Added Value-based Approach to Analyze Electronic Commerce and Mobile Commerce Business Models

In this contribution we propose to apply the theory of informational added values (IAV) on electronic commerce (EC) and mobile commerce (MC). We state that for the success of electronic and mobile offers it is not sufficient to merely make a conventional offer available with new media. Instead, the use of electronic and mobile communication technology is only remunerative if it results in obtaining distinct supplementary IAV. This depends on the exploitation of certain faculties of the used technology. For EC, we call these the four electronic added values (EAV): reduction of temporal and certain spatial limitations, reduction of technical limitations, multi-mediality of access and egalitarian access. For MC, we call these the four mobile added values (MAV): ubiquity, contextsensitivity,identifying functions and command and control functions. We can find EAV and MAV as typical properties of EC or MC applications. EAV are the basis for the superiority of Internet applications compared with offline solutions. The relationship between the separate EAV and IAV will be explained and analyzed. Proceeding analogously for mobile applications, we analyze the relationship between MAV and resulting IAV. The outcome is an extension of the theory of informational added values with the concept of electronic and mobile added values. This allows for an application of the theory to both EC and MC in order to analyze and qualitatively evaluate any given business model. For determining its crucial added value we have to identify the EAV/MAV which are capitalized and can deduce the IAV resulting for each party involved. The concept put forward is a suggestion to approach business models, with the focus on typical evaluation criteria for Internet/mobile business models. It is also suitable to compare different business models and to put their added value for the involved parties in a context. In this way, objective criteria are established reducing subjectivity and allowing to make certain predictions. The paper ends with a critical review and the perspective for further research

Standardized Payment Procedures as Key Enabling Factor for Mobile Commerce

Companies are not going to invest into the development of innovative applications or services unless these can be charged for appropriately. Thus, the existence of standardized and widely accepted mobile payment procedures is crucial for successful business-to-customer mobile commerce. In this paper we reflect on the acceptance of mobile payment and examine the characteristics of current mobile payment procedures. The outcomes of the paper are a categorization of current mobile payment procedures with strategic, participation and operational criteria and, based on these results, the derivation of the five mobile payment standard types prepaid, mobile money, conventional settlement, premium rate number and dual-card. Finally, a prospect is given to possible further development of mobile payment procedures in the direction of an integrative universal mobile payment system (UMPS).

Enabling mobile commerce through mass customization

Mobile Commerce is a new degree of electronic commerce arises from the convergence of Internet and mobile communication technologies. In order to be successful in mobile business, it is not sufficient to simply transfer conventional Internet applications or E-Commerce business models on mobile devices. Added values for the customer are necessary. Typical informational added values in Mobile Commerce originate from ubiquity, context-sensitivity, identifying functions or command and control functions. Mobile devices implicate disadvantes, which can be equalized by individualization. For the simplest devices, this is satisfied with simple features like housings, ring tones or logos. The more upmarket the device is, the more the individualization focus is laid on the applications instead of the device itself. In terms of mass customization, the individualization of mobile devices and applications can be categorized as soft customization. Below this level, three kinds of customization habe to be distinguished: The first on is device adaptation which means the customization of the device itself. The next one is application adaptation and describes the customization of the applications through the customer or as self-individualization of the software. The last one is service composition and means the package of services or the customer-individual composition of applications and services, which ca be done either by the customer, by the provider or by collaboration of both. In this paper we show the importance of mass customization and its techniques for the success of mobile commerce.mass customization; M-Commerce; mobile added values; point-of-delivery-customization; service composition

Characteristics of Mobile Payment Procedures

Companies are not going to invest into the development of innovative applications or services unless these can be charged for appropriately. Thus, the existence of standardized and widely accepted mobile payment procedures is crucial for successful business-to-customer mobile commerce. The acceptance of mobile payment procedures depends on costs, security and convenience issues. For the latter, it is important that a procedure can be used over the different payment scenarios mobile commerce, electronic commerce, stationary merchant and customer-to-customer. Current payment procedures can be categorized with strategic, participation and operational criteria, using the morphological method. The proposed scheme allows to unambiguously identify and characterize any given mobile payment procedure. The design of today's mobile payment procedures should less try to optimize on the future mobile commerce problems but focus on the ease of spreading in the electronic commerce setting as lead-in scenario.

