Developing an appropriate e-business strategy

Abstract

Firms of all nature and industries are faced with the onslaught of globalisation and one of the challenges is to remain competitive in both new and existing markets. With the introduction of the Internet coupled with new informational communication technologies (ICT), some 'bricks-and-mortar' businesses have embraced this new technology by establishing a presence in the 'e' market place whereas others have chosen to fully migrate from their traditional market place to an e-business solution. In addition, the Internet has also given rise to a new generation of businesses - the 'clicks-and-mortar' e-business. In the decade from 1995 to 2004, the world economy has witnessed the growth of the Internet economy and the rapid proliferation of e-busineses. This is best espoused in a document recently released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) where it noted that the growth trends will continue and that the forecasted marketplace wil generate sales from US$286 billion in 2000 to US$3.2 trillion in 2004 (eMarketer, 2001). However, in the wake of the dot come crash, the validity of activities, tools and processes adopted by e-businesses have been questioned. One area of concern is the appropriateness of adopting and implementing traditional business models within 'clicks-and-mortar' e-businesses. The objective of this thesis is to address the issue of e-business strategies adopted by four New Zealand and Singapore based e-businesses, and by developing an appropriate e-business strategy model based on their feedback. By comparing participants' responses to both an established 'bricks-and-mortar' business strategy model (Porter's Five Forces model) and an existing 'clicks-and-mortar' e-business strategy model (Plant's Seven Dimensional model), the researcher is able to identify the extent to which the participants' activities align with both strategic models. In particular, this will aid in the identification of activities that are considered important by the participants during the process of strategy formation.