Google Docs — a disruptive innovation? (Chapter 6 of the book)

To start our seminars on disruptive innovations, we use the example of Google Docs vs. Microsoft Office. We provide participants with some background info on Google Docs and then put them into the role of Steve Ballmer. How should he react to the threat (or is it really a threat?) of Google Docs? We have this discussion even before we get into the theory of disruptive innovation. Typically, the participants raise many relevant points (e.g. resource dependence, fear of cannibalization, etc.) already at that point. Here you can find the slides to kick off this exercise.  There is also a video on Slate that helps to give a little background information on Power Point and Google Docs.

Chris Anderson talks about the foundations of the Long Tail

Article on the “Long Tail of Social Networking”

Benefiting from new Internet technologies and altered user behavior, social networking sites have become the poster child of a series of new web services that have been emerging with the advent of “Web 2.0”. In this article, we follow a comparative case approach of two major German social networking sites—StayFriends and XING— in order to answer the question of how social networking sites create value for their users and how they can capture it. By transferring Chris Anderson’s concept of “The Long Tail” to internet-based social networks, we develop a novel perspective on the value creation of these new types of businesses. In particular, we examine how social networking sites can generate revenues through advertising, subscription, and transaction models. In addition, we identify the number of users, their willingness to pay, and their trust in peers and the platform as the key value drivers. Finally, we discuss managerial implications, providing examples from our case studies and recommendations for leveraging the value created through these services.

You can access the PDF-file of the article here.

Teaching Notes for Cases in the Book

Prentice Hall will be posting the teaching notes for the case studies on the Prentice Hall website in the coming two months. Lecturers are welcome to contact us by e-mail (preferably directed to Albrecht Enders) if they want to find out more about specific cases before the teaching notes are released.

New group on Facebook to meet other lecturers working with “Strategies for e-business”

We created a closed group on Facebook, which you can access here.

This group is meant to provide an exchange plattform for lecturers using the book.

DEC – Glimpse of the Future, 1994

Video for the Second Life Case Study

A case study in the second edition of “Strategies for e-business” covers the emergence of “v” (virtual)-commerce on portals such as Second Life and its effect on real-life business and companies. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, built a complete showroom on the island including an automotive museum and a race track where you can test drive your own customized Mercedes.

Take a look at this video of the virtual launch party of the Mercedes C-class on Second Life. Rock on, Wagner Love!

Tesco.com case study: In-store picking

Experience the mystical journey of your shopping once you have ordered it off tesco.com in this first-person-video partraying the in-store picking at a Tesco store from a first-person point of view! Enjoy!

Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us

Epic 2015 – The Future of the Internet