An Approach for Assessment of Electronic Offers

Internet and mobile technology enable businesses to invent new business models by applying new forms of organization or offering new products and services. In order to assess these new business models there has to be a methodology that allows identifying advantages that are caused by electronic and mobile commerce. The proposed approach builds upon the theory of informational added values that provides a classification of gains produced by information work. This theory is extended by the definition of categories of technology inherent added values that result in informational added values. These informational added values can be perceived by users of information products and services and therefore be used to assess electronic offers. The relationship between technology inherent and informational added values will be clarified with examples of real business models. Furthermore, a classification of basic business model types will be provided.

A Theory of Software Reuse Strategies in Ideal Type Stable and Turbulent Market Environments

Increasingly, IS (information systems) need to better support objectives on the overall business strategy level. Software reuse is one promising concept discussed in development organizations in this context, since it is one key issue in designing and delivering IS and software applications. Reuse is a higher-level strategy with its scope reaching from beyond project boundaries to global markets. Consequently, market conditions have to be considered in software reuse management strategies. With the emergence of modern, turbulent market environments that co-exist with traditional, more stable business conditions, this paper investigates these two different, ideal type market environments, their business strategies, and related software reuse options. It investigates supporting experience from three large projects, builds theory, and concludes with two hypotheses on strategic management preferences for software reuse

B2B Electronic Marketplaces in Supply Chain Management: Analyzing Recent Research Activities

Since their rise during the 1990s, business-to-business (B2B) electronic marketplaces have been subject to numerous scientific articles. Especially during the dot-com era, these research efforts have been accompanied by several start-ups such as CommerceOne, with mixed market success. For researchers looking for promising areas of IS research, these facts raise the question whether B2B electronic marketplaces still constitute a viable option which is worth focusing on. The work at hand strives to answer that question by conducting a literature analysis covering the period from 2005 to 2009. We examined 11 major IS-journals as well as three major IS conferences in search of articles dealing with or relating to B2B electronic marketplaces. The analysis of the data gathered throughout that process provides an overview of the B2B electronic marketplace research of the past five years from multiple perspectives. Our analysis indentifies several research opportunities for researchers, e.g., by indentifying research methods that have not been applied to examine certain topics, or by identifying geographical regions that have been under-researched regarding the application of B2B electronic marketplaces. Further, our work will help practitioners seeking reliable information regarding B2B electronic marketplaces to indentify publication outlets relevant for this field of research

A Review of the Literature on Configuration Management Tools

Configuration management tools help administrators in defining and automating system configurations. With cloud computing, host numbers are likely to grow. IaaS (infrastructure as a service) offerings with pay-per-use pricing models make fast and effective deployment of applications necessary. Configuration management tools address both challenges. In this paper, the existing research on this topic is reviewed comprehensively. Readers are provided with a descriptive analysis of the published literature as well as with an analysis of the content of the respective research works. The paper serves as an overview for researchers who are new to the topic. Furthermore, it serves to identify work related to an intended research field and identifies research gaps. Practitioners are provided with a means to identify solutions to their organizational problems

Testing in Big Data: An Architecture Pattern for a Development Environment for Innovative, Integrated and Robust Applications

Big Data is a crucial pillar for many of today’s newly emerging business models. Areas of application range from consumer analysis over medicine to fraud detection. All of those domains require reliable software. Even though imperfect results are accepted in Big Data software, bugs and other defects can have drastic consequences. Therefore, in this paper, the software engineering sub discipline of testing is addressed. Big Data exhibits characteristics which differentiate its processing software from those that process traditional workloads. Consequently, an architecture pattern for testing that can be integrated into development environments for Big Data software is proposed. The paper features a detailed description of the artifact as well as a preliminary plan for evaluation

Characteristics of Value Bundles in RFID-Enabled Supply Networks

In order to avoid ruinous price competition, companies are intensely seeking new ways to stand out from competitors in a global market scenario. In response to this aim, value bundles provide an approach to grade up existing offerings from isolated goods and services to integrated problem solutions for specific customer needs. This differentiation strategy relies on supply networks as an essential enabler. However, the effect of RFID as a major innovation in supply chain networks on their ability to enable value bundles is widely unexplored. In this paper we use the morphological method to identify typical characteristics of value bundles in RFID-enabled supply networks. The outcome is a set of characteristics which allows for categorization and, based on this, structured comparison of any respective value bundles. The categorization is illustrated and validated with three case studies