Centre for Asian Business Cases

(Available through Harvard Business School Press)

Ref No: 98/01C TRAXON ASIA LTD Damsgaard, J. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 98/01TN

In 1997, 20% (HK$1 billion) of Hong Kong's exports were handled through Kai Tak Airport; 94% of the air cargo volume lifted out of Hong Kong was co-ordinated through Traxon networks. Traxon had been very successful in building up a basic electronic infrastructure in the air freight industry. It was now looking into the benefits of creating an electronic market for the whole air cargo industry in Hong Kong. However, this would jeopardise the existence of freight forwarders and drive down profits of airlines.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Air cargo Issues: Electronic commerce infrastructure, Freight forwarding Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 21 pages Related Site: http://www.traxon.com

Ref No: 98/02C TO MOVE OR NOT TO MOVE: CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS Farhoomand, A.F. Ng, P.S.P Tsang, L.

Teaching Note: 98/02TN, 9 pages

Cathay Pacific's Data Centre, located in Hong Kong, had experienced an explosion and fire which disrupted normal business for thirteen hours. In the search for a more secure location, the problems with finding suitable offices in Hong Kong were highlighted and the benefits and advantages offered by other countries presented the company with the option of re-locating the Data Centre, which housed the critical information systems that managed the entire airline world-wide, off-shore.

Category: Information Systems Industry: Airline Issues: Off-shore re-location, outsourcing, IT capabilities, Location advantages, Information systems, Information Technology Setting: Hong Kong, 1991 Length: 23 pages Related Site: http://www.cathaypacific-air.com

Ref No: 98/03C BUILDING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE INFRASTRUCTURE (A) Damsgaard, J. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 98/03/04TN Video: 98/03/04V, available in VHS (PAL) and VCD

Hong Kong Article Numbering Association's mission was to promote and facilitate efficient trade practices, and to contribute towards the continued global competitiveness of Hong Kong companies. As such, HKANA had been successful in introducing EAN bar-codes to Hong Kong manufacturers and retailers. The challenge now was to convince the retailers to use the scanned bar codes in their stock planning and replenishment cycles. This would optimise existing routines and take costs out of the replenishment process.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Retail Issues: EDI, Stock planning, Replenishment cycles Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 20 pages Related Material: Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure (B) Related Site: http://www.hkana.org

Ref No: 98/04C BUILDING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE INFRASTRUCTURE (B) Damsgaard, J. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 98/03/04TN Video: 98/03/04V, available in VHS (PAL) and VCD

Following a pilot study (refer to Case A) into the feasibility of introducing EDI into the stock planning and replenishment cycles in Hong Kong's retail sector, the results were very positive. The case highlights a number of issues raised in the pilot study.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Retail Issues: EDI, Stock planning, Replenishment cycles Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 7 pages Related Material: Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure (A) Related Site: http://www.hkana.org

Ref No: 98/08C NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NEW MARKETS: THE LAUNCH OF HONGKONG TELECOM'S VIDEO-ON-DEMAND Lovelock, P.

Teaching Note: 98/08TN

In March 1998, Hongkong Telecom's Interactive Multimedia Services (IMS) unit launched the world's first commercial Video-on-Demand (VOD) system. In taking the new technology to market, how was IMS to go about generating demand for the service, and how could they forecast technological adoption rates in the market? What was the role of the government in regulating the new business environment? And what issues were associated with such large - and long term - capital investments?

Category: Strategic Management, Marketing Industry: Multimedia Issues: Convergence, Demand Creation, Strategic Forecasting, Multimedia, Video-On-Demand Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 19 pages Related Site: http://www.ims.hkt.com.hk

Ref No: 98/09C CARGONET: TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY NETWORK LTD Damsgaard, J. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 98/09TN, 4 pages

CargoNet had already established a presence in Hong Kong's sea cargo business through the implementation of e-commerce services. However, its aim was to develop e-commerce services for the whole of the Hong Kong trade and transportation community. The case describes the significance of Hong Kong as a trading hub and the benefits to be had in developing a common e-commerce interface and a common database for the whole trading cycle. The question is whether CargoNet should compete or collaborate with the different EC service providers.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Sea cargo, Trade and transportation community Issues: Electronic commerce, Trade Cycle, Internet Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 20 pages Related Site: http://www.arena.com.hk/

Ref No: 98/15C HONG KONG'S NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE Farhoomand, A.F. Ng, P.S.P

Teaching Note: 98/15TN

In October 1997, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong announced that the Government would take on the role of "facilitator" in the development of Hong Kong's NII, a variance from its traditional non-interventionist stance. The case describes Hong Kong's status as a world trading hub and the benefits of the NII in maintaining competitive advantage. How should the Government play its "facilitating" role in bringing together a coherent NII for the benefit of the SAR?

