Frederick J. Riggins

Making the `MOST' out of RFID technology: a research agenda for the study of the adoption, usage and impact of RFID

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology dramatically increases the ability of the organization to acquire a vast array of data about the location and properties of any entity that can be physically tagged and wirelessly scanned within certain technical limitations. RFID can be applied to a variety of tasks, structures, work systems and contexts along the value chain, including business-to-business logistics, internal operations, business-to-consumer marketing, and after-sales service applications. As industry adoption of RFID increases there is an emerging interest by academic researchers to engage in scholarly investigation to understand how RFID relates to mobility, organizational and systems technologies (MOST). In this paper, we explore RFID and propose a research agenda to address a series of broad research questions related to how RFID technology: (1) is developed, adopted, and implemented by organizations; (2) is used, supported, and evolved within organizations and alliances; and (3) impacts individuals, business processes, organizations, and markets. As with many technological innovations, as the technical problems associated with implementing and using RFID are addressed and resolved, the managerial and organizational issues will emerge as critical areas for IS research.

Interdependent benefits from interorganizational systems: opportunities for business partner reengineering

Managing the growth of interorganizational systems (IOS), such as electronic data interchange (EDI), and the adoption decisions of trading partners have become major concerns for network managers. The fact that IOS are shared by separate trading partners means that the benefits from IOS are both unequal and interdependent. Therefore, how trading partners implement and use the system internally may directly affect the original firms benefit. In order to maximize benefits from IOS, we propose that firms engage in business partner reengineering.We study two buyer-initiated EDI systems where the way in which trading partners internally implement the technology directly affects the level of benefit for the initiating buyer. In both cases, the buyers benefit is increased when suppliers choose to adopt an optional buyer-initiated modification to their system. However, because it is not clear how suppliers benefit from the modification, they may not have adequate incentives to make the modification. Buyers with substantial leverage over their suppliers may require trading partners to implement the system in a particular way or not be considered for future business.

Toward a unified view of electronic commerce

T here has been an unprecedented growth in the usage of telecommunications applications recently such as electronic data interchange (EDI), email, and the Internet. The commercialization of the Internet has led many to believe that a new era of electronic commerce has dawned. However, there is confusion regarding what constitutes e-commerce and how companies can best formulate Internet strategies. As we will report, the results of a recent pilot survey suggest that some practitioners view e-commerce as simply buying and selling over the Internet. On the other hand, many researchers believe the practice includes a wide variety of presale and postsale activities [1, 6, 12]. In addition, there are few frameworks to guide managers in choosing which Internet applications are most suitable to their given situation, how implementation of these interorganizational systems (IOS) will alter their business relationships, or how companies can use Internet technology to gain competitive advantage. While the popular literature has touted the potential to gain competitive advantage from the use of EDI, the Internet, and intranets [4, 5, 10], there is little direction concerning whether or not long term advantage can be achieved. Applegate et al. [1] identify three classes of e-commerce applications as customer-to-business, businessto-business, and intraorganizational. Currently, most commercial Internet applications focus on using the Web to direct a company’s marketing message to end customers. On the other hand, the intranet is an internally focused application used to disseminate information throughout the company. While EDI has been the dominant business-to-business application, companies are just beginning to implement Internet technology that could dramatically alter their trading partner relationships. These business-to-business applications of Internet technology are called “extranets” [2]. We believe the development of extranets provides a link between the firm’s intranet and Internet strategies that will broaden the relatively narrow definition of e-commerce currently employed by many managers. Frederick J. Riggins and

A Framework for Identifying Web-Based Electronic Commerce Opportunities

Companies are finding that the development of World Wide Web presence sites is becoming a competitive necessity, particularly the need to establish online storefronts. Even so, there are few useful frameworks in the electronic commerce (EC) literature to help managers identify online opportunities and what types of applications can add business value to the user. I expand on an existing framework originally developed by Hammer and Mangurian [1] to identify opportunities from Web-based EC applications. I argue that firms compete along 5 dimensions of commerce: By using various modes of interaction, firms compete over both time and distance to provide some product or service to their customers through a chain of relations. In addition, new investments in information technology are typically justified using 3 different criteria-generating efficiency, effectiveness, and/or strategic benefits. These 2 perspectives can be combined to create the Electronic Commerce Value Grid, which identifies 15 areas in which ...

