[8] 2002 e-business-strategies-for-virtual-organizations

e-Business Strategies for Virtual Organizations
� Invest in diversity.
� Value strategies as if they were options.
� Categorize the mix of strategies.
� Stress-test strategies.
� Bring the market inside.
� Use venture capital performance metrics.
Successful adaptation also implies coevolution between the
organization and the strategy model. Not only must strategy
models be adapted to fit the unique characteristics of an
organization but also organizations need to evolve to benefit
from the lessons incorporated into the strategic model and so
both the organization and model continually change. These
change factors cannot be solely measured on financial data but
require an integrated view of organizational innovation and
change. One of the most commonly adopted approaches to this
coevolutionary process in recent years has been the application
of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a strategic management and
performance evaluation system. Before examining the application
of the BSC we will look at some of the opportunities and
threats presented by e-business and the limitations of typical
measurement tools.
8.3 e-business: opportunities and threats
170
Traditionally – in our terms over the past 20 years! – the
emerging e-business economic environment has been created by
a strong technology push. This has seen the rise of channels of
electronic communication between businesses, government
departments, and individuals on an unprecedented scale. This
digitization of ordering, reporting and product information has
created opportunities for major change, if the business implications
are grasped and properly managed.
The value of products is rising, often directly as a result of the
increasing use of information; the digitized capture of information
regarding electronically based transactions allows for ever
more sophisticated customization of products by smart information
management. There is posited the goal of mass customization:
the tailoring of a product specifically for an individual
consumer, based on his or her needs. The key to this is the ability
to customer preferences and behaviour compactly and efficiently.
This information is relayed to a flexible manufacturing
process allied to a responsive network of suppliers or other
intermediaries.