On the Origin of Strategy: Action and Cognition over Time

2007 | Organization Science | Citations: 28

Authors: Gavetti, Giovanni; Rivkin, Jan W.

Abstract: We develop a perspective on how managers search for a strategy. In the spirit of ... Expand

Abstract: We develop a perspective on how managers search for a strategy. In the spirit of Cyert and March (1963), we aim for a perspective that reflects the reality of managerial behavior, that respects both the reasoning power of managers and the bounds on their rationality, and that permits organizations to change but within realistic limits. Our perspective employs the variable time to frame the question of strategy's origins in a distinctive way. Over time, the cognitive and physical elements that make up a strategy become less plastic, while mechanisms to search rationally for a strategy become more available. This generates a fundamental tension in the origin of strategy: Managers struggle to understand their environment well enough to search rationally for an effective strategy before their firms lose the plasticity necessary to exploit that understanding. A focus on time allows us to synthesize and extend the evolutionary and positioning models of strategic search. Toward this end, we couple induction and deduction. The inductive part of the paper uses detailed observation of the search for a strategy at one firm to identify constructs that play a crucial role in strategic search. The deductive part steps beyond our focal firm and uses these constructs to derive theoretical propositions about the typical path of strategic search and the mortality associated with different approaches to search. Collapse

Topics: Lycos organization structure internet technology social influence decision making

Methods: qualitative interview theory development synthesis case study longitudinal research

Theories: theory of case-based reasoning decision theory

Improving the quality of online presence through interactivity

2004 | Information & Management | Citations: 18

Authors: Chen, Kuanchin; Yen, David C.

Abstract: Online interactivity is becoming a valuable way of improving the communication q ... Expand

Abstract: Online interactivity is becoming a valuable way of improving the communication quality of business web sites. As a result, it is important that web site designers understand the concept and how it affects the quality of web site design. This study empirically validated Ha and James’ five interactivity dimensions (playfulness, connectedness, reciprocal communication, information collection, and choice) and their relationship to design quality. The findings suggested that the playfulness, connectedness, and reciprocal communication dimensions are important predictors of web site quality. While information collection tools are powerful for web engineering and user tracking, the companies surveyed here had not fully used the promising potential of such tools. The choice dimension, although it offered flexibility and customizability to users, was not significant in predicting web site quality. The results underscored the viability of interactivity dimensions in the online environment. Collapse

Topics: website logistics management website design Lycos web application

Methods: regression analysis method logistic regression ANOVA parametric test linear regression analysis

The Market Structure for Internet Search Engines

2004 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 7

Authors: Telang, Rahul; Rajan, Uday; Mukhopadhyay, Tridas

Abstract: The Internet search engine market has seen a proliferation of entrants over the ... Expand

Abstract: The Internet search engine market has seen a proliferation of entrants over the past few years. Whereas Yahoo was the early market leader, there has been entry by both lower-quality engines and higher-quality ones (such as Google). Prior work on quality differentiation requires that low-quality products have low prices in order to survive in a market with high-quality products. However, the price charged to users of search engines is typically zero. Therefore, consumers do not face a tradeoff between quality and price. Why do lower-quality products survive in such a market? We develop a vertical differentiation model that explains this phenomenon. The quality of the results provided by a search engine is inherently stochastic, and there is no charge for using an engine. Therefore, users who try out one engine may consult a lower-quality engine in the same session. This "residual demand" allows lower-quality products to survive in equilibrium. We then extend our model to incorporate horizontal differentiation as well and show that residual demand leads to higher quality and less differentiation in this market. Engines want to attract competitors' customers and therefore have a strong incentive to be "similar" to each other. Collapse

Topics: horizontal differentiation search engine vertical differentiation advertising management Google+

CI Spider: a tool for competitive intelligence on the Web

2002 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 13

Authors: Chen, Hsinchun; Chau, Michael; Zeng, Daniel

Abstract: Competitive Intelligence (CI) aims to monitor a firm's external environment for ... Expand

Abstract: Competitive Intelligence (CI) aims to monitor a firm's external environment for information relevant to its decision-making process. As an excellent information source, the Internet provides significant opportunities for CI professionals as well as the problem of information overload. Internet search engines have been widely used to facilitate information search on the Internet. However, many problems hinder their effective use in CI research. In this paper, we introduce the Competitive Intelligence Spider, or CI Spider, designed to address some of the problems associated with using Internet search engines in the context of competitive intelligence. CI Spider performs real-time collection of Web pages from sites specified by the user and applies indexing and categorization analysis on the documents collected, thus providing the user with an up-to-date, comprehensive view of the Web sites of user interest. In this paper, we report on the design of the CI Spider system and on a user study of CI Spider, which compares CI Spider with two other alternative focused information gathering methods: Lycos search constrained by Internet domain, and manual within-site browsing and searching. Our study indicates that CI Spider has better precision and recall rate than Lycos. CI Spider also outperforms both Lycos and within-site browsing and searching with respect to ease of use. We conclude that there exists strong evidence in support of the potentially significant value of applying the CI Spider approach in CI applications. Collapse

Topics: Lycos website internet technology search engine competitive intelligence

Methods: experiment machine learning Student's t-test survey parametric test

Determinants of Brand Equity in E-Businesses: An Exploratory Study

2002 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Gwee, Yah-Ting; Hui, Kai-Lung; Chau, Patrick

Abstract: Previous research suggests that brand equity is affected by marketing mix elemen ... Expand

