Article Abstract

	Title:	E-measurement: an integrated methodology for measuring the performance of e-services
	Author:	Christoph Auer, Otto Petrovic
	Address:	University of Graz, evolaris eBusiness Competence Center, Hugo-Wolf-Gasse 8a, 8010 Graz, Austria. ' University of Graz, evolaris eBusiness Competence Center, Hugo-Wolf-Gasse 8a, 8010 Graz, Austria
	Journal:	International Journal of Electronic Business 2004 - Vol. 2, No.6  pp. 583 - 602
	Abstract:	Today, more than ever, there is a need for a holistic approach to measure the performance of e-services taking the provider's and the user's benefits and costs into account. Such a multi-perspective performance measurement approach for e-services in the utility sector is presented in this paper. First, in order to select a suitable methodology, the relevant prerequisites were defined together with six European energy providers. As none of the reviewed concepts supported all requirements, a concept involving three generic phases was evolved. In order to consider the aspects of the user's benefits sufficiently, the User Process Integration (Phase 1 of the concept) enables companies to analyse the user's processes by identifying the generated user benefits and costs. The E-Service Scorecard (Phase 2) allows companies to take a holistic view of the benefits and costs of e-services from a provider's perspective. Finally, in Phase 3 – Investment Simulation and Controlling – various investment and market scenarios can be simulated and the effects on the e-service's benefits and costs can be analysed. This methodology has been developed during four case studies involving different energy suppliers. The importance of the ''trust'' factor and the applicability of the proposed methodology are findings from these case studies.
	Keywords:	e-services; performance measurement; user integration; balanced scorecard; financial controlling; investment decision support; customer process analysis; trust; electronic services; e-service scorecard; simulation; e-service benefits; e-service costs; energy suppliers.
	DOI:	10.1504/IJEB.2004.006127
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