From Configurations to Transitions: Integrating SER‐M and the Mechanism‐Based View to Explain Digital–ESG Transformation in a Savings Bank

ABSTRACT This study explores how a traditional savings bank achieves a digitally enabled and ESG‐aligned transformation by conceptualizing the six SER‐M states as an integrated system of dynamic transitions. A qualitative single case study of NH Savings Bank's FIC BANK platform was conducted using semi‐structured interviews with eight key informants and documentary triangulation. Analysis followed an iterative, Gioia‐style procedure to derive first‐order concepts, second‐order themes, and aggregate dimensions. Ethical safeguards included informed consent and anonymization. (i) The six SER‐M permutations are best understood as states within a transition system. Shifts across states are triggered by leadership mandates, external shocks, and creation routines and unfold through creation → innovation → adaptation loops. (ii) Integrating the Mechanism‐Based View clarifies how generative mechanisms—under conditions of partial opacity and feedback—produce digital and ESG outcomes. (iii) ESG considerations moderate transition rules by shaping priorities (e.g., inclusion vs. credit risk) and the pace of change. The paper reinterprets SER‐M from a configuration lens to a transition model, links it to MBV's causal logic, and shows how leaders sequence mechanisms to deliver digital–ESG outcomes in a savings bank.