Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management

1004 Pages·2014·8.958 MB·English

by  Vladimir Zwass (auth.), Francisco J. Martínez-López (eds.)

Progress in IS
Francisco J. Martínez-López Editor
Handbook
of Strategic
e-Business
Management
Forewords by Philip Kotler,
Arch G. Woodside and Peter J. LaPlaca
Progress in IS
For furthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/10440
Francisco J. Martínez-López
Editor
Handbook of Strategic
e-Business Management
123
Editor
Francisco J.Martínez-López
Department of BusinessAdministration
Universityof Granada
Granada
Spain
and
MarketingGroup
OpenUniversity ofCatalonia
Barcelona
Spain
ISSN 2196-8705 ISSN 2196-8713 (electronic)
ISBN 978-3-642-39746-2 ISBN 978-3-642-39747-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-39747-9
SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013953255
(cid:2)Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2014
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Love and peace
Foreword I
E-business is an issue that companies really need to take seriously nowadays.
In the late 1990s, immediately before the Internet bubble burst, there were
obviously many voices raised in support of the idea that the emerging commu-
nication technologies, the main exponent being a rather juvenile WWW, were
about to change the way of doing business as we knew it.
But there were also skeptical opinions on the future impact of Internet-related
technologies on business which did not foresee any major changes. Iconic
companieslikeAmazon,Yahoo!orGooglehadonlyrecentlybeencreated,almost
just spun out in some cases; today’shabitual mobile devices like smart phones or
tablets did not exist (Apple introduced the first iPhone version in 2007), and
neither did their vast number of applications covering a wide range of needs;
mobilecommercewasbarelyenvisioned,andubiquitouscommercewasprobably
seen by many as a kind of conceptual, science-fiction tale only told in some
business books on technology. And notto mention the later evolution of the Web
into the so-called Social Web!
At that time Facebook, to take a prime example, was still a few years away
from being dreamt up by its creators; at the time of writing this Foreword it has
over 1.1 billion users—around 70 % of whom are active mobile users!—and
continues to grow; it has a strong position on the NASDAQ, with a market
capitalization slightly below $60 billion. Far beyond business, though, companies
like Facebook or Twitter are splendid examples of how recent Internet-related
innovations are helping funnel some basic human needs, especially those which
aremoresocial-related,likeneverbefore.Withoutthem,forinstance,theso-called
ArabSpringmovementswouldnothavehadsuchanimpactwithinthosecountries
and on the rest of the world.
So, although the bubble that had burst by 2000 could momentarily justify the
skeptical view, time has proved that that was due to the over-speculation usually
inherentinbigthings,whilethephenomenonitselfwasrootedinrealtransforming
technologies and ideas that have certainly materialized, since these technologies
haveneverceasedtodevelop.Indeed,thesetechnologieshavefosteredagiantleap
forward in business since the late 1990s and, far beyond commerce, they are
impacting on society and many people’s lives.
There is solid ground here on which to stand and build on. E-business is a
powerful reality which is both adding to and reshaping some of the structural
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viii ForewordI
pillars which support the exchanges between economic agents throughout entire
value networks. The guiding light for companies is still the customer along with
creating and delivering genuine customer value. Many other things in business,
however, have been altered by the speedy and transforming effects of communi-
cation technologies. The most important effects have to do with how business
processes and exchanges are configured and how they develop. Unlike prior
approaches that leaned toward designing e-business strategies to complement the
company’s strategies, today’s approach should regard e-business-related technol-
ogies as supportive, underlying and configured to be perfectly integrated in the
value creation processes.
The above ideas lead me to think that this handbook edited by my colleague
FranciscoJ.(Paco)Martínez-Lópezdealswithaverytimelytopic.Duringthelast
two decades, e-business has been intensively analyzed from the perspective of
diversebusinessareaswhichhasproducedarichknowledgeframework.However,
abookofthesecharacteristicswasstillnecessary.Itanalyzesdiverseprimaryand
concrete,strategicandoperationalmanagementandbusiness-relatedtopicswithin
thiseraofever-expandingandpervasivee-business.Thecontentsarepresentedin
asuitableandcompletestructure,asyouwouldexpectfromaresearchhandbook.
