Exploring sources of competitive advantage in e-business applications: A cross-industries case study in mainland China

A review of existing literature revealed that little theoretical framework exists to capture e-business-enabled value creation through an integrated approach that includes the environmental view and resource-based view (RBV). Furthermore, little empirical research has been conducted to test these theoretical frameworks, in particular in the Chinese business context. The aim of this research is to extend the theoretical and practical understanding of e-business-enabled sources of competitive advantage (SCA) in China. The value chain (VC) concept, virtual value chain (VVC) framework and RBV were identified from the literature as the key constructs to underpin the theoretical basis. The research design used a qualitative research methodology consisting of indepth case studies of nine leading Chinese companies in three industries - housing development, manufacturing, and B2C. The principle finding is the formulation of a theoretical framework for investigating ebusiness value creations which integrates the key constructs of the VVC, online information capabilities (OIC), value system and RVB. This research also proposes a typology of five generic types of key e-business applications which states clearly the relationships between key e-business applications and SCA. Finally, this research demonstrates that e-business value creation features differently between two groups: Internet pragmatist and Internet pioneers. The research offers a number of contributions to the field of e-business value creation. Firstly, it introduces the concepts of OIC and value system to the VVC. It also provides empirical test of the analytical framework. In addition, this research provides an indepth understanding of the relationships between types of e-business applications and key SCA. Finally, this research identifies and explains the key differences and similarities between the three industries, within each industry, and between the two key groups

Assessing the Impacts of Crowdsourcing in Logistics and Supply Chain Operations

Crowdsourcing models, whereby firms start to delegate supply chain operations activities to a mass of actors in the marketplace, have grown drastically in recent years. 85% of the top global brands have reported to use crowdsourcing in the last ten year with top names such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Nestle. These emergent business models, however, have remained unexplored in extant SCM literature. Drawing on various theoretical underpinnings, this dissertation aims to investigate and develop a holistic understanding of the importance and impacts of crowdsourcing in SCM from multiple perspectives. Three individual studies implementing a range of methodological approaches (archival data, netnography, and field and scenario-based experiments) are conducted to examine potential impacts of crowdsourcing in different supply chain processes from the customer’s, the crowdsourcing firm’s, and the supply chain partner’s perspectives. Essay 1 employs a mixed method approach to investigate “how, when, and why” crowdsourced delivery may affect customer satisfaction and behavioral intention in online retailing. Essay 2 uses a field experiment to address how the framing of motivation messages could enhance crowdsourced agents’ participation and performance level in crowdsourced inventory audit tasks. Lastly, Essay 3 explores the impact of crowdsourcing activities by the manufacturers on the relationship dynamics within the manufacturer-consumers-retailer triads

A New Approach for Evaluating the Order Fulfillment Process Options of B2C Horizontal Portals Using DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis)

By using the traditional statistical or operations research methods for deciding the product-delivery logistics, the portal companies are not using their competitive advantages on being more e-enabled, informed and computationally able than their traditional counterparts. In this paper, we show some typical characteristics of the portals like their handling of a huge range of goods in terms of transactional values or volumes. Subsequently, we have identified three types of generic product-delivery logistics of the portals with various intermediate entities or trading partners. Then, a completely different approach using an extreme point method rather than the traditional central-tendency-based statistical methods has been suggested

From Mass Customization to Collaborative Customer CoDesign

The idea of integrating users into the design and production process is a promising strategy for companies being forced to react to the growing individualization of demand. The use of e-business applications has been discussed as a approach for mass customization for over one decade. There is a huge amount of literature on manufacturing and information systems for mass customization. However, there has been little research looking at the role of the customer within the co-design process. Customers face new uncertainties and risks (“mass confusion”) when acting as co-designers. We discuss possible risks evolving during the interaction between customers and suppliers. We propose solutions for the “mass confusion” problem, and we challenge the assumption made by most mass customization researchers that offering customized products requires an individual (one-to-one) relationship between the customer and the supplier. We envision a different way of addressing the problem by using communities instead of one-to-one relationships. The objective of our paper is to build and explore the idea of communities for customer co-design

Individual level culture influence on online consumer iTrust aspects towards purchase intention across cultures: A S-O-R model

© 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Building trust and understanding its relationship with online purchasing decisions is important to business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce firms seeking to extend their consumers reach globally. Based on the Stimulus- Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, this paper examines the moderating role of culture on the relationship between B2C web design (web accessibility, visual appearance and social networking services (SNS)) and interpersonal trust (iTrust), cognitive and affect-based trust that trigger online purchasing intentions. Motivation of this study includes, testing and comparing individual consumer level cultural (individualism and uncertainty avoidance) values as moderators in our research model across two different societies (Australia and Pakistan). The data of the survey were analysed using structural equation modelling-partial least square (SEM-PLS) approach. The results highlight the need to consider cultural differences when identifying the mix of web design strategies to employ in B2C e-commerce websites, not only at the country level but also in one culturally diverse country such as Australia

