E-business strategy استراتيجية الأعمال الإلكترونية Chapter 5 E-business strategy استراتيجية الأعمال الإلكترونية

Learning outcomes Follow an appropriate strategy process model for e-business Apply tools to generate and select e-business strategies Outline alternative strategic approaches to achieve e-business.

Management issues How does e-business strategy differ from traditional business strategy? How should we integrate e-business strategy with existing business and IS strategy? How should we evaluate our investment priorities and returns from e-business?

Michael Porter on the Internet The key question is not whether to deploy Internet technology – companies have no choice if they want to stay competitive – but how to deploy it. والسؤال الرئيسي هو ليس ما إذا كان لنشر تكنولوجيا الإنترنت - الشركات لديها أي خيار اذا كانوا يريدون الحفاظ على قدرتها التنافسية - ولكن كيفية نشرها. Porter, M. (2001) Strategy and the Internet, Harvard Business Review, March 2001, 62–78.

Alternative definitions of strategy What is strategy? ‘Defines how we will meet our objectives’ ‘Sets allocation of resources to meet goals’ ‘Selects preferred strategic option to compete within a market’ ‘Provides a long-term plan for the development of the organization’

Introduction Developing an e-business strategy requires a fusion of existing approaches to business, marketing, supply chain management and information systems strategy development. In addition to traditional strategy approaches, commentators have exhorted companies to apply innovative techniques to achieve competitive advantage. Around the start of the new millennium, many articles, fuelled by the dot-com hype of the time, urged CEOs to ‘innovate or die’. For many existing companies this was neither desirable nor necessary and they have made a more gradual approach to e-business practice. Those companies that have successfully managed the transformation to e-business such as Cisco, Dell, General Motors, HSBC and IBM, and, in Europe, easyJet and British Telecom, have done so by applying traditional strategy approaches. At the same time there have been many start-ups featured as cases in previous chapters such as eBay, Lastminute.com and Zopa.com that have succeeded through innovative business models. But these companies also have succeeded through applying established principles of business strategy, planning and risk management.

In this chapter we seek to show how an e-business strategy can be created through following these established principles, but also through careful consideration of how to best identify and exploit the differences introduced by new electronic channels. In a nutshell,e-business isn’t just about defining ‘how to do business online’, it defines ‘how to do business differently online’. The e-business strategy defines how. We start the chapter by introducing e-business strategy and then discuss appropriate strategy process model to follow as a framework for developing e-business strategy. The chapter is structured around this four-stage strategy process model: 1 Strategic evaluation. 2 Strategic objectives. 3 Strategy definition. 4 Strategy implementation. For each of these components of strategy, management actions are reviewed with the emphasis on development of e-business strategy.

What is e-business strategy? Strategy defines the future direction and actions of an organization or part of an organization. Johnson and Scholes (2006) define corporate strategy as: The direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a changing environment to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. E-business strategy: Definition of the approach by which applications of internal and external electronic communications can support and influence corporate strategy.

Lynch (2000) describes strategy as an organization’s sense of purpose Lynch (2000) describes strategy as an organization’s sense of purpose. However, he notes that purpose alone is not strategy; plans or actions are also needed. E-business strategies share much in common with corporate, business and marketing strategies. These quotes summarizing the essence of strategy could equally apply to each strategy: ‘Is based on current performance in marketplace.’ ‘Defines how we will meet our objectives.’ ‘Sets allocation of resources to meet goals.’ ‘Selects preferred strategic options to compete within a market.’ ‘Provides a long-term plan for the development of the organization.’ ‘Identifies competitive advantage through developing an appropriate positioning defining a value proposition delivered to customer segments.’

Figure 5.1 Different forms of organizational strategy

Figure 5.1 Different forms of organizational strategy Johnson and Scholes (2006) note that organizations have different levels of strategy, particularly for larger or global organizations. These are summarized within Figure 5.1. They identify corporate strategy which is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the organization, business unit strategy which defines how to compete successfully in a particular market and operational strategies which are concerned with achieving corporate and business unit strategies. Additionally, there are what can be described as functional strategies that describe how the corporate and business unit strategies will be operationalized in different functional areas or business processes. Functional or process strategies refer to marketing, supply chain management, human resources, finance and information systems strategies. Where does e-business strategy fit? Figure 5.1 does not show at which level e-business strategy should be defined, since for different organizations this must be discussed and agreed.