The contributions are numerous and usually theoretical, an approach that is
appreciatedinhandbooks,andare aimed atanalyzing,discussing andbuildingon
research topics. And the managerial implications of these contributions for prac-
titioners are given extensive coverage. The contributions span the continents and
the research expertise in each article is evident. It is worth mentioning the sig-
nificant participation of outstanding business scholars. I am confident that this
handbook will be useful for academics and professionals interested in e-business.
To sum up, the foundations, state of the art and current theoretical discussions
complementedbypracticalimplicationsaswellasfutureinsightsone-businessall
come together in this handbook. I foresee that it will probably be considered a
milestoneine-businessresearchwiththepassageoftime.Iamhappytoopenthe
bookwiththesewords,andcongratulatetheeditorandcontributors,andwishthem
all a warm welcome from business researchers, practitioners, and interested
readers in general.
Philip Kotler
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL, USA
Foreword II
Desmet & Parente’s (2008) insights and findings about the start and rapid growth
of the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840) are remarkably apt in analyzing the
dramatic transformations of what we might refer to as the current ‘‘Second E-
BusinessRevolution(SEBR,1970–2050).Desmet&Parente (2008, p.1)provide
evidence supporting their main theoretical tenet, ‘‘The key to the start of the
Industrial Revolution was the expansion and integration of markets that preceded
it.Duetolessregulation,increasingpopulation,anddecliningtradecosts,markets
in England came to support an increasing variety of goods. As such, the demand
became more elastic and competition intensified. This increased the benefits to
process innovation. Sometime in the eighteenth century, these benefits became
sufficientlylargeforfirmstocoverthefixedcostsofinnovation,givingrisetothe
Industrial Revolution.’’
Several similarities are noteworthy in comparing these two revolutions. The
similarities provide insights and a useful frame for reading this ‘‘Handbook of
Strategice-BusinessManagement’’.Thefirstpoint:bothrevolutionsbeganwitha
whisper and not a bang. Krugman (1999, p. 22–23) points out that the modern
information age began when Intel introduced the microprocessor—the guts of a
computer on a single chip—back in 1971. ‘‘By the early 1980s products that put
this technology to high visible use—fax machines, video games, and personal
computers—were becoming widespread. But at the time it didn’t feel like a rev-
olution.Mostpeopleassumedthattheinformationindustrieswouldcontinuetobe
dominated by big, bureaucratic companies like IBM—or that all the new tech-
nologieswouldeventuallygothewayofthefaxmachine,theVCR,andthevideo
game:inventedbyinnovativeAmericansbutconvertedintoapayingproductonly
be faceless Japanese manufacturers.’’
Thesecondpoint:incompetentsense-makingofrealityandexuberancebecame
widespread following widespread reports of business start-ups and growing
applications of microprocessors—the Dot-com Bubble Era (1997–2000). This
short-lived era lead to spectacular business failures and investment losses.
The Post Dot-com Bubble Era (2000–2010) was a decade-long period of
transition from thinking and focusing on single business models to the use of a
dominant and subordinate business models with conflicting perspectives among
executives trying to execute such business model marriages.
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x ForewordII
Resolutionsofthechannelconflictsareendingtheconflictinthecurrentdecade
with the introduction of workable and profitable multi-channel business models.
According to Commerce Department estimates (www.electran.org), US
e-commercesalestotalled$194.3billionin2011,up16.1%from$167.3billionin
2010.By2015,onlinesalesareexpectedtoreacharound$270billion,anincrease
of $100 billion compared to 2010 (www.emarketer.com). The rapid development
of commerce on the Internet has made it attractive form any manufacturers who
traditionally distribute their products through retailers, to engage in direct on line
sales. (Pei & Yan, 2003, p. 218)
The Sustainable Era of E-business Growth (SEEG) is now underway
(2010–2030). The SEEG Era includes the continuing introduction of ‘‘game-
changing’’ business models but these introductions are relying on highly-reliable-
organization(HRO,seeWeickandSutcliffe2007)operatingplatforms,andamuch
lowerpresenceofunbridledexuberance.Thepromisesdeliveredbythishandbook
are useful new insights and advances in knowledge of go-to tools by examining
logical‘‘and’’statementsthatassociatefirmandcustomerrelevantnewtechnologies,
sustainablesalesgrowthviabusinessmodelinnovations,andincreasingprofitsare.
