A Modl for Assessing Performance in Electronic Marketplaces

Theories of inter-organisational co-ordination propose that information processing capabilities (structure, process and technology) must be aligned with information processing needs (environmental, partnership and task uncertainty) and the fit between both is a strong determinant of performance. Electronic marketplaces dominate new developments in electronic commerce. While traditional models predominantly deal with one-to-one relationships, electronic marketplaces are mainly characterized as being one-to-many and many-to-many in nature. Such developments have meant performance is based on more than just the fit between information processing needs and information processing capabilities. Consequently measuring performance has become much more difficult. From utilising current research the authors develop a theoretical model examining issues such as trust, investment and ownership.The paper details the development of the model and proposes a research strategy for testing it

Strategic Alliances and Shared IS/IT Infastructures in B2B Marketplaces: An Exploratory Case

In the late 1990’s researchers believed that B2B markets were set to revolutionise e-procurement. New marketplaces were being created on an almost weekly basis to cater for the procurement needs of numerous and diverse industry sectors. More recently however, researchers have noted that many B2B markets are under performing and failure rates are high. We draw upon research on strategic alliances and application service provision to explore the possibility of markets improving their performance through entering strategic alliances to share technology. We document and explain a model developed by Eutilia, a leading B2B market in the utilities sector to justify such technology alliances. We explain how Eutilia operationalised this model, through entering a technology alliance with another leading B2B marketplace. The results demonstrate that both markets benefited from this technology alliance and that Eutilia achieved significant performance improvements. We believe that other marketplaces could potentially improve their performance through similar alliances

Open source networks: an exploration of business model and agility issues

The growing interest of commercial organisations in developing and exploiting open source software (OSS) has led to increased focus on business model aspects of the OSS phenomenon. However, much of the work on OSS business models describes the revenue stream but neglects of other aspects of the business model. In addition, many OSS companies participate in business networks in order to offer the complete product / service offering (whole product) demanded by customers. Such collaboration is seen as vital in competing with large firms in delivering the ‘whole product. However, there are uncertainties about how such collaboration affects (1) the business models of participants and (2) the agility of the network. This paper examines Zope Europe Association (ZEA), a network of small open source companies co-operating to deliver the ‘whole product’. It investigates how participation in the network augments the business models of each participant company, and identifies the business agility challenges faced by the network. The paper concludes identifying the need to address adaptability and alignment issues in addition to business network agility

Integrating eBusiness, Knowledge Management and Policy Considerations Within an Information Systems Strategy Framework

Much has been written on the topic of Information Systems (IS) Strategy over the past 30 years or so since the early work of, for example, Kriebel (1968) and McFarlan (1971). We have gone through periods where various approaches to IS Strategy have had their heyday. (Galliers, 1993) These include, for example: long range planning; businessdriven (or ‘top-down’) approaches; strategic data planning; the proactive use of Information Technology (IT) for competitive advantage, and business process analysis (or BPR), to name but a few (e.g., McLean & Soden, 1977; Ein-Dor & Segev, 1978; Martin, 1982; Porter & Millar, 1985; Hammer, 1990). More recently, we have seen the emergence of e-business and knowledge management as major phenomena worthy of our attention in the strategy arena

Rethinking the Role of the IS Function

This paper proposes that IS managers need to review what they regard as their core competencies if they are to be a valuable asset to organisations in the 1990s. The authors start by questioning whether the IS function has strayed away from information management in support of organisational functioning and become too occupied by strategic management, organisational design and competitive positioning. They compare the concerns of IS managers in western countries with those of their counterparts in developing countries and conclude that, even though they both face generally similar organisational conditions within the global economy, that they are focusing on different IS support mechanisms. IS managers in western countries are striving for strategic information systems and the redesign of business processes, while their developing counterparts are focusing on more infrastructure based issues that were important to western IS managers in the past. The authors examine a number of these western concerns and conclude that while they provide western IS functions with good organisational visibility they may not be of most benefit to the main organisation. The authors propose that IS managers need to be aware that changes in organisational environments require that organisations be more flexible, fleet of foot entities. They also note that strategy makers are now more concerned with emergent strategies than with traditional mechanistic strategy formulation. They believe that what such entities require is a more invisible IS function that proves to be strategic, not because it proactively chases competitive advantage, but because it provides an effective underlying flexible technical and information infrastructure that mirrors an organisation\u27s dynamism. They propose that the Japanese Kaizen model is a good example of what such invisible efforts can achieve. Essentially, IS managers will have to tackle issues that they would have considered solved in the past because operating conditions have dramatically changed since. This will probably prove an unwelcome suggestion to some IS managers who have been working for a high organisational profile over the last decade, but should prove beneficial to the organisation