Questions and Answers of Introduction E-Business Management

What barriers would a new e-business face when trying to gain a competitive advantage in the online auction industry?
What factors determine a ‘winner-takes-all’ market?
What are the main advantages that ‘bricks and clicks’ organisations have over internet ‘pure plays’?
Outline some examples of how an e-business can differentiate its product or service.
What are first-mover advantages? Choose a leading e-business and identify its first-mover advantages.
Choose an example of an e-business website and critically assess its effectiveness using a range of evaluation criteria. Compile and use a ratings metric for measuring effectiveness.
What are the key criteria that firms must take account of when rolling out new technology?
Find an annual report of an internet-based firm and undertake a financial analysis of the firm using financial ratios. Comment on the financial health of the firm.
Summarise the main elements that comprise feedback control.
What practical measures can managers take to implement change management?
What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with a network organisation?
Choose an example of an e-business and, using the factors that determine organisational culture as a guide, determine the dominant culture within the organisation.
What measures can managers take to enhance organisational learning?
Find examples of e-businesses who have adopted a generic strategy based on:a) Differentiation;b) Cost leadership;c) A narrow-based differentiation focus;d) A broad-based cost leadership focus.
Undertake a five forces analysis of the online food retailing industry.
Explain the key differences between the virtual value chain and a physical value chain. How can firms exploit the virtual value chain to gain a competitive advantage?
Highlight the key components of a formal strategic process.
Choose an e-business and identify the key elements of its mission statement.
Choose an organisation that is engaged in e-business and undertake a risk assessment analysis using the key elements of a risk assessment framework.
How has the development of ICT changed the skills required by managers of e-businesses?
Identify and discuss the critical success factors for implementing a CRM system.
Outline three types of breaches of internet security and discuss the problems they can pose for e-businesses.
How can technology help to build trust and confidence in e-business and e-commerce?
How do privacy seals work? How effective are they in bolstering the trust of online consumers?
How can firms protect their investment in developing new information driven products to be sold online?
Explain how the marketing function of an organisation can benefit from using a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
How can interactive television improve customer service as a medium for e-commerce?
Choose an internet-based firm and:(i) Undertake a profile of their customer base using demand analysis;(ii) Undertake a profile of their marketing mix;(iii) Identify the values that underpin the
Highlight the differences between traditional marketing and e-marketing.
What are the main benefits of using the internet for marketing purposes?
Why do firms price discriminate? Give examples of price discrimination.
What methods can firms use to create switching costs and ‘lock-in’ customers to their website?
Using an example, describe network externalities and explain the phenomenon of Metcalfe’s Law.
What are transaction costs and how does the use of the internet lower transaction costs for e-businesses?
Explain how the internet pushes the competitive environment further towards the perfectly competitive model.
What are the key attributes of mobile wireless internet devices that add value to users beyond those offered by fixed internet connections?
Find an example of a firm that operates in the B2C market. Identify the characteristics of the firm’s e-business model.
Using examples, identify the main value-adding characteristics of the internet for e-business.
Explain how e-marketplaces work and discuss the advantages that they provide for participants.
What are the main barriers to the adoption of an industry standard for internet systems?
How can interactive television add value to customers?
Identify the main attributes of XML.
What advantages does broadband access have for e-businesses?
What are the main technologies that have contributed to the growth and commercialisation of the internet?