Tawfik Jelassi

The converging business models of Internet and bricks-and-mortar retailers

The authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of traditional store-based and online retailing. To minimise the drawbacks, the emerging trend in retailing is a covergence of the two business models of retailing. Several examples of major companies in bricks-and-mortar and online retailing are cited. In particular, it is pointed out that the stakes are not as clearly in favour of the pure Internet retailers, as often portrayed -- the quality of execution of the individual company is paramount.

Competing through EDI at Brun Passot: achievements in France and ambitions for the single European market

To differentiate its customer service, Brun Passot, a small French company specializing in the distribution of office supplies, developed a set of telepurchasing applications. In 1982, it launched Bureautel, a videotex-based service that allows customers to electronically place their orders. In 1986, at the request of its large customers, it developed a PC-based ervice, then in 1989 an advanced electronic data interchange (EDI) application linking customers to its supply information system. These services allow data on products availability, price lists, orders, acknoledgement receipts, delivery notices, invoices, and related bank payments to be electronically transmitted. Using ISDN, they also make it possible to look up the photos of the 12,000 products that Brun Passot markets.This article illustrates how a small-sized company has used IT to improve the quality of its customer service, shorten lead time and reduce management costs, as well as create new business opportunities in France. It also raises some issues related to the adoption and diffusion of EDI, and presents Brun Passot ambitions to use this technology as the trojan horse to expand its geographical coverage. The expected fall of mobility barriers within the European Community, leading to the formation of the single European market, presents for Brun Passot a unique business opportunity to further leverage its IT infrastructure and gain new markets.

The French videotex system Minitel: a successful implementation of a national information technology infrastructure

Building an advanced national information technology infrastructure can provide a competitive advantage for the countries that develop it as well as for the companies that operate in those countries. This article describes the development of the French national videotex system Teletel, also known as Minitel. The factors-technical and political-that make Teletel successful are explained and contrasted against other national videotex systems that became commercial failures. Political intrigue, technical capability, creative choices, and the deep pockets of a government-owned utility are all part of the Teletel story.

THE RELATIVITY OF DISRUPTION: E-BANKING AS A SUSTAINING INNOVATION IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

Clayton Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation Theory (DIT) is one of the most renowned frameworks in strategic management. One important question discussed in the context of this theory is whether the Internet and also the business models of pure e-banks constitute a disruptive innovation to the retail banking industry. The objective of this paper is to address this question by conceptually analyzing the case of Nordea Bank (Scandinavia), an incumbent that has over the last decade enjoyed extraordinary success in e-banking. The paper first demonstrates how the Internet has been a sustaining innovation at Nordea and then concludes that pure e-banks are unlikely to create a disruptive innovation in the retail banking industry.

Business process redesign at CompuNet—standardizing top-quality service through IT☆

CompuNet, founded in 1984 in Cologne, Germany, has been regarded as the leader in reselling, networking, maintaining and supporting personal computers in Germany. As a multi-vendor system integrator and maintenance company, CompuNet has recently managed several business process reengineering (BPR) efforts to proactively prepare itself for the competitive environment in fast developing system service market. The case provides background information on the company and its strategic positioning. The study focuses on two successful IT-based BPR initiatives that stress CompuNets shift from a sales to service orientation, concluding with an in-depth case discussion and a brief outlook.