Thebestwaytoreadthishandbookistofocusfirstonreadingthechaptersthat
answer your burning questions— Francisco J. Martínez-López, the handbook
editor, does not ask Authors to read chapters in one particular order. For the
executive implementing new e-market business-models, read the abstracts to
locate your top-five chapters relating to the issue of leveraging business growth
and profits by applying proven fast and effective new electronic technologies.
Afterreadingthisgroupofchaptersfocusonyouradditionalburningissues.Upon
reading three chapters you are likely to conclude that the book’s title fits the
contents—thisbookistrulyahandbookfornurturinghighlysuccessfule-business
models as well as for understanding deeply our current SEEG Era.
Arch G. Woodside
Journal of Business Research
Editor-in-Chief
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
References
Desmet,K.,&Parente,S.L.(2008).TheEvolutionofMarketsandtheRevolutionofIndustry:A
UnitedTheoryofGrowth.Workingpaper.
Krugman, P. (2008). The return of depression economics and the crisis of 2008. New York:
Norton.
Pei,Z.,&Yan,R.(2013).Nationaladvertising,dual-channelcoordinationandfirmperformance.
JournalofRetailingandConsumerServices,20,218–220.
Weick,K.E.,&Sutcliffe,K.M.(2007).ManagingtheUnexpected:ResilientPerformanceinand
AgeofUncertainty,(2nded.).SanFrancisco,CA:Jossey-Bass.
Foreword III
The 1960s heralded in the ‘‘Information Age.’’ Computers were starting to assist
managers with analyzing vast (i.e., megabytes) amounts of data. Managers
replaced their ‘‘gut feelings’’ with solid information. Companies started to build
automateddatabasestoholdbothoperationalandcustomerdata.Theslowestpart
of the process was the collection and inputting of data. As more and more man-
agers appreciated the usefulness of more and more data, information technology
departments grew in both size and importance to the organization. More infor-
mation was always better…right? Errors and bad decisions were still made…and
they cost more.
As computers became more powerful and could crunch even more data, the
acquisition of the data became even more critical to the success of these decision
supportsystems.AndtheexplosionoftheInternetinthe1980s(beforetheinternet
bust) increased the pressure on the wizards of analysis. As the rate of data col-
lection grew geometrically, new tools were developed but managerial utilization
laggedthecapabilitiesofthenewtools.Organizationalpowerassociatedwithvast
(i.e., gigabytes) amounts of data continued to rest in information technology
departments. The Internet burst not only impacted dotcom investors, but it also
took the wind out of the sails of IT departments.
The rebirth of the Internet as a tool of commerce (rather than a path to instant
riches) again made data acquisition easier and more accurate as e-commerce
system automatically collected virtually every mouse click made by every cus-
tomer creating vast (i.e., terabytes) amounts of data. Companies no longer had to
guessorpayhandsomelytodeterminehowcustomersgottotheirdoorstep(inthis
case web site); the system collected it all. Still the capabilities of management to
grasp all that an e-commerce presence offered lagged behind the potential.
In the ‘‘Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management’’, Francisco J. Martí-
nez-Lópezhascollectedthethoughtsofanoutstandingsetofe-commerceexperts.
Thisexcellenthandbookbegins,asallthingsshouldbegin,withasolidfoundation
ofthestrategicimpactofe-commerceandhowitaffectstherelationshipsbetween
buyersandsellers.TheInternethasgreatlybroadenedmarketsservedbybusiness;
however,atthesametime,ithasgreatlyincreasedcustomerknowledgeofmarket
offering, prices, customer experiences, and other information for customer deci-
sion making.
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