Ethnographic
Study:
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The research process: The
core team of four
researchers undertook a study of companies that are
using technology, particularly the Internet,
in creative ways to operate critical pieces of their business. We visited thirty two companies in the US,
Brazil, Turkey, Slovenia, the UK, Hong Kong and Japan.
These companies were operating in a variety
of industries and were intentionally a mix of sizes.
We documented the data we collected on these
visits in several ways; debrief questions, mind maps, causal loop
diagrams,
floor plans, annotated photos, quotes and short descriptions of the key
business drivers. We created internal
web sites to store and communicate this material on in order to gain
first hand
experience with the tools. The use of
the Intranet also allowed us to share information quickly among the
team
members who are based in three states (when not in the air) and with
associates
in the various countries who became part of the extended team. Summary of key findings: The
demand for
electronic information is insatiable. Efforts
to meet the demand by companies investing in
information
technology to improve the access only reinforces the demand for more. This happens for many reasons.
Some of them are: · As people become familiar with and dependent on the convenience and the new capabilities, they demand more. · As companies, driven by customer demand and competitive response, supply more products and services on-line, the amount of information available and the possibilities for data manipulation expands exponentially, further driving demand. · As electronic transactions become less expensive than alternative methods, companies provide incentives to customers to use these services either by providing incentives or levying penalties. For example, a Swiss bank recently started charging $7.00 per check to encourage the use of debit cards. · Lack of network security, poor infrastructure and cumbersome interface devices are often cited as forces inhibiting the use of Internet. As more people demand access and companies respond with increased investments, these inhibitors will be addressed and the market potential released. · Government can be an inhibitor or an enabler. As more government employees and politicians become users and understand the potential, more will become enabling forces. · Religious and other special interest groups are key drivers, embracing the technology in order to promote their philosophies and spread their beliefs. · There are many indirect drivers. Inflation, for example, drives the use of the technology in two distinct ways. Cultures like Brazil in which people respond to inflation by carefully managing their money, creates a need for very sophisticated and flexible systems to driving the banking and investment industries. Where people respond to inflation by spending while their money buys more, such as Turkey, the percentage of people with networked PC’s rises. · As more people become technically proficient and as the penetration of PC’s into the home and office continues, demand rises. While
all industries
will be impacted by these changes, the industries that seem to be the
most
immediately affected are banking, finance, telecommunications,
publishing, media, retail, wholesale, government and public sector. Increasingly, participants in these
industries see themselves as being in the “Information Delivery”
business. When this happens, many of the
traditional
boundaries that separate industries begin to blur and disappear. For example: 1.
Publishers are
becoming on-line service concentrators and service providers. By doing
this
they are leveraging their control multiple media sources, using one to
promote
another. 2.
Banks are going
into retail (such as Barclay Square) to create a demand for financial
services
and are increasingly investing in on-line service providers. 3.
Retail/wholesalers
are finding a natural extension of their products in financial
services, first
in support of their customers and employees and then making the
services more
generally available. 4.
Engineering firms
have seen a transition in their businesses from civil to environmental
and,
now, to web consulting services in order to keep in touch with clients
between
projects, to expand the types of services offered and to build new
client
relationships. Business models are
shifting. Here are some examples: 1.
Products and
services are more often offered for free at launch with the intent of
building
a market and then charging a fee.
2.
On-line services
are often begun by a single individual with a vision as a sort of skunkworks, with low visibility, low budget,
and generally poor acceptance within the organization.
However, many of these same efforts become a
major portion of the businesses revenue stream. Some
are spun off as wholly owned subsidiaries, allowing
them to
expand
their client base. 3.
Small companies
can look and act big! Advantages of
scale are greatly reduced as a well designed web site competes
head-to-head
with industry leaders. Often the small
company will find sub-contracting partners over the Internet to fill
orders
that are beyond their normal capacity. Most
interaction with customers, contractors and suppliers
is
completed
with no face to face contact. 4.
Many larger
companies are using Intranets for Internal communication with remote
sites and
with subsidiaries. Barrier to
communication are substantially reduced and these companies feel much
more
comfortable operating from multiple sites, forming new strategic
alliances and
acquiring subsidiaries. 5.
There is a strong
sense that there are no rules for operating in cyberspace. We
frequently heard
people say that they were making it up as they went along.
There is a concern that governments will
attempt to impose controls that will stifle the creativity. 6.
Among small
companies, there is a sense of freedom and control, of being liberated
from the
corporation. Along with that there is a
fear of becoming big, traditional and cumbersome, recreating that which
they
fled. |
