Today¿s most successful companies never sit still. Even as they introduce their newest e-business initiatives, their next generation of improvements is already near completion. Traditional organizations¿especially larger, low-tech businesses¿must reinvent themselves if they are to hold their positions against these new business competitors. The Seven Steps to Nirvana leads managers through the systematic stages needed to transform traditional businesses¿regardless of their industries¿into fierce competitors. Combining hard-hitting analyses with case studies of businesses that made the transition, this concrete, practical tour de force opens readers¿ minds to: Essential differences between e-commerce and e-business The evolutionary stages of e-business intervention Strategies to overcome inertia and organize for speed Written by one of BusinessWeek's 25 most influential e-business innovators, The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a trove of innovative techniques for brick-and-mortar businesses to meet--and overcome--the challenges of today's faster, nimbler e-upstarts.

Managing (e)Business Transformation comprises text and cases designed to show students how a business can be transformed into an internetworked enterprise where IT infrastructures are used to link customers, suppliers, partners and employees to create superior economic value. The book is written based on the premise that integrating internet technologies throughout the value chain is crucial to building and managing customer relationships. Importantly, it underscores the centrality of basic business and economic principles within the context of a networked environment. The book builds on established business and economic theories, concepts and fundamentals to show that 'e-business' will soon be synonymous with 'business'. The book takes a strong managerial perspective, especially popular with MBA students, to argue that the internet is simply an enabling technology, which allows firms to build the infrastructure needed to operate in an evolving business world. The application of theory/concepts is emphasized throughout and contains a range of international case studies enhance the learning experience. This book is a must for all students studying e-business strategy at undergraduate, MBA and postgraduate level. Also available is a companion website with extra features to accompany the text, please take a look by clicking below - http://www.palgrave.com/business/farhoomand/index.asp

Could information and communication technology (ICT) become the transformative tool for a new style of global development? Could ICT promote knowledge-based, innovation-driven, and smart, adaptive, participatory development? As countries seek a way out of the present period of economic contraction, they are trying to weave ICT into their development strategies, in the same way organizations have learned to use ICT to transform their business models and strategies. This integration offers a new path to development that is responsive to the challenges of our times. In e-Transformation, Nagy Hanna identifies the key ingredients for the strategic integration of ICT into national development, with examples from around the world. He draws on his rich experience of over 35 years at the World Bank and other aid agencies to outline the strategic options involved in using ICT to maximize developmental impact—transforming public service institutions, networking businesses for innovation and competitiveness, and empowering communities for social inclusion and poverty reduction. He identifies the key interdependencies in e-transformation and offers a holistic framework to tap network effects and synergies across all elements of the process, including leadership, cyber policies, institutions, human resources, technological competencies, information infrastructure, and ICT uses for government, business, and society. Integrating analytical insights and practical applications across the fields of development, political economy, public administration, entrepreneurship, and technology management, the author candidly argues that e-transformation, like all bold ideas, faces implementation challenges. In particular, the aspiration-reality gap needs to be systematically addressed if ICT-enabled innovation and transformation is to become a development practice. E-transformation is first and foremost about thinking strategically and creatively about the options made possible by the information technology revolution in the context of globalization. To this end, the author provides tools and best practices designed to nurture innovation, select entry points, prioritize among competing demands, and sequence and scale up. He outlines the roles of all participants—political, managerial, entrepreneurial, social and technical—whose leadership is essential for successful innovation.

This module of the handbook presents e-Business Models and Applications. Topics include e-Business evolution into Next Generation Real-time Enterprises, strategic issues, the role of eMarkets, ERPs, CRMs, ASPs, eProcurement, supply chains, portals, mobile applications, data warehouses and data mining to address strategic issues, and a planning methodology.

Since the much-hyped dot.com crash, treading the e-business path can be daunting. In these increasingly uncertain and cynical times, this useful text unpicks the challenges of e-Marketing for many types of business. It uses topical case studies and accompanying web material to provide an up-to-date study of effective marketing strategies. Topics in

As China continues to implement its commitments agreed upon with membership into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the environment for multinational corporations is changing rapidly. This book examines some of the changes WTO accession is bringing to the market environment and different sectors of the economy, and the resulting challenges and opportunities for companies doing business in China. The book draws on extensive field research with Chinese corporate executives, government officials, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations. Based on the findings from these interviews, the authors provide insights and strategies for companies seeking to establish a sustainable competitive advantage in the country's evolving marketplace.

Fully updated to reflect the latest developments in e-marketing, this useful text unpicks the challenges of e-marketing for many types of business. It uses topical case studies and accompanying web material to provide an up-to-date study of effective marketing strategies.

This rigorous text takes a critical view of the dot-com hype and considers the fundamental realities of the e-economy from a range of business perspectives.

In the rapidly evolving airline industry, new technologies play an increasingly critical role in the delivery of real and perceived value in reducing costs, enhancing revenue, and improving customer service and customer safety/security. This book focuses at a senior executive level, examining the key forces affecting the airline business and their potential in terms of short and long-term strategies. The author discusses the role of emerging technology on the airline industry, defined very broadly and including computers, information, databases, aircraft, telecommunications, Internet, wireless, speech recognition, face recognition, etc. His argument is that technology should not only be an enabler of business strategy but crucially the driver of business strategy. The central theme is the vital interaction between technology and business strategy across a wide spectrum of functions - executives sharing their insights of what is needed in terms of revolutions in consumers, technologies, and productivities. What has held airlines back are not so much legacy systems but legacy mindsets, organizational structures and processes, as well as the intelligent selection, investments, and implementation of value-adding technologies. The book is the outcome of the author's own experience while working with a number of airlines and his participation in many discussions with practitioners in the airline and technology firms.

Is my enterprise really prepared for future business? What can I do to become more competitive? Ulf Pillkahn's book is directed at all of those seeking answers to these questions: executives in strategic positions, business analysts, consultants, trend scouts, marketing and product managers and research engineers. The book presents the two most powerful tools for future planning: environmental analysis, based on the use of trends, as well as the development of visions of the future through the use of scenarios. While scenarios are generally regarded as a classical management tool, it is expected that the importance of trends will gain tremendously in the coming years. Pillkahn demonstrates how to build robust strategies by aligning the results of environmental and enterprise scenarios, thereby offering entirely new insights. "Using Trends and Scenarios as Tools for Strategy Development" convincingly illustrates why efficient observation of the environment of an enterprise is an absolutely essential factor for strategy development, and why strategy development only works if it is institutionalized as a permanent enterprise process. It also addresses the issue of what information is needed to keep both processes running. The book further describes how trends can be categorized, and offers advice on how to glean the essential information from the vast variety of trends. Information is provided on how scenarios are used as a holistic instrument for creating visions and pictures of the future, and how the results of trend research and scenario techniques find their way into entrepreneurial strategy development. An optimized strategy development process is also outlined. Practical examples and real-life pictures of the future round off Pillkahn's insightful discussion of future business planning.