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Abstract
Purpose - This work aims to develop a process model for the migration of the traditional firm to an appropriate e-business strategy and architecture.
Design/methodology/approach - The work is based on a range of published works and professional experience, combining narrative with analysis.
Findings - This complex model addresses the multiplicity of factors that must be included in effective e-business migration. The model addresses technology, business processes, strategy and the consequent organizational change.
Originality/value - Focuses on a model that can serve as a basis for dispelling a number of myths reflected in current e-business migration and implementation efforts.
Keywords Electronic commerce, Organizational change
Paper type General review
Introduction
Much, if not most, attention, in both the literature related to the "digital economy" and in the activities of those within the consulting community working on internet applications for business, has been addressed to electronic commerce in its more traditional definition as "focused around individual business transactions that use the net as medium of exchange, including business to business as well as business to consumer" (Hartman and Sifonis, 2000, p. xviii). Indeed, most of the above have primarily addressed e-commerce for new startups and for traditional firms moving toward integrating some form of electronic marketing and sales, purchasing, or customer service with their current businesses.
Though there is significant semantic muddying of the terminology, a broader conception of the potential impact of the internet on business has generally been labeled e-business. Wigand (1997, p. 5) has defined e-business as ". . .[t]he seamless application of information and communication technology from its point of origin to its end point along the entire value-chain of business processes. . .conducted electronically and designed to enable the accomplishment of a business goal". Generally, it refers to the utilization of internet information technology (IT) throughout the business and industry value chains (Gloor, 2000). While e-commerce is clearly one of its components, less attention has been paid to this broader conception until fairly recently.
Most businesses are not "dot-com" startups and many are not concerned only with electronic markets. The majority of firms are traditional businesses, rather than either internet-centered startups or firms concerned only with electronic markets. They must grapple with finding a new architecture to remain competitive in...