning improvement. The study provides the first empirical digital maturity-competition analysis for Nigerian financial services and recommends data capability investment as the highest-priority digital transformation focus. Keywords: digital transformation maturity, competitive positioning, financial services, Nigeria, data capability