Category: Information systems Industry: Non-specific Issues: Electronic commerce, National information infrastructure, Technical standards, Regulatory frameworks, Telecommunications, Broadcasting, IT Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 25 pages Related Site: http://www.info.gov.hk/itbb

Ref No: 99/27C CHINA'S E-COMMERCE INITIATIVE: LEAPFROGGING DEVELOPMENT STAGES? Lovelock, P. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 99/27TN

In May 1998 China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) launched its online market gateway: www.chinamarket.com. This was designed to be China's biggest trading system on the Internet. Given the open standards and the open access which are a defining aspect of the growth of e-commerce, could China seriously expect to control the flow of e-commerce to such an extent? But the alternative - allowing the open standards necessary for e-commerce development - meant opening access to the nation's immature and unexposed financial system.

Category: Business in the PRC, Electronic Commerce, Information Systems, Strategy Industry: IT, Chinese Economy Issues: Development of electronic commerce in China Setting: China, 1998 Length: 14 pages Related Site: http://www.moftec.gov.cn/

Ref No: 99/28C BUILDING CHINA'S NII: POLICY COORDINATION AND THE 'GOLDEN PROJECTS' Lovelock, P. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 99/28TN

In 1993, China's version of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) was launched, an 'informatization' policy office was initiated and actual implementation of the 'information superhighway' begun. This infrastructure investment would cost upwards of $US200 billion. The first of the three stages would be completed by the year 2000, at which time the basics of the NII would be in place. Why and how was China able to develop and co-ordinate a NII initiative? Given the problems that other countries experienced and the size and scope of the Chinese initiative, where would they strike problems of implementation?

Category: Business in the PRC, Strategy Industry: IT Issues: China's national information infrastructure, development and problems Setting: China, 1993 Length: 22 pages

Ref No: 99/29C THE CHINA TELECOM (HONG KONG) IPO: MONEY FOR NOTHING? Lovelock, P. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 99/29TN

When China Telecom (Hong Kong) (CTHK) went public in October 1997 it was Hong Kong's largest ever initial public offer (IPO). Despite being in the midst of one of the world's largest telecommunications programs, China retained a complete ban on foreign direct investment in the telecom services sector. Foreigners were allowed to neither own nor operate public networks of any kind in China. So what then had they bought with US$4 billion of investment? How had China Telecom managed to sell a minority stake in one of its operational companies without actually selling any control?

Category: Hong Kong Environment, Finance, Strategy Industry: Telecommunications Issues: Financing, Capital Formation, Market Reform Setting: Hong Kong, 1997 Length: 18 Pages

Ref No: 99/32C HONG KONG AS A MEDIA HUB: THE 1998 REVIEW OF TELEVISION POLICY Farhoomand, A.F. Lovelock, P. Lo, K.

Teaching Note: 99/32TN

In September 1998, the Hong Kong Government undertook the unusual step of simultaneously releasing policy review documents for public consultation, for both the broadcast media and telecommunication sectors. In one fell swoop the Government had attempted to recognise the emergence of convergence. What was the role of the Government in promoting Hong Kong as a regional media and broadcast hub? In an era of convergence should the Government focus on the development of the content or the infrastructure? Or was there a policy coordination mechanism through which these dual objectives could be pursued?

Category: Hong Kong Environment, Strategy Industry: Media and Telecommunications Issues: Hong Kong as a media hub Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 19 pages

Ref No: 98/21C ACTONLINE: ACTDIRECT'S ELECTRONIC BANKING SYSTEM Farhoomand, A.F. Clark, V.N.