Abstract: Previous research suggests that brand equity is affected by marketing mix elements, such as store image or distribution intensity. However, because the Internet has no boundaries, some of these elements may not be applicable in building the brand equity of online companies. In this study, we identify factors pertaining to online contexts that may affect consumers’ perception on quality and brand knowledge, both of which are found to be important determinants of brand equity. By performing confirmatory factor analyses on a set of survey data, we show that having a high quality Website and innovative products and technologies may help reinforce consumers’ perceived quality. However, popular online marketing instruments, such as offering value-added services and features or advertising, may not contribute much to the formation of online firms’ brand equity. Collapse

Topics: electronic business internet technology website electronic mail search engine

Methods: survey structural equation modeling survival analysis confirmatory factor analysis descriptive statistic

Retailer Web Site Influence On Customer Shopping: Exploratory Study on Key Factors of Customer Satisfaction

2002 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Shim, J.P.; Shin, Yong B.; Nottingham, Linda

Abstract: The Internet/World Wide Web (Web) is a critical medium for the sharing of busin ... Expand

Abstract: The Internet/World Wide Web (Web) is a critical medium for the sharing of business information between retail firms and their customers (business-to-customer or B2C). Although electronic commerce (e-commerce) has received considerable research attention, little research has examined the effect of e-commerce's Web presentations on retail customer shopping experiences. This twophase study explored customer reactions to Web retailers' presentations of their products/services, attempting to identify Web-site characteristics that contribute to customer satisfaction arising from the Web-based shopping experience. Findings from use of the qualitative method of existential phenomenology were explored further with quantitative analyses including logistic regression. Findings suggest that two key elements in "positive" retail Web sites are convenience of site use and simplicity of site design for the customer's access to information about product/service characteristics and customer-service policies. Collapse

Topics: customer service website internet technology Lycos electronic commerce

Methods: qualitative interview logistic regression phenomenological method personal interview regression analysis method

Enhancing Visibility of Business Web Sites: A Study of Cyber-Interactivity

2001 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Chen, Kuanchin; Sockel, Hy

Abstract: Cyber-interactivity is becoming a strategic tool to improve the quality of web s ... Expand

Abstract: Cyber-interactivity is becoming a strategic tool to improve the quality of web sites. A quality business web site should not only show professionalism but also meet user’s communication needs. This study investigates five dimensions of cyber-interactivity and their relationships with site popularity. Findings suggest that playfulness and reciprocal communication are the most salient predictors for site popularity. Implications and suggestions were drawn upon the results. Collapse

Topics: web application website logistics management Lycos

Methods: regression analysis method logistic regression linear regression analysis multiple regression goodness of fit statistical test

Web Marketing Tourism Destinations

2000 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Rita, Paulo

Abstract: ... Expand

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Topics: search engine Lycos web application website

An intelligent personal spider (agent) for dynamic Internet/Intranet searching

1998 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Hsinchun, Chen; Yi-Ming, Chung; Ramsey, Marshall; Yang, Christopher C.

Abstract: As Internet services based on the World-Wide Web become more popular, informatio ... Expand

Abstract: As Internet services based on the World-Wide Web become more popular, information overload has become a pressing research problem. Difficulties with search on Internet will worsen as the amount of on-line information increases. A scalable approach to Internet search is critical to the success of Internet services and other current and future National Information Infrastructure (NII) applications. As part of the ongoing Illinois Digital Library Initiative project, this research proposes an intelligent personal spider (agent) approach to Internet searching. The approach, which is grounded on automatic textual analysis and general-purpose search algorithms, is expected to be an improvement over the current static and inefficient Internet searches. In this experiment, we implemented Internet personal spiders based on best first search and genetic algorithm techniques. These personal spiders can dynamically take a user's selected starting homepages and search for the most closely related homepages in the web, based on the links and keyword indexing. A plain, static CGI/HTML-based interface was developed earlier, followed by a recent enhancement of a graphical, dynamic Java-based interface. Preliminary evaluation results and two working prototypes (available for Web access) are presented. Although the examples and evaluations presented are mainly based on Internet applications, the applicability of the proposed techniques to the potentially more rewarding Intranet applications should be obvious. In particular, we believe the proposed agent design can be used to locate organization-wide information, to gather new, time-critical organizational information, and to support team-building and communication in Intranets. Collapse

Topics: internet technology Java intranet database system search engine

Methods: computational algorithm experiment design artifact classification method

Efficient Selection of Suppliers over the Internet

1997 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 7

Authors: Barua, Anitesh; Ravindran, Sury; Whinston, Andrew B.

Abstract: The Internet has become increasingly important to organizations for certain aspe ... Expand

Abstract: The Internet has become increasingly important to organizations for certain aspects of electronic commerce. Many organizations have set up Web pages to capture the attention of potential buyers and to develop new business relationships. Others have set up indexing services to provide easy search capabilities to prospective buyers. While the unit search and communication costs have been lowered dramatically by the Internet, the cost of evaluating potential suppliers may still be prohibitive, especially for certain types of products and services. Thus, although the Internet makes it possible to locate a large number of new suppliers, an organizational buyer needs to deploy appropriate supplier-selection strategies (such as sequential evaluation with stopping rules versus bidding systems) that consider all cost elements involved in choosing a vendor. We develop an analytical model that allows a buyer to maximize payoff (net of supplier search, communication, and evaluation costs) from the selection process. We analyze how the nature of the product and the buyer's expectations about supplier characteristics determine whether a sequential evaluation or bidding should be used in the selection process. The Internet, when used in conjunction with the proposed strategies, results in a lower total expected cost to the buyer, even though more suppliers are being evaluated, because a better supplier is selected. We describe how intelligent database searching can further increase the efficiency of the proposed selection strategies. We also develop a minimum requirements announcement mechanism, which makes supplier selection through a bidding strategy economically feasible in situations where legal restrictions may bar the use of sequential evaluation. Collapse

Topics: search engine electronic market anonymity backup willingness to pay

Methods: survey descriptive statistic

Theories: transaction cost economics utility theory