Title: The next step for e-business among mature and established companies: a focus on revenue and differentiation instead of costs

Authors: Daniel Kindstrom, Staffan Brege

Addresses: Department of Management and Engineering, Linkoping University, 581 83 Linkoping, Sweden. ' Department of Management and Engineering, Linkoping University, 581 83 Linkoping, Sweden

Abstract: For brick and mortar companies, e-business has primarily been used to lower transaction costs. Reasons for this are the relatively low risks involved, the rather unsophisticated understanding of the technology among top management, and that cost reductions provide an easy and measurable return on investment. Today, however, there is a clear trend that shows that brick and mortar companies are using e-business not only to enable growth through extended and refined offerings but also to expand their markets. Based on a study of two industrial brick and mortar companies this paper explores possible avenues for companies to extend their offerings and market by using e-business.

Keywords: e-business; industrial offerings; revenue; value creation; differentiation; electronic business; mature companies; established companies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2008.021182

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2008 Vol.6 No.5, pp.462 - 475

Published online: 09 Nov 2008 *

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