Teaching Note: 98/21TN

In the 1980s, ACTDirect launched "ACTonline", an electronic banking system. By the 1990s, however, the introduction of new technologies such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, the move away from DOS-based architecture to windows-based architecture and the emergence of e-commerce all had an overwhelming effect on the banking industry. The new electronic marketplace presented one of several challenges to management - how best to market ACTonline in the e-commerce environment that would create and sustain a competitive advantage for ACTDirect. Other issues brought into question return on investment and the management of complex technical issues.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Information System, Marketing, Strategic Marketing Industry: Banking Issues: Information systems (IS), information technology (IT), electronic commerce (EC), electronic banking systems (EBS), electronic marketing, competitive advantage, Australia. Setting: Australia Length: 13 pages

Ref No: 99/35C DAIRY FARM GROUP - ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ADVANTAGE Farhoomand, A.F. Ng, E. Banerjee, P.

Teaching Note: 99/35TN Video: 99/35V, available in VHS (PAL) and VCD

Dairy Farm Group was a major food retailer based in Hong Kong with operations in a large number of major cities in Asia Pacific. It started witnessing a fall in its sales volume coincident with the start of economic uncertainty in the Asian countries around June 1997. Additionally, it faced competitive pressures from European and US retail chains that were preparing to establish a foothold in the growing and increasingly attractive Asian market. DFG realised that in order to remain competitive, it had to re-evaluate its business strategy. The case looks at DFGs initiative towards adopting electronic retailing as a subset of e-commerce and the determinants of e-commerce success.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Information Systems, Strategic Management Industry: Retail Issues: Electronic commerce, Technical architecture, Business process, Business strategy, Supply chain, Retail Setting: Hong Kong, 1997 - 1998 Length: 14 pages Related Site: http://www.dairyfarmgroup.com/

Ref No: 99/24C SMARTEX: AN ELECTRONIC CASH SYSTEM Farhoomand, A.F. Tocquer, G. Kwan, Y.H.

Teaching Note: 99/24TN

Mercantile Bank of Australia, together with six other Australian banks, acquired a licence to issue Smartex, a smart card-based electronic cash system, in Australia. This case study examines the process that was used by the Smartex licencees to develop and launch Smartex in Australia. Also, the second-generation Smartex chip was about to be available. Unlike the first-generation chip, the second-generation chip has a multi-functional capability. How should the Smartex licencees promote this new chip to make use of its enhanced capability without causing excessive confusion to consumers?

Category: Marketing, Consumer Behaviour Industry: Banking Issues: Diffusion of Innovation, New Service Development Process, Consumer Resistance to Product (Service) Innovation, Development of a Marketing Strategy Setting: Sydney, Australia, October 1998 Length: 20 pages

Ref No: 99/52C CHARLES SCHWAB INC.: CREATING AN INTERNATIONAL MARKETSPACE Farhoomand, A.F. Lovelock, P. Cascales, M.J.

Teaching Note: 99/52TN

In 1996, Charles Schwab Inc. pioneered online trading, and experienced phenomenal growth by creating a whole new market for its products and services. This lured not only many new traders to the market but also many new competitors. Price wars followed, which shrunk margins. In order to retain its dominant position and continue growing, Schwab began to re-intermediate by offering more products and services through multiple distribution channels, especially the Web. It also began to expand its international operations, moving into Hong Kong, the UK, Canada and Latin America. But competitors were already starting to do the same.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Information Systems Management, Strategic Management, Marketing Industry: Brokerage Issues: Dis-intermediation and Re-intermediation Effects of the Internet Setting: US, 1998 Length: 16 pages

Ref No: 99/56C EIU's ViewsWire: NEW WINE IN A NEW BOTTLE Lovelock, P. Farhoomand, A. F.

Teaching Note: 99/56TN

In seeking to adopt new technology and to establish a Web presence, the EIU, discovered that one of its competitive advantages was its own intranet and its own databases - effectively its own knowledge system. The EIU created a new product, ViewsWire. Neither a wire service nor a traditional publication, it was somewhere between a newsletter and an information service. The case focuses on the opportunities that the Web provide, and the impact on internal processes of integrating the company's intranet with its distribution platform over the Internet.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Internet, Intranet Industry: Information Service, Media Issues: Integration of Intranet and Internet, Strategic Information Resources Setting: 1998 Length: 20 pages Related Site: http://www.viewswire.com

Ref No: 99/47C MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL COMPLIANCE IN CYBERSPACE Farhoomand, A.F. Clark, V. N. Lovelock, P.