We can observe that there is a tendency for e-business strategy to be incorporated within the functional strategies, for example within a marketing plan or logistics plan, or as part of information systems (IS) strategy. A danger with this approach is that e-business strategy may not be recognized at a higher level within organizational planning. A distinguishing feature of organizations that are leaders in e-business, such as Cisco, Dell, HSBC, easyJet and General Electric, is that e-business is an element of corporate strategy development.

The imperative for e-business strategy حتمية لاستراتيجية الأعمال الإلكترونية Think about the implications if e-business strategy is not clearly defined. The following may result: التفكير في الآثار المترتبة إذا لم يتم تعريف استراتيجية الأعمال الإلكترونية بشكل واضح. قد ينتج ما يلي Missed opportunities from lack of evaluation of opportunities or insufficient resourcing of e-business initiatives. These will result in more savvy competitors gaining a competitive advantage; Inappropriate direction of e-business strategy (poorly defined objectives, for example, with the wrong emphasis on buy-side, sell-side or internal process support); Limited integration of e-business at a technical level resulting in silos (separate organizational team with distinct responsibilities which does not work in an integrated manner with other teams) of information in different systems; Resource wastage through duplication of e-business development in different functions and limited sharing of best practice. For instance, each business unit or region may develop a separate web site with different suppliers without achieving economies of scale.

Continue To help avoid these typical problems of implementing e-business in traditional organizations, organizations will want e-business strategy to be based on corporate objectives such as which markets to target and targets for revenue generation from electronic channels.

E-channel strategies An important aspect of e-business strategies is that they create new ‘e-channel strategies’ for organizations. E-channel strategies define specific goals and approaches for using electronic channels. This is to prevent simply replicating existing processes through e-channels, which will create efficiencies but will not exploit the full potential for making an organization more effective through e-business. Without specific goals and strategies to communicate the benefit of e-channels for customers and partners, adoption of the new channels will be slow relative to a structured approach. E-channel strategies also need to define how electronic channels are used in conjunction with other channels as part of a multi-channel e-business strategy. This multi-channel e-business strategy defines how different marketing and supply chain channels should integrate and support each other in terms of their proposition development and communications based on their relative merits for the customer and the company.

Strategy process models for e-business نماذج عملية لاستراتيجية الأعمال الإلكترونية Before developing any type of strategy, a management team needs to agree the process they will follow for generating and then implementing the strategy. A strategy process model: provides a framework that gives a logical sequence to follow to ensure inclusion of all key activities of e-business strategy development. It also ensures that e-business strategy can be evolved as part of a process of continuous improvement.

Sell-side e-commerce strategy (Chapters 8 & 9) or e-marketing / E-CRM Strategy Sell-side e-commerce is a channel strategy Objectives for online contribution percentage should drive our strategy Our e-commerce strategy defines how we should Hit our channel leads and sales targets Acquisition, Conversion, Retention, Service, Profitability Communicate benefits of using this channel Prioritize products available through channel Prioritize audiences targeted through channel Select partners for this channel Channel strategy thrives on differentials BUT, need to manage channel integration.

Buy-side e-commerce strategy (Chapters 6 & 7) or e-supply chain management strategy Buy-side e-commerce strategy is about maximizing operational efficiencies while improving customer service quality Operational efficiency Kips should drive our strategy Our buy-side e-commerce strategy defines how we should Automate internal processes Link internal resource management systems with external purchasing systems Prioritize suppliers / partners collaborating using this channel Prioritize applications for E-SCM – create a roadmap Involves selection of appropriate strategic partners

Figure 5.2 Relationship between e-business strategy and other strategies

Figure 5.2 Relationship between e-business strategy and other strategies Figure 5.2 explains how e-business strategy should relate to corporate and functional strategies. It also shows where these topics are covered in this book.