The Move to Artist-Led On-Line Music Distribution: A Theory-Based Assessment and Prospects for Structural Changes in the Digital Music Market

New forms of digital distribution are dramatically transforming market structures in the recorded music industry value chain. We propose a model and theoretical perspective that take account both of the music industrys traditional value chain and distribution network, and the product characteristics of digital music as related to consumer value creation. The model highlights changes in the market structure from the perspective of the players in the music industry value chain. Utilizing a series of propositions, we characterize the forces at work in the market transformation and show how each players role in the industry value chain is likely to change. We also examine the effects of market structure changes on intellectual property rights issues. Finally, we present a series of mini-cases that provide evidence in support of the proposed theoretical perspective.

The Move to Artist-Led Online Music Distribution: Explaining Structural Changes in the Digital Music Market

We propose a model for understanding the transformation of the market structure in the recorded music industry value chain due to new forms of digital distribution. It takes into account the traditional music industrys value chain and distribution network, and the product characteristics of digital music as they relate to consumer value creation. We showcase changes in market structure from various perspectives of the players in the music industry value chain. With this as background, we then present propositions that highlight forces at work in market transformation and how each players role in the digital music industry value chain is likely to change. We note the new tensions that arise around intellectual property rights for digital music with market structure changes. We support the propositions with illustrative mini-cases.

Overcoming EDI adoption and implementation risks

The emergence of the Internet as a business-to-business communications tool enables a new wave of adoption of EDI and other interorganizational systems. Initiators of these trading-partner relationships must develop concrete strategies for managing the adoption and implementation risks associated with EDI. They may have to subsidize both the initial adoption and subsequent internal usage of these systems by their trading partners if they are to maximize their benefits from the technology. EDI can create strategic value in certain circumstances. To improve internal processes and thus produce operational benefits, it must improve the information flow between trading partners to the point where it exceeds the threshold level. Finally, because the operational benefits of EDI are context-specific, initiators should require their trading partners to develop specific metrics to measure its effect.

A Multichannel Model of Separating Equilibrium in the Face of the Digital Divide

We develop a multichannel model of separating equilibrium where a seller markets a durable good to high- and low-type consumers in two different chan-nels--an online Internet storefront and an offline bricks-and-mortar store. We show how the digital divide, where high-type consumers dominate the online channel and low-type consumers dominate the offline channel, artificially segments the marketplace, thereby mitigating the classic cannibalization problem. This allows the seller to more efficiently market its goods to each consumer segment. We show conditions under which low-type consumers are initially served in the offline channel, but subsequently bridging the divide results in their not being served in either channel. We also examine the implications of bridging the digital divide when the seller uses delay by engaging in intertemporal price discrimination.

Market Segmentation and Information Development Costs in a Two-Tiered Fee-Based and Sponsorship-Based Web Site

We develop an analytical model of a separating equilibrium for a two-tier fee-based and sponsorship-based information Web site. We examine the monopolists choice of content quality and price for a fee-based site targeted at high-type consumers and the content quality level for a sponsored site offered free to all consumers. We show how a reduction in the potential for advertising revenues results in lower content quality on the free site, but permits the seller to raise the fee charged to high-type consumers. We also show how differences in consumer tolerances to ads affects content quality, banner ad volume, and usage fees. In particular, the seller can increase profits by making ads more attractive to either high- or low-type consumers, but rarely both at the same time. We show the conditions that determine which consumer segment the seller should seek to improve ad relevancy.We develop an analytical model of a separating equilibrium for a two-tier fee-based and sponsorship-based information Web site. We examine the monopolists choice of content quality and price for a fee-based site targeted at high-type consumers and the content quality level for a sponsored site offered free to all consumers. We show how a reduction in the potential for advertising revenues results in lower content quality on the free site, but permits the seller to raise the fee charged to high-type consumers. We also show how differences in consumer tolerances to ads affects content quality, banner ad volume, and usage fees. In particular, the seller can increase profits by making ads more attractive to either high- or low-type consumers, but rarely both at the same time. We show the conditions that determine which consumer segment the seller should seek to improve ad relevancy.

Optimal policies for subsidizing supplier interorganizational system adoption

We develop a static two‐stage model of network externalities where the buyer has adequate information about the suppliers’ costs to join the network such that it is able to make differential subsidy payments. If the expected network size is small, suppliers encounter negative externalities as the buyer rewards the suppliers joining the system, but at a decreasing rate. On the other hand, if the expected network size is large, the buyer can exert increasing pressure on the few remaining suppliers to join the network, thus forcing positive externalities on these suppliers. We show that if the buyer can make differential subsidy payments, it may need to subsidize only a fraction of the nonjoiners up to a “spontaneous expansion point,”; after which the positive externalities force the remaining suppliers to join the network. We also examine a dynamic model where the suppliers’ costs to join the network decrease over time. We show that in this case, the buyer should incorporate a “bang‐bang”; strategy, such th...