Teaching Note: 99/47TN

Law, by definition was jurisdictional, yet in cyberspace it had become increasingly questionable whether laws regulating the physical marketplace were able to be superimposed onto this new marketspace or were altogether redundant. This case outlines the international implications of "doing business" on the Internet, including the protection of intellectual property rights. In particular, issues related to the use of trademarks on Websites, in hyperlinks or as metatags are raised, as are the implications for registered trademark owners in cyberspace.

Category: Internet, Electronic commerce, Law Industry: IT Issues: Legal Issues of Internet and Electronic commerce, Multi-jurisdictional Compliance Setting: 1990s Length: 18 pages

Ref No: 99/31C FIGHTING 21ST CENTURY PIRATES: THE BUSINESS SOFTWARE ALLIANCE IN HONG KONG Farhoomand, A.F. Lovelock, P. Lo, K.

Teaching Note: 99/31TN Video: 99/31V, available in VHS (PAL) and in VCD

Asia had become one of the largest regions for pirated computer software and Hong Kong was the epicentre of the regional trade in piracy. However, Hong Kong was also the commercial and financial hub for Asia and the major computer hardware distribution centre for both China and the region. This made Hong Kong an important market for the BSA's member companies. The task BSA was presented with was to clamp down on software piracy and illegal software distribution while simultaneously increasing the size of the local software market.

Category: Hong Kong Environment, Electronic commerce, Strategy Industry: IT Issues: Combating software piracy Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 21 pages Related Site: http://www.bsa.org/

Ref No: 99/26C VIRTUALCHINA.COM: THE BUILDING OF A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY Lovelock, P. Farhoomand, A.F.

Teaching Note: 99/26TN

The ChinaVista site aimed to provide a first stop for anyone who wanted to find out information about China. But the market was rapidly becoming crowded with foreign-backed imitators who could subsidise information aggregation to a far greater degree than ChinaVista, and who were fighting over what was still a comparatively small market. A new business plan and a new site were created, which focused on aggregating members rather than (solely concentrating on) information resources - and thereby building loyalty. The developers realised the existence of a community peculiar to cyberspace, that of the 'virtual foreign China-interested community' - a community dispersed around the world but united by their common interest in the commercial development of China.

Category: Electronic commerce, Marketing, Strategy Industry: IT Issues: The Internet market in China Setting: China, 1998 Length: 21 pages

Ref No: 98/20C COMPUTER RESERVATION SYSTEMS: AN INDUSTRY OF ITS OWN Farhoomand, A.F. Lee, A.

Teaching Note: 98/20TN, 9 pages

Computer Reservation System vendors enjoyed an indispensable role in the travel industry - 75 to 80 per cent of all airline bookings were made by travel agents using CRSs. But by mid-1998, their solid position in the industry was threatened by two forces - a substitute and a new entrant. The substitute was the Websites run by airlines that were capable of accepting bookings directly from customers. The new entrant was a new CRS, supported by travel agencies around the world, called Genesis. The objective of this case is for the students to recognise these two threats, analyse the nature of them, and devise a number of strategies to counter them.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Strategic Management, Travel Industry Industry: Travel Industry Issues: The immediate issue of the case is whether the current situation (the potential threat from a new CRS called Genesis and the use of the web by airlines as a direct distribution channel) calls for a change of strategy from the CRS vendors' point of view. Because of the intricate interrelations between the different players, the scenario of this case is particularly interesting in applying Michael Porter's Five Forces model. Setting: International, 1998 Length: 15 pages

Ref No: 98/22C TRAVELLING VIA THE WEB: THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF AN INDUSTRY Farhoomand, A.F. Lee, A.

