As established business-to-consumer (B2C) companies set out to take advantage of the Internet, m any have found the task far more difficult and potentially destabilizing than they had anticipated. No mere business tool, the Internet goes to the heart of the corporation, challenging its existing business models and customer relationships.1
The challenges force traditional companies to address some fundamental questions, including: What do the Internet and its associated technologies mean for our business, our competitive strategy and our information-systems strategy? Which former imperatives need to be considered if we are to build a sustainable Internet business? How do we leverage the speed, access, connectivity and economy created by Web technologies to extend our business vision? And how do we organize in order to execute our business-Internet strategy?
The answers to those questions largely determine the success of a company’s Internet initiative. To investigate how organizations can effectively deal with the challenges, we examined 58 major B2C corporations from three continents and a wide range of industries. (See “Research Methodology.”) We found 15 “leaders,” 25“laggards” and 18 “medium-performing” organizations. Leaders shared generic characteristics that distinguished them from other companies. (See “Characteristics of B2C E-Business Leaders.”) However, they also followed distinctive routes. Although they may have started with strategy based upon the idea of technology leadership, they migrated through... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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