WEEK 7
Configurations of e-Process Technologies
Synopsis
Electronic service-processes are configurations of technologies. The architectures for and configurations of electronic service-processes can lead to various performance outcomes.
Readings
This first paper empirically
analyzes the configurations of WWW technologies used in e-Retailing (circa
early-mid 1999), and their relationship to perceptions of customer satisfaction.
The conceptual framework in it provides a way to think about classes of
e-Service processes (the “service-process”). The empirical results provide an
idea about the technologies used by e-Retailers that are bundled together into
a “configuration”. Finally, we find significant relationships between our path
of “process evolution” (an ordering of the process configurations) and several
dimensions of customer satisfaction. Once again, the middle of this paper
contains some statistics, which you may feel free to skip. If you’re not aware
of the main WWW technologies, the tables in here can help you get a better
idea. If you are aware of them, you may just want to examine the conceptual
framework briefly, and to read the conclusions to find out about the customer
satisfaction results.
(R) Heim, G. R., and K. K. Sinha, “Service-Process Configurations in Electronic Retailing,” Working Paper, January 2001.
This next article contrasts the
first two process stages (essentially what is analyzed in my paper above), with
the idea that e-Service process technologies that appear to be emerging right
now provide us with a “Third Wave” of process technology (those software objects/components
to be turned into “software as services”, as Microsoft marketers are so fond of
saying).
(R) Fingar, P., et al., Enterprise E-Commerce, “Chapter 2 – E-Commerce: The Third Wave,” Meghan-Kiffer Press, 2000, p. 43-73.
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/pfingar/ch2/Ch2.htm
The following three articles are a bit shorter, and
give more of a practitioner viewpoint of some of the real issues to be
considered in choosing “all-in-one” solutions, or classes of process
technologies. The first gets at the issue of architecture, the second gets a
little deeper into all of the classes of WWW servers and applications, and the
third considers whether there is truly an “off-the-shelf” solution that will
work well.
(R) Sliwa, C., “Net Reliability Hinges on Web Site Architecture,” Computerworld, August 30, 1999, p. 24.
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO36862,00.html
(Browse) “e-Business Parts List,” eCompany Now, January 2001
http://www.ecompany.com/stack/
(R) Sliwa, C., “E-Commerce Solutions: How Real?” Computerworld, February 28, 2000.
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO41520,00.html
Related
Readings – Not Required
Fingar, P., et al., Enterprise E-Commerce, “Chapter 8 – E-Commerce
Business and Technology Strategies” Meghan-Kiffer Press, 2000, p. 221-274.
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/pfingar/ch8cNetVaiWord/cNetCh8Body.htm
http://www.commerce.net/research/ebusiness-strategies/1999/99_22_r_Ch8Strategies.pdf
Ursula, E., and S. Kotha, “A Note on On-line Grocers,” Industry Note, University of Washington, February 2000.
http://us.badm.washington.edu/kotha/internet/handouts/Grocer6.pdf
Greenspun, P., "Static Site Development," Philip and Alex’s Guide to Web Publishing
Greenspun, P., "Learn to Program HTML in 21 Minutes," Philip and Alex’s Guide to Web Publishing
http://www.arsdigita.com/books/panda/html
Greenspun, P., "Sites That Are Really Programs," Philip and Alex’s Guide to Web Publishing
http://www.arsdigita.com/books/panda/server-programming
Greenspun, P., "Sites that are really databases," Philip and Alex’s Guide to Web Publishing
http://www.arsdigita.com/books/panda/databases-intro
For an explanation of e-commerce technology terminology, refer to the following web sites:
http://www.microsoft.com/com/about.asp
http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia
http://www.billingworld.com/ (click on “Library, then on “Glossary”)
http://www.ecompany.com/glossary/
Case
Ford Motor Company: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/prod_detail.asp?198006
Overview
In late-1994, Alex Trotman, CEO of Ford Motor Company, while attending a meeting of the Board of Directors of IBM (of which he was an outside member), witnessed a presentation on the World Wide Web and its potential for business uses. Upon returning to Ford after the IBM Board Meeting, he summoned his CIO and initiated an investigation of how these technologies could be deployed beneficially across the Ford Motor Company.
Questions
1. Web technology first gained serious momentum within Ford in 1994 when the CEO gave the CIO the job of figuring out ways to deploy the technology beneficially across the company. What were the important events that occurred between this meeting and the end of the case? Did this technology adoption process work well? What would you change? Could this process be used in other companies?
2. Web technology deployment at Ford was preceded by a very substantial and expensive infrastructure renewal process. What challenges resulted from Ford’s legacy of proprietary networking technologies and old computer applications, and how did Ford meet those challenges? What lessons about outsourcing projects can you draw from Ford’s experience with GENI?
3.
The
case lists a number of specific uses of web technologies. What were these, and
why was the web a particularly useful way of mounting these applications? What
lessons can Ford apply as it moves toward
using web technologies for more “mission critical” applications? What
policies and principles did Ford employ to maximize the usefulness of web
technologies?
Epilogue: Read “At Ford, E-Commerce
is Job 1,” Business Week, February
28, 2000, p. 74-78.
http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_09/b3670149.htm