A New Definition Of A Business Model

This paper discusses the lack of agreement on the definition of a business model which is a recent addition to management literature since the dot com era.  An abbreviated literature review was discussed that emphasizes the different perspectives of business model definitions.  There are categories such as auction, subscription, or advertising business models which describe the processes between a buyer and seller (Rappa, 2005). Business models have also been defined in the literature as a system with components (Afuah&Tucci, 2001) or a method to make money (Weill&Vitale 2001). They have also been categorized as business to business models or business to consumer models (Haag, 2004)  This author has developed a new definition of a business model that focuses on the transaction between the buyer and seller, regardless of whether it is a traditional transaction, an electronic transaction or the type of transaction.  The paper has provided six comparisons of the difference between a traditional transaction between a buyer and a seller and an electronic transaction between a buyer and a seller. The direct comparisons of traditional and e-commerce business models illustrate the major component of a business model—the transaction that occurs between the seller and buyer and that the transaction must be included in the definition of a business model

Promoting E-Commerce among SMEs through Community-Based Portals: An Analysis of Three West Australian Cases

In Western Australia, efforts to increase SME e-commerce adoption have been integrated with some regional community portals in order to access greater levels of government funding. This paper examines three such cases. Results indicate that although the enablement of e-commerce was intended to be the driving force behind these portals, it is the traffic generated from online community activity and community support of the portals that have helped sustain them. While e-commerce economic benefits from the portals have been slow to materialise, the portals have produced benefits in the form of increased online community participation and e-commerce awareness

Os dois lados da mesma moeda: identificando os paradoxos da tecnologia no consumo online dos brasileiros

 The possibility of buying at any time of the day, researching prices and finding varied products are some of the advantages informed by online consumers. Despite the benefits, some disadvantages are also cited by these consumers, such as the impossibility of product experimentation, delay in delivery, difficulty in accessing websites and lack of security. With this, the possibility of paradoxical behavior among this type of consumer is verified. Therefore, this work aims to verify the presence of technology paradoxes in online consumer behavior. This is a descriptive-exploratory research, with a quantitative approach and a survey research method. A questionnaire was elaborated aiming to collect information regarding the profile of the online consumers interviewed and the characteristics of the purchase process, besides containing 28 statements referring to the 14 paradoxes of technology adapted from national surveys for consumption through the internet. A total of 263 respondents were obtained, where two pairs of paradoxes were present: Assimilation / Isolation and Planning / Improvisation.A possibilidade de comprar a qualquer hora do dia, pesquisar preços e encontrar produtos variados são algumas das vantagens informadas por usuários do mercado online. Apesar dos benefícios, algumas desvantagens também são citadas por esses consumidores, tais como a impossibilidade de experimentação do produto, demora para entrega, dificuldade de acesso a sites e falta de segurança. Com isso, verifica-se a possibilidade de comportamento paradoxal entre este tipo de consumidor. Portanto, este trabalho tem por objetivo verificar a presença de paradoxos da tecnologia no comportamento dos consumidores online. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva-exploratória, com abordagem quantitativa e método de pesquisa survey. Um questionário foi elaborado visando coletar informações referentes ao perfil dos consumidores online entrevistados e às características do processo de compra, além de conter 28 afirmativas referentes aos 14 paradoxos da tecnologia adaptados de pesquisas nacionais para o consumo via internet. Obteve-se um total de 263 respondentes, onde se verificou a presença de dois pares de paradoxos: Integração/Isolamento e Planejamento/Improvisação

Assessing the success and evaluating the benefits of government-sponsored regional internet-trading platforms for small and medium enterprises: A Western Australian perspective

The Internet has been viewed as an opportunity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to efficiently compete in the global arena with their larger counterparts by overcoming distance and size. However, research has shown that actual uptake of Internet e-commerce by SMEs has been lagging behind that of larger companies. Fearing a growing digital divide between large companies and SMEs, some governments have taken specific measures to encourage SME participation in ecommerce. One of the more direct government initiatives to hasten the progression of SMEs on the e-commerce adoption curve is the creation, sponsorship and management of regional Internet trading platforms for these enterprises. Such a move is predicated on the belief that these platforms will offer SMEs a low-cost introduction to participation in Internet trading platforms without the need for significant technology investments, allowing them to reap benefits like lower costs, improved customer service and new levels of innovation through knowledge-sharing