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Article
An electronic commerce strategic typology: Insights from case studies.
USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
  • Grover S. Kearns
SelectedWorks Author Profiles:

Grover S. Kearns

Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2005
Disciplines
Abstract

Growth in electronic commerce (EC) continues to exceed growth rates in traditional markets and continues to offer new and different opportunities than traditional businesses. Its failures, however, suggest that many firms are not following successful strategies and have failed to align their EC strategies with business strategies. Observing practices at 12 companies provided insight into the impact of EC alignment on organizational profitability. A framework for its strategy types, derived from the Miles and Snow typology, was found to be useful in examining the strategic practices of the companies and results were generally consistent with the ideal profiles. Data suggested that companies with medium to high alignment exhibited higher planning formality and were more profitable. Analyzers displayed the highest alignment and online commitment. Both analyzers and prospectors had high profitability but prospectors displayed low alignment. Reactors exhibited the lowest alignment and were the least profitable.

Comments
Abstract only. Full-text article is available only through licensed access provided by the publisher. Published in Information & Management, 42(7), 1023-1036. DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2004.11.006 Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.
Language
en_US
Publisher
Elsevier
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Citation Information
Kearns, G. S. (2005). An electronic commerce strategic typology: Insights from case studies. Information & Management, 42(7), 1023-1036. DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2004.11.006