Unchained Value - The New Logic of Digital Business (Electronic book text)

Unchained Value offers a much-needed framework for assessing the impact of the Internet on sources of business value and competitive advantage. Helping managers at all levels develop and analyze e-commerce strategies, this invaluable book provides readers with the strategic firepower to totally rethink their businesses and benefit from the opportunities of the new economy. Internet expert Mary Cronin introduces a radically new model for organization she calls the digital value system--focused not on static, internally focused "chains" but on dynamic, external webs of relationships that take full advantage of the power, flexibility, and opportunity of the digital arena. Using compelling data and case studies from dozens of online companies and innovative multinational corporations, Unchained Value identifies the new realities every company has to reckon with in the shift from internal value chains to Internet-based value systems, and illuminates who wins and who loses when processes traditionally controlled within the firm are optimized for an open, networked digital environment. Examining core business functions from supply chain management to product design and production, from sales distribution to customer support, Cronin describes how companies must align the entire business with the Internet, and details the challenges and rewards of implementing and expanding a digital value system successfully.