Efficiency and effectiveness considerations in determining strategic and operational paths to ebusiness enablement

Abstract

Shareholder, competitor and consumer pressures have motivated organisations to embrace various aspects of electronic business for the purposes of efficiency and effectiveness. The complex and rapidly changing montage of emerging and converging technologies, which together make up ebusiness capability at any point in time, inhibit the crystallisation of a clear model for managers to use. As electronic connections between customers and suppliers increase in frequency and complexity, research in this area is becoming increasingly important in an effort to better understand the impact electronic networks have on buyer–seller relationships and business networks. This paper examines recent exploratory research carried out with senior managers in the Australian telecommunications and banking industries in an effort to better understand perceptions of the impact of ebusiness developments on the effectiveness and efficiency of those industries and organisations at a point in time. Research findings are used as a basis for developing prescriptive guidelines. These guidelines take the form of a matrix, which is intended to guide the efforts for developing ebusiness capability according to strategic or operational initiatives.