Identifying the Strategic Opportunities of E Business Innovation

E-business in organisations is linked with the Internet and the growth in the use and application of computers. The identification and establishment of strategic opportunities of e-business for the firm will lead to an understanding of the innovation and its justification for improved business, competitiveness and customer service. Suggested a four stage 'strategic breakout' model addressing initiation, diagnosis of the industry environment, breakout to establish a strategic target and transition or plotting a migration path, emphasising the need to innovate away from traditional strategic approaches by using the term 'breakout' to show the need for new marketplace structures and business revenue models. UK Institute of Directors (2000) illustrates the difference between traditional business strategy and e-business strategy by suggesting a short planning horizon for e-business projects, an iterative strategic planning cycle to incorporate the pace of technological change, an informational power base for access, control and manipulation of critical information instead of a positional power base and the core focus to be on customers rather than the factory and production of goods. Deise et al. (2000) emphasise that the focus of e-business strategy will vary according to the evolutional stage of e-business, suggesting that the focus will transform from selling channels (sell-side e-commerce) to value-chain integration (buy-side e-commerce) and creation of value networks. Venkataraman's (2000) 'dot-com strategy' for existing businesses looking to make use of digital media include five questions: What is your strategic vision?; How do you govern dot-com operations?; How do you allocate key resources for the dot-com operations?; What is your operating infrastructure for the dot-com operations?; and Is your management team aligned for the dot-com agenda?

The strategic importance of e-business should be analysed on the basis that it contributes positively to the competitive edge of a company through the benefits it offers. The speed at which change may occur in e-business is indicated by the speed at which new access technologies are adopted. Although top management may have a strategic plan to introduce e-business and associated changes, the responsibility for the choice of implementation and financial evaluation of e-business innovation is invariably given to technical staff, who sometimes fail to perceive e-business as part of company strategy. Other issues to consider are the financial position of the organisation for the required investment, the ability of a company in terms of resources to accommodate e-business, and if the innovation will conform to the business strategy of the organisation. Human resource strategies of employee attitudes, morale, safety and ergonomics and upgraded skills should be positively related.

Companies compete on cost and customer-focused performance factors such as quality, delivery reliability, design lead times and flexibility. E-business processes allow for increased accuracy, flexibility and uniformity, making a firm's operations more competitive by increasing productivity, decreasing costs and leading to increased market share. It also enables a company to respond quickly to customer demand and evaluate e-business benefits as strategic opportunities.