Teaching Note: 98/22TN

The proliferation of Web-based electronic commerce appears to have dis-intermediation and re-intermediation effects on industry structure. The 1990s witnessed a burgeoning of travel related Websites. Various estimates indicated that online travel sales would continue to grow exponentially through to 2002. Skeptics, however, believed that people would still prefer to deal with a human travel agent. Opinions were certainly divided, but both the number of Websites and the Internet user population were growing continuously. Could traditional travel agencies really afford to be complacent? What should they do given these circumstances?

Category: Electronic Commerce, Strategic Management, Information Systems Management, Marketing Industry: Travel Industry Issues: What should be the reaction of travel agents to Web-based EC? Setting: International, 1998 Length: 19 pages

Ref No: 99/51C SCMP.COM: STRATEGIC REPOSITIONING OF A NEWSPAPER Farhoomand, A.F. Kwan, E.Y.H.

Teaching Note: 99/51TN

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) established PostNet, an electronic publishing division, in 1996 to experiment with the online medium. In mid-1999, the Board of Directors of the SCMP observed the meteoric rise of the Internet and the accompanying e-commerce opportunities. They resolved to seriously develop the online business and to re-position the SCMP from a print-based publisher to a premier online content provider. PostNet was renamed SCMP.com. The case may be used to illustrate the issues encountered by a bricks-and-mortar company when it transforms into an e-commerce company.

Category: Strategic Management, Electronic Commerce Industry: News Media, Newspaper Issues: e-Commerce Business Model, Strategic Partnership, Spin-off Setting: Hong Kong, 1999 Length: 20 pages

Ref No: 99/53C DELL: SELLING DIRECTLY, GLOBALLY Farhoomand, A.F. Ng, P. Lovelock, P.

Teaching Note: 99/53TN

One of the first companies to practice the highly-touted business-to-consumer internet business model, Dell entered the PC market with a force and shook up the industry with its revolutionary, customer-oriented streamlined distribution style. Online PC sales for Dell was a natural progression to its existing strategy; Dell realized this synergy early and was the first market entrant. The case tracks Dells' evolving business and industry and highlights its entry strategy for China.

Category: Strategic Management, International Business, Marketing, Electronic Commerce Industry: PC Issues: Globalization, Market Penetration Setting: China, 1998 Length: 28 pages

Ref No: 98/14C TRADELINK ELECTRONIC COMMERCELTD: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY Farhoomand, A.F. Law, K.K. Ng, P.S.P. Damsgaard, J.

Teaching Note: 98/14TN Video: 98/14V, available in VHS (PAL) and VCD

Tradelink was into the second year of its seven year franchise granted by the Hong Kong Government. Its primary task was to transfer all paper transactions between the Government and traders/manufacturers to electronic submission format. Furthermore, counters for paper submissions of trade declarations were due to close on 31 March 2000. The task of bringing on board 70,000 traders, the majority of which were SMEs seemed immense. At a higher level, Tradelink's mission was to establish an electronic commerce infrastructure within Hong Kong's trading community.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Trading Community Issues: SMEs, EDI, Roll-out strategy, Development of EC infrastructure Setting: Hong Kong, 1998 Length: 20 pages Related Site: http://www.tradelink.com.hk

Ref No: 98/19C PAY-EZ: INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL ENTERPRISE'S SOLUTION TO ONLINE MICROBUSINESS Farhoomand, A.F. Lo, K. Lovelock, P.

Teaching Note: 98/19TN

IDE began developing a micropayment system in early 1999, pay-EZ, to settle small amount transactions over the Web. Several competitive systems, Acosis and Millicent had already penetrated the market. Management was under time pressure to make pay-EZ marketable and overcome its technical and operational issues. Pay-EZ's viability had to be demonstrated at the general board meeting on 18 October, 1999, two months before its official launch.

Category: Electronic commerce, Marketing, Strategy Industry: IT Issues: Micropayment systems, Online purchasing Setting: Japan, 1998 Length: 19 pages

Ref No: 99/57C FEDEX CORP: STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH E-BUSINESS Farhoomand, A.F. Ng. P.

Teaching Note: 99/57TN

Set in 2000, the case provides a comprehensive analysis of transportation logistics and FedEx's internal integrated logistics applications. FedEx demonstrates the shift from "physical" to "information and value-added services" in an e-commerce environment. The case is an excellent scenario to discuss whether companies should focus on core competencies or seek vertical and forward integration to provide integrated services. It also addresses issues that companies face when they wish to transform themselves from a conventional to an e-business model.

Category: e-Business, Strategic Management, International Business Industry: Logistics Issues: Integration of virtual supply chains, business transformation Setting: Global, 2000 Length: 20 pages

Ref No: 00/83C CENTALINE PROPERTY AGENCY: TACTICS FOR THE VIRTUAL MARKETPLACE Farhoomand, A.F. Sim, C.

Teaching Note: 00/83TN

Although Centaline had been successful in pioneering the concept of disseminating information to customers through the Internet free-of-charge since 1998, it was now facing fierce competition from other local real estate agencies who were providing a one-stop property shop, incorporating information from various real estate agencies in Hong Kong. This case allows for a discussion of how the Web changes the nature of "reach, richness and affiliation" and how that affects the balance of power between industry players and buyers. While new concepts enrich our understanding of e-business, the same types of tools and analyses that work in traditional businesses are still applicable and effective.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Strategy Industry: Real Estate Agency Issues: Competitive Advantage, Strategy Formulation Setting: Hong Kong, 1999 Length: 18 pages

Ref No: 99/45C DAIRY FARM GROUP - REDESIGN OF BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES Farhoomand, A.F. Ng, E. Banerjee, P.

Teaching Note: 99/45TN Video: 99/45V, available in VHS (PAL) and VCD

Dairy Farm Group, a major Hong Kong based food retailer with operations in a large number of major cities in Asia Pacific, was experiencing a downturn in sales. DFG realised that in order to combat competition and retain its dominant position in Asia Pacific, it had to change. There had to be a change in its business strategy - from that of 'buying and selling' to 'sensing and responding'. The case investigates DFG's existing business systems and processes and looks at the possibilities of gaining competitive advantage either by way of acquiring state of the art systems and technical infrastructure or through radical re-design of its critical business processes supported by technology.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Information Systems, Strategic Management Industry: Retail Issues: Business Process Re-engineering Setting: Hong Kong,1997 - 1998 Length: 20 pages Related Site: http://www.dairyfarmgroup.com/

Ref No: 00/74C TRADECARD: AN ELECTRONIC PAYMENT MECHANISM OR "CREDIT CARD" FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE Farhoomand, A.F. McCauley, M.

Teaching Note: 00/74TN

TradeCard Inc. developed TradeCard, considered to be the world's first and only "Credit card" for international trade that contains all the three "C's" of a global trade transaction: credit, connectivity and compliance. The case provides a study on how to build a viable international electronic payment system for business-to-business e-commerce and how TradeCard is changing the international trade payment environment. It focuses on the technical architecture capable of providing a seamless online settlement transaction and a secure electronic solution involving synchronisation of huge databases in an international transaction. Marketing issues are also considered.

Category: Electronic Commercer Industry: Global Trade Issues: Electronic Commerce, Electronic Payments, Security Solutions, Marketing Setting: International, 2000 Length: 21 pages

Ref No: 99/62C ADM@RT: "IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME?" Farhoomand, A.F. McCauley, M. Khan, S.

Teaching Note: 99/62TN

Jimmy Lai launched adM@rt, a home-delivery shopping service, in June 1999. The concept, a virtual shopping store that allowed customers to browse through competitively priced merchandise, select goods and complete transactions online, was a first in Asia. Lai's vision was to build a virtual shopping mall, rent out virtual store space to niche marketers, and deliver their goods and its own within a few hours of receiving an order. Its business leveraged the Internet's growing consumer network, combining it with an order fulfilment and logistics infrastructure.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Retail and Supermarket Issues: Electronic Commerce, Technical Architecture, Virtual Retail Market, Logistics Setting: Hong Kong, 1999 Length: 11 pages

Ref No: 00/78C JAPAN AIRLINES: THE IMPACT OF E-TICKETING Farhoomand, A.F. Kira, D. Hoosain, A. Khan, S.

Teaching Note: 00/78TN

The case highlights the development of Japan Airlines and the Company's efforts to address its financial problems through restructuring. It also discusses how the changing business landscape through e-commerce has impacted the airline industry, and discusses the advent of e-ticketing as a means of cutting costs, a source of competitive advantage, and as a facilitator for further innovation towards new channels of distribution. Despite these changes, JAL appeared to react passively to the adoption of the e-commerce and customer service innovations that other players were incorporating.

Category: Electronic Commerce, Strategy Industry: Airline Issues: E-Ticketing, Value Chain Management, Strategic Alliance Setting: Japan, 1999 Length: 15 pages

Ref No: 00/95C CASETRUST: BUILDING THIRD-PARTY E-TAILING TRUST Farhoomand, A.F. Fung, L. Ng. P.

Teaching Note: 00/95TN by Farhoomand, A.F. and Ng, P.

In March 2000, CaseTrust, an accreditation scheme designed to promote consumer confidence in Web-based retailers, was in the third year of implementation in Singapore. The plan was to extend CaseTrust's success to other countries. However, this raised a number of issues with regards to the legal framework required, CaseTrust's marketing and branding strategy, technical issues relating to security and cultural factors. The case seeks to draw out the learning experience in Singapore as to what builds trust in the B2C marketspace and to apply these to CaseTrust's strategy for other countries.

Category: Electronic Commerce, e-Tailing Industry: Retailing Issues: Trust in Marketspace Setting: Singapore, 2000 Length: 19 pages

Ref No: 99/46C PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS: THE NETWORK STORY OF A CORPORATE MERGER Lovelock, P. McCauley, M.

Teaching Note: 99/46TN

Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand merged in July 1998 creating one of the world's largest full-service professional organisations, PWC. This case describes how two major organisations put together a global knowledge base that would facilitate communication and co-ordination within the PricewaterhouseCoopers practice. It also discusses the changes, issues and challenges in building an Intranet, called KnowledgeCurve, that incorporated all the assets (knowledge, people skills) of the Company. To be successful, it was crucial for PwC encourage the users to fully utilise the available resources and to contribute information to the KnowledgeCurve.

Category: Information Systems Management Industry: Professional Services, Accounting Firms Issues: Internetworked enterprise; Creation of a global knowledge base Intranet Setting: International, 2000 Length: 24 pages

Ref No: 00/98C COLD STORAGE (SINGAPORE): ESTABLISHING TRUST AMONG ONLINE CONSUMERS Farhoomand, A.F. Ng. P.

Teaching Note: 00/98TN by Farhoomand, A.F. and Ng, P.

Cold Storage, which operated a chain of 31 supermarkets located across the city-state of Singapore, was a well-established retail operation renowned for the quality of its fresh food. In June 1998, the Company launched its supermarket services on the Internet in an effort to better serve its customers. Now in June 2000, Lester Quah, Operations Director at Cold Storage, had to evaluate the factors that helped its online shoppers to establish trust in its virtual store and the value of being a member of CaseTrust, a third-party trust accreditation scheme, for promoting its online e-tailing business.

Category: Electronic Commerce, e-Tailing Industry: Retailing Issues: Trust in marketspace, the Impact of Third-Party Trust Schemes Setting: Singapore, 2000 Length: 8 pages

Ref No: 00/91C E-COMMERCE THE VERTICAL WAY: iSTEELASIA.COM Lovelock, P. Tan, D.

Teaching Note: 00/91TN

Asia made up a significant part of the global steel industry, but prior to December 1999, there was no steel portal to meet the needs of Asian steel companies and related parties. This was addressed by iSteelAsia.com, which was launched in December 1999. The case first describes the circumstances in an industry that may encourage the establishment and growth of vertical portals. The structure of iSteelAsia.com is then presented and students can gauge if it represents a successful vertical portal. The last section of the case introduces readers to the possibility of threats to vertical portals in general.

Category: Electronic Commerce Industry: Steel Issues: Industry Analysis, Conditions of Success for Vertical Portal Setting: Hong Kong, 2000 Length: 19 Pages Related Site: http://www.isteelasia.com

Ref No: 99/46C

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS: BUILDING A GLOBAL NETWORK

McCauley, M. Lovelock, P. Fukagata, M.

TEACHING NOTE: 99/46TN (7 pages) by Lovelock, P. and McCauley, M.

Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand merged in July 1998 creating one of the world's largest full-service professional organisations. This case provides a study of how two major organisations are putting together a global knowledge base that would facilitate communication and co-ordination within the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) practice. Eventually, this knowledge base would be made available to PwC clients. The case discusses the changes, issues and challenges at PwC in building its Intranet, called KnowledgeCurve, a knowledge management system that incorporates all the assets (knowledge, people skills) of the company to be utilised by the firm. In order for the organisation to be successful, it is crucial for PwC to encourage the users to fully utilise the available resources and to contribute information to the KnowledgeCurve. At the time this case was written, PwC is in its initial stages of setting up its Global Knowledge Curve that would ultimately serve the whole practice. The limitations in using the Global Knowledge Curve led to the creation of Knowledge Curve at each office level which incorporates knowledge base and information important to the local level.

CATEGORY: Information Systems Management

INDUSTRY: Professional Services, Accounting Firms

ISSUES: Internetworked enterprise; Creation of a global knowledge base Intranet

SETTING: International, 2000

LENGTH: 18 pages

Ref No: 99/51C

SCMP.COM: STRATEGIC REPOSITIONING

OF A NEWSPAPER

Farhoomand, A.F. Kwan, E.Y.H.

TEACHING NOTE: 99/51TN (9 Pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and Kwan, E.Y.H.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) established PostNet, an electronic publishing division, in 1996 to experiment with the on-line medium. In mid-1999, the Board of Directors of the SCMP observed the meteoric rise of the Internet and the accompanying e-commerce opportunities. They resolved to seriously develop the on-line business and to re-position the SCMP from a print-based publisher to a premier on-line content provider. PostNet was renamed SCMP.com. The case may be used to illustrate the issues encountered by a bricks-and-mortar company when it transforms into an e-commerce company.

CATEGORY: Strategic Management, Electronic Commerce

INDUSTRY: News Media, Newspaper

ISSUES: e-Commerce Business Model, Strategic Partnership, Spin-off

SETTING: Hong Kong, 1999

LENGTH: 20 pages

Ref No: 99/57C

FEDEX CORP: STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH E-BUSINESS

Farhoomand, A.F. Ng. P.

TEACHING NOTE: 99/57TN (8 pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and Ng, P.

CATEGORY: e-Business, Strategic Management, International Business

INDUSTRY: Logistics

ISSUES: Integration of virtual supply chains, business transformation

SETTING: Global, 2000

LENGTH: 20 pages

Ref No: 99/62C

ADM@RT: “IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME?”

Farhoomand, A.F. McCauley, M. Khan, S.

TEACHING NOTE: 99/62TN (6 Pages) by Farhoomand, A.F., McCauley, M. and Khan, S.

Jimmy Lai launched adM@rt, a home-delivery shopping service, in June 1999. The concept, a virtual shopping store on a website that allowed customers to browse through competitively priced merchandise on offer, select goods and complete transactions on-line, was a first in Asia. Orders could be placed by phone, fax or through one of the retail outlets; adM@rt promised to deliver merchandise to the customer’s doorstep. Lai’s vision was to build a virtual shopping mall, rent out virtual store space to niche marketers, and deliver their goods and its own within a few hours of receiving an order. adM@rt experienced several start-up and mobilisation glitches as the business was new. Its business leveraged the Internet’s growing consumer network, combining it with an order fulfilment and logistics infrastructure.

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce

INDUSTRY: Retail and Supermarket

ISSUES: Electronic Commerce, Technical Architecture, Virtual Retail Market, Logistics

SETTING: Hong Kong, 1999

LENGTH: 11 pages

Ref No: 00/67C

SEVEN-ELEVEN JAPAN: VENTURING INTO E-TAILING

Farhoomand, A. F. Tan, K.K.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/67TN (4 pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and Tan, K.K.

Not content with nine million customers per day, Toshifumi Suzuki, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd., was looking for ways to attract more customers and more sales. Fascinated by the optimistic outlook on the growth of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in Japan, he contacted several prominent Japanese companies to explore the possibility of working together to launch the biggest B2C e-commerce Web site in Japan. