Electronic Business: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4-Volumes) P188 pptx

1804
EBBSC
Table 4. The second group generic e-business framework comparison
Framework
commonality
Afuah & Tucci
(2001)
Damanpour
(2001)
De et al.
(2001)
Dubosson et
al. (2001)
Hamel (2000)
Hasan &
Tibbits
(2000)
Rayport
&
Jaworski
(2001)
Whelan &
Maxelon
(2001)
Business Core
Perspective
price, revenue
sources,
sustainibility
ZKDWLVGLI¿FXOW
to initiate of the

business model)
business
¿QDQFLDO
models
(business
model and
opportunities)
Revenue
models
(Advertising,
retail, banking
& information
harvesting)
Product
innovation
(market
segment,
value
proposition),
Financial
Aspects (cost
& revenue
structures)
Core Strategy
(business
mission,
product/
market scope,
differentiation
basis), Pricing

structure
Finance/
Business
value
Financial
model
Product
Analytic
e-CRM
Perspective
Customer value
(distinctive
offering or low
cost), Scope
(customer
& products/
services)
Relationships
(relationships
& collaboration
management)
Transaction
and Switching
costs, User
Experience,
Models,
Versioned
products/niche
marketing
Customer

Relationship,
Infastructure
Management
I (partner
network)
Customer
Interface
(support. info
& insight, re
la ti os hip
dynamics);
Customer
EHQH¿WV
Customer
User
perspectives
Marketing
offering
Customer
management
Process
Structure
Perspective
connected
activities
(interdependency
between different
activities)
Responsiveness
HI¿FLHQF\

& timing of
transactions)
Commerce
(e-buying
& selling
mechanism)
Network
externalities,
Infastructure
investment
Infastructure
Management
II (activities
& processes)
Strategic
resources (core
processes);
&RQ¿JXUDWLRQ
Value network,
company
boundaries
Internal
business/
Process
Value
cluster
Channel
e-Knowledge
Network
Perspective

Implementation
(resources
needed);
Capabilities
(skills needed)

Infastructure
Management
III (resources/
assets)
Strategic
resources (core
competencies,
strategic
assets)
Innovation/
Learning
future
readiness
Resource
system
Resource
management;
Information
1805
EBBSC
Figure 2. Business model perspective of strategic e-business management
Supply: e-business capacity
(Goldszmidt, Palma, & Sabata, 2001);
e-supply chain efficacy (Golicic et al.,

2002; Craighead & Shaw, 2003).
Demand: Customer retention -
stickiness (Ingsriswang & Forgionne,
2001; Smith, 2003)
e-Marketing mix (see below).
Dynamic pricing (Kelkar,
Leukel, & SchmitzPrice,
2002)
Presentation style
(Chittaro & Ranon, 2002)
e-Distribution effort
(Mascarenhas,
Kumaraswamy, Day, &
Baveja, 2002; Manthou,
Vlachopoulou, & Folinas,
2004)
Fixed cost: e-business system
development and maintenance (Lee &
Brandyberry, 2003).
Variable cost: material/labor input &
training input employ empowerment
(Ash & Burn, 2001; Cash, Yoong, &
Huff, 2004).
Online customer profile:
demographic characteristics,
preferences and behavior
patterns (Fang & Salvendy,
2003; Koppius, Speelman,
Stulp, Verhoef, & Heck, 2005;
Lee & Brandyberry, 2003)

E-service quality
(Dutta, 2001);
Competition
status (Hasan &
Tibbits, 2000)
Lead-time
(Brewer, 2002);
Product quality
(Fornell &
Johnson, 1996)
E-loyalty (Ingsriswang
& Forgionne, 2001;
Turban et al., 2004)
Channel flexibility:
Reichheld et al., 2000;
Chiang et al., 2003)
Profitability
ratio: purchase
margin vs. serving
cost (Schoeniger,
2003)
Figure 3. e-CRM perspective of strategic e-business management
1806
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SUR¿OHLVD FRPSRVLWHYDULDEOHWKDW UHÀHFWVWKH
customers’ demographic characteristics, prefer-
ences, and behavior patterns. As noted by Lee
and Brandyberry (2003), when compared with
traditional customers, online customers tend to
EHOHVVVWDEOHGXHWRWKHLU³/RJLFDO´UDWKHUWKDQ

³3K\VLFDO´UHODWLRQVKLSV
Analytic e-CRM Perspective
Customers are at the core of all businesses. With
the Internet, customers have realized the ben-
H¿WVRIVKRSSLQJRQOLQHLQFOXGLQJFRQYHQLHQFH
broader selection, competitive pricing, and greater
access to critical business information (Chen et
al., 2004). Relationships and collaborations are
forged in e-business to enter new markets or en-
hance customer, supplier and business interactions
(Damanpour, 2001). On the other hand, customers’
involvement in online retailing is impeded by
security and privacy concerns, download time,
and other technology barriers, or unfamiliarity
(Chen et al., 2004). Furthermore, customers can
switch to other competitive URLs in seconds with
PLQLPDO¿QDQFLDOFRVW,QJVULVZDQJHWDO
which makes successful customer management
especially vital in e-business (Ace, 2002).
Figure 3 depicts the e-CRM perspective. As
LQGLFDWHGLQWKH¿JXUHWKHNH\VWRDFKLHYHFXV-
WRPHUSUR¿WDELOLW\DUHFXVWRPHUDFTXLVLWLRQDQG
customer retention, i.e., to continuously attract
newcomers and retain loyal customers. Achieving
customer satisfaction can turn newcomers into
loyal customers. Representative decision factors
in the e-CRM perspective, which have not been
covered previously, are highlighted in Figure 4.
The success or failure of a customer acquisition
campaign depends on precise, timely targeting that

delivers valuable offers to prospects and keeps
FRVWVORZ7KLVWDUJHWLQJFRXOGLQYROYH¿QGLQJ
previously untapped customers (for example, baby
diapers for new parents) or competitors’ custom-
ers (Berson, Smith, & Thearling, 1999). While
acquisition costs vary widely among various busi-
nesses, optimized targeting with proper customer
SUR¿OHUHVHDUFKDQGHPDUNHWLQJPL[VWUDWHJ\LV
consistently a top priority, as is e-service quality
and competitive status. E-service quality involves
network reliability and customer support (Dutta,
2001), while competition status represents the
company’s external relationship with the supplier,
availability of other distribution channels, entry
barriers, rivalry, and product substitutes (Kaplan
et al., 1992; Hasan et al., 2000).
The next step is to ensure customer satisfac-
tion with lead time, product quality, service
quality, and competitive pricing (Kaplan et al.,
1992). Lead time measures the time required
for the company to meet its customers’ needs,
VRPHWLPHUHIHUUHGWRDV³RUGHUWRGHOLYHU\F\FOH
time” (Brewer, 2002). Quality measures the de-
fect level of products as perceived and measured
by the customer. A product with high quality
and a high level of customization may increase
the degree of customers’ satisfaction (Fornell &
Johnson, 1996). E-service quality and price also
will greatly impact satisfaction.
+RZHYHUVDWLV¿HGFXVWRPHUVDUHQRWQHFHVVDU-

ily loyal customers (Gale, 1997). Loyal customers,
who repeat their purchases or visits persistently,
Figure 4. A generic value chain (Adapted from Lewis, 2001)
Inbound
Logistics
Operations
Outbound
Logistics
Marketing
& Sales
Customer
Service
Procurement, Human resources, Technology, Infrastructure
Customer needs
Identified
Customer
Needs Satisfied
1807
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are valuable business assets (Turban et al., 2004).
According to Reichheld and Schefter (2000),
e-loyalty is an economic necessity in the e-era.
The idea is to develop and maintain long-term
relationships with customers by creating superior
customer value and satisfaction (Ingsriswang et
al., 2001).
Goodwill, the favor or prestige that a business
has acquired beyond the mere value of what it
VHOOV 0HUULDP:HEVWHU RQOLQH  UHÀHFWV
the cumulative impact of marketing and customer

satisfaction (Anderson & Fornell, 1994; Jennings
& Robinson, 1996). Companies should determine
their and use their core competencies to target the
PDUNHW 6PLWK  &KDQQHO ÀH[LELOLW\ UHIHUV
to the convenience and availability of distribu-
tion channels besides the Internet. According to
Reichheld et al (2000), the seamless integration of
different channels can prove to be valuable. This
¿QGLQJKDVEHHQYHUL¿HGE\&KLDQJHWDO¶V
who determined that the e-channels could increase
WKHHEXVLQHVVFRPSDQLHV¶SUR¿WLQGLUHFWO\WKURXJK
retail channels.
All customers are not created equal. If the
FRPSDQ\FRXOGSURSHUO\PHDVXUHWKHSUR¿WDELOLW\
of its customers, it can implement corresponding
Figure 5. Process structure perspective for e-business strategy
Process integration
(synchronization)
(Park, 2003);
Process intelligence
(automation) (Kraev,
2003)
3-level e-services:
foundation of
service; customer-
oriented services;
value-added services
(Voss, 2000)
Process integration
(synchronization)

(Park, 2003);
Process intelligence
(automation) (Kraev,
2003)
Figure 6. E-knowledge networks characteristics (Adapted from Warkentin et al. 2001)

z

Knowledge oriented

z

Extensive sharing
z

Long-term alliance

z

Relies on leading-edge IT such as agents,

data mining etc.

z

Central to business model
z

New organizational forms enabled
z

Automated, Intelligent

E-Knowledge Networks

1808
EBBSC
margin strategies to achieve higher customer
DQG FRUSRUDWH SUR¿WDELOLW\3UR¿WDELOLW\ FDQ EH
measured at either the individual or segment level
by identifying the customers’ purchase to cost
margin. Costs uniquely traceable to customers
include customer transactional cost, customer
service and support cost, packaging, delivery, and
post sales costs. The ratios of the mix of customer
purchase margin to the customer serving cost are
thereby revealing when compared on an individual
customers basis, as well as by segment or channel
(Schoeniger, 2003).
Process Structure Perspective
(EXVLQHVVVKRXOGIHDWXUHVSHHGÀH[LELOLW\DQG
ÀXLGLW\VRPHWLPHVGHVFULEHGDVDJLOLW\,QWURQD
2001; Metes, Gundry, & Bradish, 1998). Existing
business processes must be seamlessly integrated
with the new, electronic form of interaction with
suppliers and customers. A generic value chain
is illustrated in Figure 4, which offers an abstract
description of the processes within any type of
business (including e-business). To be feasible
in e-business, the internal process view should

FRQVLGHU WKH ÀH[LELOLW\ DQG LQWHOOLJHQFH RI WKH
process structure (Hasan et al., 2000).
For e-businesses to operate successfully there
PXVWEHÀH[LELOLW\DQGVFDODELOLW\WRDFFRPPRGDWH
continuous process changes, readiness to provide
an up-to-the-minute and integrated view of the
product, process and equipment, and capability to
collect and store the results of historical and proac-
tive analysis for future process innovation. Such
process improvements can be achieved through
intelligence and integration of business models
and data with the Internet and with the systems of
the company’s trading partners. As summarized
LQ)LJXUHLPSURYHGHIIHFWLYHQHVVDQGHI¿FLHQF\
in these core business processes will lead to faster
cycle times, enhanced service quality, reduced
overhead, and more competitive offerings.
Different from the customer-perspective sales
cycle, the general cycle time measures the time
needed by the business to plan and stock (inbound
logistics), inventory and schedule (operations),
lead time (order-to-delivery time), and invoice
a particular product (outbound logistics). Ac-
cordingly, incremental costs are induced as the
cycle lengthens. Effective process integration and
intelligence can optimize this cycle, measurably
reduce inventories and help offer exactly the
products that the market demands at any given
time. Wherever there are manual and sporadic
Figure 7. E-knowledge network perspective of strategic e-business management

e-Knowledge repository, knowledge sharing network,
knowledge exchange and management (Warkentin,
Sugumaran & Bapna, 2001; Malhotra, 2002; Park & Park,
2003; Koh & Kim, 2004; Plessis & Boon, 2004)
1809
EBBSC
tasks in the product cycle, there are chances for
overhead costs, delays, and errors, all of which
can all contribute to longer cycle times.
In the EBBSC framework, process integration
LVDFRPSRVLWHYDULDEOHWKDWUHÀHFWVWKHGHJUHHRI
problem critical data, information and knowledge
sharing, and transmission across different depart-
ments and groups (from downstream to upstream
and inbound to outbound). Process integration also
incorporates the effectiveness of two or more iden-
tical (horizontal) or successive (vertical) stages
in producing or distributing a particular product.
Process intelligence represents the ability of the
business processes to perceive and act in the sur-
rounding environments, to respond appropriately
to the prevailing circumstances in a dynamic
business situation, to learn and to improve the
process with prior experiences.
As emphasized in the e-CRM perspective,
e-service is the glue that holds the e-business
process together (Tschohl, 2001). According to
Voss (2000), customer service generally involves
three levels of service and overall e-service qual-
ity can be estimated by incorporating the quality

indicators of the three levels of e-services.
 7KH ¿UVW OHYHO IRXQGDWLRQ RI VHUYLFH LQ
e-business, includes minimum necessary
services, such as site responsiveness (e.g.,
how quickly and accurately the service
is provided), site effectiveness (e.g., site
interface friendliness and freshness), and
RUGHUIXO¿OOPHQW7KHHEXVLQHVVFRPSDQLHV
should monitor network performance and
infrastructure to ensure basic customer
service.
• The second level, customer-oriented ser
-
vices, involve: (1) informational capabilities:
service and help information availability,
perceived ease and actual convenience of
¿QGLQJ WKH KHOSQHHGHG FXVWRPHU SUR¿OH
personalization, and interactive communi-
cation with service representatives, and (2)
transactional capabilities: site security and
S U LY D F\ R UG H U F R Q ¿ J X U D W LR Q F X V W RP L ] DW L RQ 
and tracking, complete support during the
ordering process and after the purchase
period.
• The last level, value-added services are extra
services, such as location sensitive selling
and billing or online training and education
that add value to overall service quality.
Some value-added services may stand alone
from an operational perspective, while oth-

ers add value to existing services. Overall,
value-added services provide operational
and administrative synergy between or
among other levels of services.
%HLQJDJLOHDQGÀH[LEOHWKHYLUWXDOSURFHVVRI
e-business replaces the traditional product inquiry
and physical clearinghouse process and provides
greater operating advantages that may lead to
reduced overhead. As the cycle time is shortened
through process integration and intelligence,
overhead will be reduced accordingly. Process
LQWHJUDWLRQDQGLQWHOOLJHQFHLVDVLJQL¿FDQWDGYDQ-
WDJHLQDFKLHYLQJHEXVLQHVVIRFXVDQGÀH[LELOLW\
because, in many instances, these capabilities can
UHSODFHWKHQHHGIRUDZHOOGH¿QHGRUJDQL]DWLRQDO
structure and often whole layers of staff.
E-Knowledge Network Perspective
Targets for success keep changing so that the
company must make continual improvements
to survive and succeed in the intensive global
competition (Kaplan et al., 2001). Organizations
operating in the new business environment
should be adept at creation and application of new
knowledge as well as ongoing renewal of exist-
ing knowledge archived in company databases
(Malhotra, 2000; Soliman et al., 2001).
(EXVLQHVVNQRZOHGJHRU³HNQRZOHGJH´
including knowledge about internal functions
and processes, about customers and markets, and
about strategic partners, can be created, shared,

and managed more effectively by a combination
1810
EBBSC
Table 5. Description of the measures & factors in the EBBSC framework
Factor (symbol) Explanation Factor (symbol) Explanation
3UR¿W3UR¿W
The difference between the
revenue and cost
Marketing-mix (M)
The company’s effort on
commercial processes involved
in promoting/selling
Revenue (R) Total income in a given period
Customer
Acquisition (CA)
The number of new customers
acquired in a given period
Cost (C)
The total expense (e.g. money,
time, and labor) incurred in a
given period
Customer
Satisfaction (CS)
Measure of determination that
a product meets a customer’s
expectations and needs
Price (P)
The amount of money needed to
purchase the product
Customer Retention

(CR)
Measure of customers revisit
to the site and repeat purchases
over a period of time
Purchases (PU)
The total quantity of product
actually sold to customers
Customer
3UR¿WDELOLW\&3
The ratio of the customer
serving costs to the mix of
customer purchase margin
Quantity Demanded
(QD)
The total quantity customers are
willing and able to purchase
6WDII3UR¿FLHQF\
(SP)
7KHHI¿FLHQF\RIWKHFRPSDQ\
staff in providing the product
and service
Quantity Supplied
(QS)
The total quantity the company
offers for a sale
E-service quality
(EQ)
Measure of the company’s e-
service quality
Variable Cost (VC)

The portion of cost that varies in
relation to the level of production
activity
Process Integration
(PIG)
The degree of the company’s
business process integration
Sales Cycle (SC)
The time between the point the
product is listed and the point the
product is sold
Process Intelligence
(PIL)
The ability of the company’s
business process to respond to
and improve its position in the
business environment
Cycle Time (CT)
Time that elapses in conducting
inbound operations, and outbound
logistics
Knowledge Network
(I¿FDF\.1(
The company’s investment
in knowledge transmission,
sharing, and innovation
Unit Cost (UC) The cost per product Capacity (CT)
The equipment, personnel,
and technology capacity of the
company

Fixed Cost (FC)
The portion of cost that is
independent of the number of
products produced/sold
Goodwill (G)
The company’s accumulative
prestige and perceived value in
the market
Product (PD)
Measure of the product quality,
positioning, and Internet branding
etc.
Competition (CO)
Measure of the rivalry between
the company and other
businesses in the market
Presentation
The selection of product
presentation and distribution
formats
Channel Flexibility
(CF)
The convenience and
availability of distribution
channels besides the Internet
Promotion (PM)
The company’s expenditures on
product promotion
Supply Chain
(I¿FDF\6&(

The effectiveness of the
company in managing
relationships with its suppliers
3UR¿OH3)
The target customers’ average
disposable income, needs or
preferences index
6WDII4XDOL¿FDWLRQ
(SQ)
General rating of the company’s
staff skill level
Distribution Effort
(DE)
The company’s effort on
distribution channel
Staff Training (ST)
The company’s investment in
staff training
1811
EBBSC
of new organizational designs and the adoption
of new technologies, such as data mining and
intelligent agents. Organizations are now creating
knowledge networks to facilitate improved com-
munication of data, information, and knowledge,
while improving coordination, decision making,
DQGSODQQLQJEDVHGRQWKH,QWHUQHWGULYHQ³QHZ
economy” technologies that were unavailable
until recently (Warkentin, Sugumaran, & Bapna,
2001).

Figure 6 highlights some of the characteristics
of e-knowledge networks.
This enhanced e-knowledge innovation and
PDQDJHPHQWZLOOOHDGWRJUHDWHUEDFNRI¿FHHI-
¿FLHQF\ÀH[LEOHDGDSWDWLRQWRPDUNHWFKDQJHV
greater customer intimacy, improved strategic
planning, improved decision making, rapid and
ÀH[LEOHUHODWLRQVKLSPDQDJHPHQWSURFHVVHVDQG
RWKHURUJDQL]DWLRQDOEHQH¿WV7KHUHDUHDGGLWLRQDO
LPSOLFDWLRQVRIVWDIISUR¿FLHQF\SURFHVVLQWHJUD-
tion, and process intelligence, as summarized in
Figure 7.
6SHFL¿F PDQDJHU SUR¿FLHQF\ DQG HPSOR\HH
skills are required to operate in the new competi-
tive e-business environment. E-business managers
are responsible for identifying the major factors
involved in their business strategy, specifying the
relationships between the factors, and generating
long-term and short-term strategic e-business
plans that will improve overall organizational
Figure 8. An overview of the EBBSC framework
Demand
Good
will

Organization
hierarchy

Lead time
Inbound

Operations

Outbound
Staff Training

& Qualification
Knowledge

network efficacy

Supply

Chain
Efficac
y

Distribution Efforts
Presentation

Promotion

Product
Competition

Profile
Channel
Flexibili
Capacity

Supply

Unit

Cost


Purchases


Price

Fixed Cost Variable Cost

1812
EBBSC
performance. Similarly, employees should be
SURYLGHGZLWKSDUWLFXODUVNLOOVDQGSUR¿FLHQFLHV
across different departments. For instance, cus-
tomer service team is capable of assisting custom-
ers throughout their online purchase process in a
timely and friendly manner to ensure customer
satisfaction and retention. A technical support
team is in charge of ensuring that the site runs
properly and securely under all circumstances.
The e-knowledge network offers a repository
where new knowledge is created and collected,
while existing knowledge, archived in data ware-
houses, is renewed and updated. Management
and operational judgment, knowledge, and ex-
periences are shared and managed to facilitate
improved communication, coordination, deci-

sion making, and planning. Staff training can be
utilized to improve employee skills and maintain
currency with the technology shift.
Process integration enables a company to
unify every aspect of its back-end infrastructure
and increase responsiveness to inventory levels,
customer demands, and delivery schedules by
integrating disparate business processes, not only
within an enterprise, but also across organizational
boundaries. To achieve process integration in e-
business, the communication infrastructure must
be designed for a mission-critical environment,
scalable to increasing numbers of transactions and
trading partners, and robust enough to integrate
with the core business applications. E-knowledge
innovation and management facilitates the inte-
gration process by creating e-knowledge networks
that are characterized by automated exchange of
rich knowledge by unattended computer systems,
programmed to capture and evaluate knowledge
with data mining algorithms, share it with strategic
allies, and direct the operation of key interactive
processes. Through e-knowledge networking,
internal business data can be retrieved and shared
across different departments and groups, and
problem critical information and knowledge can
be transmitted, integrated and processed from
downstream to upstream as well as inbound to
outbound.
7KHÀDWWHQLQJRIWKHRUJDQL]DWLRQDOKLHUDUFK\

also contributes to process integration, which
OHDGVWRKLJKHUSURFHVVHI¿FLHQF\YLVLELOLW\DQG
transparency. In contrast, traditional organiza-
tion structures are hierarchical and function-
ally oriented (Chen & Ching, 2002). As a result,
LQIRUPDWLRQLV¿OWHUHGDQGPRGL¿HGDVLWPDNHV
its way through different levels of management.
Enabled by e-business capabilities, companies
ZLWK D ÀDWWHQHG RUJDQL]DWLRQDO KLHUDUFK\ KDYH
WKH EXLOWLQ ÀH[LELOLW\ WR PRYH VZLIWO\ WRZDUG
capturing new opportunities, react quickly to
shifts in the environment, and respond promptly
to the customers needs.
Process intelligence facilitates matches
between the company’s offering and target cus-
tomers, competitors, and the current business
by automating the decision and action processes
and initiating real time analytics of sales and

Decisio -
Process

Outcome

T
T


EBBSC Strategy Evaluation

Model

Strate
gy

Makin
g

Efficienc
y

Process Intelligence


(PIL)

E-service Quality


(EQ)

Process Integration

(PIG)


C
y
cle Time

(
CT
)


Lead

Time

(
LT
)


Sales C
y
cle
(
SC
)

Organization

Performance

Customer Relationship

Profit Maximization

Cost Reduction

(
C
)

Revenue Increase (R)
Customer Ac
q
uisition

(
CA
)

Customer Satisfaction (CS)

Customer Retention (CR)

Strategy

Making Effectiveness


Customer Profitability (CP)

Figure 9. EBBSC strategy evaluation model
1813
EBBSC
HVHUYLFHVDVZHOODVEXVLQHVVQRWL¿FDWLRQDQG
alerting (Park & Park, 2003). Such effort requires
a wide range of process steps to be understood

and represented, not only within an organization,
but communicated to trading partners.
An e-knowledge network generates and stores
immediate (real-time) knowledge about internal
functions and processes, about customers and
markets, about strategic partners, and about sup-
ply chain partners (suppliers, vendors, dealers,
and distributors). Using the knowledge reposi-
tory, the company can create new internal and
external structures and relationships, which leads
to further knowledge and continuous strategy
improvements. Intelligent technology, which en-
ables communication with trading partners across
different platforms, can help represent, implement
and track external business processes (contact
agents of other companies, request information
on merchandise/suppliers, and negotiate with
them about purchase conditions) in a dynamic
DQGÀH[LEOHZD\3DUNHWDO
EBBSC SUMMARY AND
ILLUSTRATION
Using the EBBSC components, we can develop
the major measures and factors involved in the
EBBSC framework. These measures and fac-
WRUVZKLFKKDYHEHHQLGHQWL¿HGLQHDFK(%%6&
perspective, are summarized in Table 5.
The major measures (Square) and the corre-
sponding decision factors (Oval) and relationships
$UURZ/LQHVVSHFL¿HGLQWKH(%%6&IUDPHZRUN
are illustrated in Figure 8. This framework also

forms the basis for specifying a precise and ex-
plicit functional model for strategic e-business
management. At the conceptual level, it offers
the e-business manager a big-picture perspective
that is critical in generating effective e-business
strategies. Aided by this framework, e-business
companies can identify the major factors regard-
ing the four e-business perspectives and specify
the direct and indirect relationships among the
various factors.
As an illustration, consider an e-business
that seeks to acquire more customers in the next
SODQQLQJSHULRG7KHPDQDJHU¿UVWZLOOORFDWHWKH
strategic measure of new customer acquisition in
the framework and identify the relevant decision
factors. As the EBBSC framework indicates, these
IDFWRUVLQFOXGHWKHFXVWRPHUSUR¿OHFRPSHWLWLRQ
the marketing mix, and e-service quality. Next,
the manager can formulate a tentative strategy
plan. In this case, the framework suggests that
the company needs critical data and information
regarding the prospective customer population
and the competitors. Based on the collected in-
IRUPDWLRQPDQDJHPHQWPXVWGHFLGHRQDVSHFL¿F
marketing mix and e-service solution. Starting
from the market mix or e-service quality compo-
nents, the EBBSC framework suggests the steps
to create the mix and quality plan. Having the
priority of the strategic objective at each stage,
the manager can plan and allocate the available

budgets and resources more effectively to achieve
these objectives.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In this study, we have developed a balanced score-
card-based framework for strategic e-business
management, which contributes to both theory
and practice. From a theoretical standpoint, the
balanced scorecard adaptation offers an innovative
methodology to formulate and evaluate e-business
strategy. The EBBSC framework also indicates
that e-business strategy making will involve
multiple decision criteria. Using this framework,
the decision maker can establish an evaluation
model for strategic e-business decision support.
Figure 9, for example, shows such a multi-criteria
e-business strategy evaluation model utilizing the
VWUDWHJLFPHDVXUHVVSHFL¿HGLQWKH(%%6&IUDPH-
work. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process
(AHP) concept (Forgionne, 1999), this EBBSC