The Impact of Internet Referral Services on a Supply Chain

In many industries, Internet referral services, hosted either by independent third-party infomediaries or by manufacturers, serve as digitally enabled lead generators in electronic markets, directing consumer traffic to downstream retailers in a distribution network. This reshapes the extended enterprise from the traditional network of upstream manufacturers and downstream retailers to include midstream third-party and manufacturerowned referral services in the supply chain. We model competition between retailers in a supply chain with such digitally enabled institutions and consider their impact on the optimal contracts among the manufacturer, referral intermediary, and the retailers. Offline, retailers face a higher customer discovery cost. In return, they can engage in price discrimination based on consumer valuations. Online, they save on the discovery costs but lose the ability to identify consumer valuations. This critical trade-off drives firms’ equilibrium strategies. We derive the optimal contracts for different entities in the supply chain and highlight how these contracts change with the entry of independent and manufacturer-owned referral services. The establishment of a referral service is a strategic decision by the manufacturer. It leads to diversion of supply chain profit from a third-party infomediary to the manufacturer. Further, it enables the manufacturer to respond to an infomediary, by giving itself greater flexibility in setting the unit wholesale fee to the profit-maximizing level. Both third-party and manufacturer-sponsored referral services play a critical role in enabling retailers to discriminate across consumers’ different valuations. Retailers use online referral services to screen out low-valuation consumers and sell only to high-valuation consumers in the online channel. Our model thus endogenously derives a correlation between consumer valuation and online purchase behavior. Finally, we show that under some circumstances, it is too costly for the manufacturer to eliminate the referral infomediaryNYU, Stern School of Business, IOMS Department, Center for Digital Economy Researc

The economics and business models of prescription in the Internet

L'économie de l'Internet a contribué à une ouverture du jeu concurrentiel en dissociant les fonctions physique et informationnelle des activités de distribution. Plus précisément, elle a ouvert la voie à de nouvelles structures de marché en mettant en avant une fonction de prescription clairement distincte des fonctions d'offre d'une part, des fonctions logistiques et de mise à disposition des biens d'autre part. Nous nous attachons ici à montrer que l'analyse des fonctions et modalités de prescription permet de mieux comprendre les modèles d'affaires et les structures concurrentielles à l'œuvre dans l'économie de l'Internet organisées autour de l'articulationde trois marchés : biens primaires, référencement, prescription. Cette modélisation de marchés à prescription contribue à enrichir la compréhension des chaînes de valeur et des relations d'affaires repérables dans l'Internet.prescription;internet

A supplier development service for the East Midlands feasability study

This study assesses the need for a Supplier Development Service (SDS) in the East Midlands. Research was undertaken into previous and current programmes of this type and sets out a proposed model for the service

A supplier development service for the East Midlands feasibility study

This study assesses the need for a Supplier Development Service (SDS) in the East Midlands. Research was undertaken into previous and current programmes of this type and sets out a proposed model for the service

Breaking the rules. Ir and Business

The emergence of advanced information retrieval technologies has caused a drastic change in business models, in the nature of information intermediaries and in its automated processing. The characteristics of these changes and their economic consequences are analyzed

Antiretroviral treatment programmes in Nepal: Problems and barriers

Background: Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs have become the cornerstone of HIV (Human Immunodefi ciency Virus) care and treatment. Its use has led to a marked reduction in AIDS (Acquired Immune Defi ciency Syndrome) related morbidity and mortality. However, more than fi ve years after their introduction few HIV infected people in Nepal are receiving ARVs. Objective: The main aim of this study is to identify barriers and obstacles to providing and expanding ARV programmes in Nepal. Materials and methods: A qualitative approach consisting of in-depth interviews with three groups of stakeholders: policy makers, ARV service providers and ARV recipients were carried out. The transcripts were analysed using a thematic approach. Results: The estimated number of people in need was high compared with people currently receiving ARV in Nepal. With regards to the proper distribution of the ARVs, the main problems identifi ed in the interviews were: lack of infrastructure, lack of human resources, financial constraints, programmatic problems, weak leadership and management at national level, poor cooperation between management structures, geographical barriers, lack of awareness and low uptake of counselling and/or testing, stigmatization and discrimination felt by the health workers and the community, lack of coordination and limited access to services. Conclusion: Limited resources and administrative capacity coupled with strong underlying needs for services pose serious challenges to the government

Workflow Management for Multiple Sclerosis Patients: IT and Organization

Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) visit various healthcare providers during the course of their disease. It was suggested that IT might help to\ud orchestrate their care provision. We have applied the USE IT-tool to get insight in the relevant problems, solutions and constraints of the MS-care and the MS care providers both in the organizational and the information technological area. There is hardly a chain of healthcare, but rather, a network in which informal communication plays an important role. This informal network worked reasonably effective, but inefficient and slow. The patient himself plays a keyrole in information exchange between care-providers. Many providers were unaware of the services that other healthcare providers could give in general or did provide to a specific patient. MS patients-count is only small for most care providers. None of the interviewed patients mentioned a lack of contacts between careproviders as a problem. They thought that lack of\ud experience caused their major problems: insufficient and inadequate care. To improve care, we proposed a solution that combines a “short MS-protocol”, the\ud introduction of a central coordinator of care and a Patient Relation Management (PRM) System. This is a simple web-based application that is based on agreement by the caregivers that supports routing, tracking and tracing of a MS patient and supplies the caregivers with professional guidelines, as written down in the protocol. It is likely that we would have suggested a far more complicated ICT solution if we had only analyzed the MS-care process as such, without specific consideration of the USE IT dimensions

PERENCANAAN STRATEGI SISTEM DAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI PADA PT. TRIASA GILANG JEPS MEGAH

PERENCANAAN STRATEGI SISTEM DAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI PADA PT. TRIASA GILANG JEPS MEGAH

E-Business Models In The Travel Industry

Drawing on recently published data, this report examines some of the trends in travel e-commerce. Using a case study approach, the author examines in detail some of the e-business models impacting on the travel industry both in the Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) markets. Although B2C leisure transactions currently account for just 1% of the value of global travel, there is real potential for future growth. However to be successful both new entrants and existing players will need to ensure their e-business model adds value for the customer, otherwise their position in the value chain will be threatened. The most immediate potential for growth and profitability lies in the B2B market, particularly in the development of vertical portals or community extranets. These are virtual spaces enabling travel buyers and suppliers to trade online. The integration of legacy systems with Internet Protocol (IP) technology is taking place across a range of travel sectors and will provide the platform on which a wide range of e-business applications can be developed. This development will lead to the ultimate catalyst for travel e-business -- the convergence of data (internet), voice (telephone) and video (television)