What happens where there is no e-business strategy? Missed opportunities for additional sales on the sell-side and more efficient purchasing on the buy-side Fall-behind competitors in delivering online services – may become difficult to catch-up, for example, Tesco, Dell Poor customer experience from poorly integrated channels

Figure 5. 3 BA communicates its online value proposition (www Figure 5.3 BA communicates its online value proposition (www.britishairways.com) Source: Based on Revolution (2005)

Figure 5. 3 BA communicates its online value proposition (www Figure 5.3 BA communicates its online value proposition (www.britishairways.com) The web site used in the campaign is shown in Figure 5.3. In 2004, British Airways, launched online services which allowed customers to take control of the booking process, so combining new services with reduced costs. BA decided to develop a specific online ad campaign to create awareness and encourage usage of its Online Value Proposition (OVP). BA’s UK marketing manager said about the objective: British Airways is leading the way in innovating technology to simplify our customers’ journey through the airport. The role of this campaign was to give a strong message about what is now available online, over and above booking tickets. الخطوط الجوية البريطانية تقود الطريق في مجال التكنولوجيا والابتكار لتبسيط رحلة عملائنا من خلال المطار. وكان دور هذه الحملة لإعطاء رسالة قوية حول ما هو الآن متاحة على شبكة الإنترنت، وفوق كل حجز التذاكر.

Figure 5.4 A generic strategy process model

Figure 5.4 A generic strategy process model The use of two-way arrows in Figure 5.4 to indicate that each stage is not discrete, but rather it involves referring backwards or forwards to other strategy elements. Each strategy element will have several iterations. The arrows in Figure 5.4 highlight an important distinction in the way in which strategy process models are applied. Referring to the work of Mintzberg and Quinn (1991), Lynch (2000) distinguishes between prescriptive and emergent strategy approaches. In the prescriptive strategy approach he identifies three elements of strategy – strategic analysis, strategic development and strategy implementation, and these are linked together sequentially. Strategic analysis is used to develop a strategy, and it is then implemented.

Figure 5.5 Dynamic e-business strategy model Source: Adapted from Kalakota/Robinson, EBUSINESS 2.0 © 2001, 1999 Pearson Education, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.

Figure 5.5 Dynamic e-business strategy model نموذج استراتيجية الأعمال الإلكترونية الديناميكية Kolkata and Robinson (2000) recommend a dynamic emergent strategy process specific to e-business. The elements of this approach are shown in Figure 5.5. It essentially shares similar features to Figure 5.4, but with an emphasis on responsiveness with continuous review and prioritization of investment in new applications.

Figure 5.6 Elements of strategic situation analysis for the e-business

Figure 5.6 Elements of strategic situation analysis for the e-business عناصر تحليل الوضع الاستراتيجي لالأعمال الإلكترونية Strategic analysis: Collection and review of information about an organization’s internal processes and resources and external marketplace factors in order to inform strategy definition. The elements of situation analysis for an e-business are summarized in Figure 5.6. For the effective, responsive e-business, as explained earlier, it is essential that situation analysis or environmental scanning be a continuous process with clearly identified responsibilities for performing the scanning and acting on the knowledge acquired.

Figure 5.7 Summary applications of a portfolio analysis for an example B2B company

Figure 5.7 Summary applications of a portfolio analysis for an example B2B company Figure 5.7 illustrates the results of a portfolio analysis for a B2B company applied within an e-business context. It can be seen that current applications such as human resources, financial management and production-line management systems will continue to support the operations of the business and will not be a priority for future investment. In contrast, to achieve competitive advantage, applications for maintaining a dynamic customer catalogue online, online sales and collecting marketing intelligence about customer buying behavior will become more important. Applications such as procurement and logistics will continue to be of importance in an e-business context.

Figure 5.8 SWOT analysis

Figure 5.8 SWOT analysis SWOT analysis: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis is a relatively simple yet powerful tool that can help organizations analyses their internal resources in terms of strengths and weaknesses and match them against the external environment in terms of opportunities and threats. In an e-business context, a SWOT analysis of e-business-specific issues can combine SWOT related to corporate, marketing, supply chain and information systems, or a separate SWOT can be performed for each. SWOT analysis is of greatest value when it is used not only to analyses the current situation, but also as a tool to formulate strategies. To achieve this it is useful once the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats have been listed to combine them as shown in Figure 5.8. This format of SWOT is recommended over a typical four-box SWOT since it can be used to develop strategies to counter the threats and take advantage of the opportunities and can then be built into the e-business strategy. Figure 8.6 gives an example of an e-marketing SWOT using the approach shown in Figure 5.8.

Porter’s five forces القوى التنافسية الخمسة لمايكل بورتر Source: adapted with the permission of The Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., from COMPETITIVE STRATEGY: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors by Michael E. Porter. Copyright © 1980, 1998 by The Free Press. All rights reserved.

Porter’s five forces القوى التنافسية الخمسة لمايكل بورتر القوى التنافسية الخمسة لبورتر هي اطار تحليلى يستخدم في تقييم استراجيات الأعمال والأسواق. ويمكن استخدام هذا الإطار كأداة تحليل للمميزات التنافسية والعلاقة المتبادلة مع السوق. وهذه الأداة تقارن محيط العمل أو بيئة العمل الداخلية مع البيئة الخارجية على نطاقها الأوسع. ويعتمد هذا التحليل على أنه إذا تغيرت إحدى هذة القوى فلابد من اعادة تقييم المؤسسة وسوق العمل المرتبط بأداءها. ليس فقط ولكن أيضًا استخدمها في محاكاة تغيير هذة القوى الخمسة وما قد يترتب عليها في محيط العمل والأسواق المحيطة. وتعد هذه الطريقة إحدى الطريق الذكية للتخطيط ضد مخاطر سوق العمل والتغيير المفاجئ في مجريات العمل والقوى الخمسة هي A graphical representation of Porter's Five Forces المنتجات البديلة المنافسون الجدد مدخلات جديدة على السوق قدرة المشترون على المساومة قدرة الموردون على المساومة

Activity – Impact of Internet For one of the industries below, assess how the Internet has changed the competitive forces, for example, has it increased or decreased power of suppliers and customers? Industries: Banking Supermarkets Oil industry Rail industry

Figure 5.9 Matrix for evaluation of external capability against internal capability Source: Perrott (2005)

Figure 5.9 Matrix for evaluation of external capability against internal capability Evaluation of internal resources should be balanced against external resources. Perrott (2005) provides a simple framework for this analysis (Figure 5.9). He suggests that adoption of e-business will be determined by the balance between internal capability and incentives and external forces and capabilities. Figure 5.9 defines a matrix where there are four quadrants which businesses within a market may occupy according to the development of their e-business strategy: Market driving strategy (high internal capabilities/incentives and low external forces/incentives). This is often the situation for the early adopters. Perrott gives the examples of Amazon, Dell, Cisco andWells Fargo Bank in this category. Capability building (low internal capabilities/incentives and high external forces/incentives). A later adopter. Market driven strategy. Internal capabilities/incentives and external forces/incentives are both high. Perrott gives the examples of Dun and Bradstreet, First Direct, Quicken and Reuters in this category. Status quo. This is the situation where there isn’t an imperative to change within the marketplace since both internal apabilities/incentives and external forces/incentives are low.

Figure 5.11 Elements of strategic objective setting for the e-business

Figure 5.11 Elements of strategic objective setting for the e-business Defining and communicating an organization’s strategic objectives is a key element of any strategy process model since (1) the strategy definition and implementation elements of strategy must be directed at how best to achieve the objectives, (2) the overall success of e-business strategy will be assessed by comparing actual results against objectives and taking action to improve strategy and (3) clear, realistic objectives help communicate the goals and significance of an e-business initiative to employees and partners. Note that objective setting typically takes place in parallel with strategic analysis, defining a vision and strategy for e-business as part of an iterative process. Figure 5.11 highlights some of the key aspects of strategic objective setting that will be covered in this section.

Defining vision and mission Vision or mission statements for e-businesses are a concise summary defining the scope and broad aims of digital channels in the future, explaining how they will contribute to the organization and support customers and interactions with partners. Jelassi and Enders (2008) explain that developing a mission statement should provide definition of: Business scope (where?). Markets including products, customer segments and geographies where the company wants to compete online. Unique competencies (how?). A high-level view of how the company will position and differentiate itself in terms of e-business products or services. Values (why?). Less commonly included, this is an emotional element of the mission statement which can indicate what inspires the organization or its e-business initiative.

Example vision or mission statements from e-businesses Here are some examples from well-known e-businesses featured in the case studies in this book. Assess how well they meet the criteria we have discussed for an effective vision statement. Amazon.com Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company, to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Dell Dell listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. eBay eBay pioneers communities built on commerce, sustained by trust, and inspired by opportunity. eBay brings together millions of people every day on a local, national and international basis through an array of web sites that focus on commerce, payments and communications. Facebook Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and co-workers.The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people’s real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Google Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Figure 5. 12 An evaluation tool relating information to business value Figure 5.12 An evaluation tool relating information to business value. An organization’s use of information on each axis can be assessed from 1(low use of information) to 10 (high use of information) Source: Marchand et al. (2002)

Figure 5. 12 An evaluation tool relating information to business value Figure 5.12 An evaluation tool relating information to business value. An organization’s use of information on each axis can be assessed from 1(low use of information) to 10 (high use of information) As Chaffey and Wood (2004) have emphasized, much of the organizational value created by e-business is due to more effective use of information. The strategic importance of business information management in an organization can be reviewed and communicated as part of vision using Figure 5.12. This analytic tool, devised by Professor Don Marchand, shows different ways in which information can create value for organizations. The main methods are: 1. Adding value. Value is added through providing better-quality products and services to an organization’s customers. 2. Reduce costs. Cost reduction through information is achieved through making the business processes shown in Figure 10.2 more efficient.

contiue إدارة المخاطر هي عملية قياس وتقييم للمخاطر وتطوير إستراتيجيات لإدارتها. تتضمن هذه الإستراتيجيات نقل المخاطر إلى جهة أخرى وتجنبها وتقليل آثارها السلبية وقبول بعض أو كل تبعاتها.. 3. Manage risks.(إدارة المخاطر ) Risk management is a well-established use of information within organizations. Marchand (1999) notes how risk management within organizations has created different functions and professions such as finance, accounting, auditing and corporate performance management. For example, Capital One uses information to manage its financial risks and promotions through extensive modeling and analysis of customer behavior. 4. Create new reality. Marchand uses the expression ‘create new reality’ to refer to how information and new technologies can be used to innovate, to create new ways in which products or services can be developed.

Figure 5.13 Arena Flowers (www.arenaflowers.com)

Figure 5.13 Arena Flowers Arena Flowers (Figure 5.13) is an online florist based in London. The business was incorporated in July 2006 and we went live with a transactional website in September 2006. The company delivered £2 million net sales in year one and broke even within the first 12 months of trading. At the time of the interview they are forecasting sales of £4m in year two and to make a healthy profit. The essence of the Arena Flowers proposition is to cut out all middlemen and buy direct from growers, so they can get great prices and the flowers are exceedingly fresh. There are no ‘relay’ fees with us and, because of our high stock turnover, we get fresh flowers in daily and they go straight to the customer, rather than sitting in a hot shop window. Arena Flowers offer free delivery on all of our products and we were the first online florist in the UK to offer FFP-accredited, ethically sourced flowers. That has been a good ‘unique selling point’ and enables Arena to offer something from other suppliers such as supermarkets.

Figure 5.14 An example of conversion modeling for an online retailer

Figure 5.14 An example of conversion modeling for an online retailer So, to assess the potential impact of digital channels it is useful to put in place tracking or research which assesses the cross-channel conversions at different stages in the buying process. For example, phone numbers which are unique to the web site can be used as an indication of the volume of callers to a contact centre influenced by the web site. This insight can then be built into budget models of sales levels such as that shown in Figure 5.14. This shows that of the 100,000 unique visitors in a period we can determine that 5,000 (5%) may actually become offline leads.

Figure 5.15 Grid of product suitability against market adoption for transactional e-commerce (online purchases)

Activity 5.2 Assessing the significance of digital channels. Purpose: Figure 5.15 Grid of product suitability against market adoption for transactional e-commerce online purchases) Activity 5.2 Assessing the significance of digital channels. Purpose: To illustrate the issues involved with assessing the suitability of the Internet for e-commerce. Activity For each of the following products and services assess the suitability of the Internet for delivery of the product or service and position it on the grid in Figure 5.15 with justification and make estimates in Table 5.7 for the direct and indirect online revenue contribution in five and ten years’ time for different products in your country. Choose specific products within each category.

Figure 5.16 Elements of strategy definition for the e-business

Figure 5.16 Elements of strategy definition for the e-business Strategy definition: Formulation, review and selection of strategies to achieve strategic objectives. The definition of strategy is driven by the objectives and vision referred to in the previous sections. As strategy is formulated based on vision and objectives, so it is necessary to frequently revisit and revise them. In this section the key strategic decisions faced by a management team developing e-business strategy are reviewed. For each of the areas of strategy definition that we cover, managers will want to generate different options, review them and select them as shown in Figure 5.16. We start by considering the sell-side-related aspects of e-business and then review the buy-side related aspects.

Figure 5.17 Matrix for evaluating e-business strategy alternatives Source: Econsultancy (2008a)

Figure 5.17 Matrix for evaluating e-business strategy alternatives Econsultancy (2008a) also recommends a form of portfolio analysis (Figure 5.17) as the basis for benchmarking current e-commerce capabilities and identifying strategic priorities. The five criteria used for organizational value and fit (together with a score or rating for their relative effectiveness) are: Business value generated (0–50). These should be based on incremental financial benefits of the project. These can be based on conversion models showing estimated changes in number of visitors attracted (new and repeat customers), conversion rates and results produced. Consideration of lifetime value should occur here. Customer value generated (0–20). This is a ‘softer’ measure which assesses the impact of the delivered project on customer sentiment, for example, would they be more or less likely to recommend a site, would it increase their likelihood to visit or buy again? Alignment with business strategy (0–10). Projects which directly support current business goals should be given additional weighting. Alignment with digital strategy (0–10). Likewise for digital strategy. Alignment with brand values (0–10). And for brand values.

Figure 5.18 Strategic options for a company in relation to the importance of the Internet as a channel.

Figure 5.18 Strategic options for a company in relation to the importance of the Internet as a channel. E-business channel strategy priorities can be summarized in the words of Gulati and Garino (2000) ‘Getting the right mix of bricks and clicks’. This expression usually refers to sell-side e-commerce. The general options for the mix of ‘bricks and clicks’ are shown in Figure 5.18. This summarizes an organization’s commitment to e-commerce and its implication for traditional channels. The other strategy elements that follow define the strategies for how the target online revenue contribution will be achieved.

Figure 5.19 Using the Internet to support different growth strategies

Figure 5.19 Using the Internet to support different growth strategies The market and product development matrix (Figure 5.19) can help identify strategies to grow sales volume through varying what is sold (the product dimension on the horizontal axis of Figure 5.19) and who it is sold to (the market dimension on the y-axis). Specific objectives need to be set for sales generated via these strategies, so this decision relates closely to that of objective setting. Let’s now review these strategies in more detail. 1. Market penetration. This strategy involves using digital channels to sell more existing products into existing markets. The Internet has great potential for achieving sales growth or maintaining sales by the market penetration strategy.

Figure 5.19 Using the Internet to support different growth strategies Figure 5.19 indicates some of the main ways in which the Internet can be used for market penetration: Market share growth Customer loyalty improvement Customer value improvement 2. Market development. Here online channels are used to sell into new markets, taking advantage of the low cost of advertising internationally without the necessity for a supporting sales infrastructure in the customer’s country. The Internet has helped low-cost airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair to enter new markets served by their routes cost-effectively. 3. Product development. The web can be used to add value to or extend existing products for many companies. For example, a car manufacture can potentially provide car performance and service information via a web site. 4. Diversification. In this sector, new products are developed which are sold into new markets. The Internet alone cannot facilitate these high-risk business strategies, but it can facilitate them at lower costs than have previously been possible.

Figure 5.20 Elements of strategy implementation for the e-business

Figure 5.20 Elements of strategy implementation for the e-business Strategy implementation includes all tactics used to achieve strategic objectives. The main tactics and actions required are summarized in Figure 5.20. These actions are described in more detail in the remainder of Part 2 and in Part 3 as indicated in the figure. Chapter 10 focuses on approaches to managing the change associated with change management. Figure 10.2 summarizes different implementation marketing activities that need to be completed by an online retailer structured according to customer acquisition, conversion and retention activities.

Information systems strategy and e-business strategy An essential part of any e-business strategy is consideration of how information systems strategy supports change. The importance to e-business success of utilizing information systems to manage information is highlighted by Willcocks and Plant (2000) who found in a study of 58 major corporations in the USA, Europe and Austral asia that the leading companies were astute at distinguishing the contributions of information and technology, and considering them separately. They make the point that competitive advantage comes not from technology, but from how information is collected stored, analyzed and applied. An established aspect of information systems strategy development is the focus of IS strategy on business impact or alignment. In the business-alignment approach, a top-down approach is used to review how information systems can be used to directly support a defined business strategy. Referring to e-business strategy, Pant and Ravichandran (2001) say: Alignment models focus on aligning the information system’s plans and priorities with organizational strategy and business goals.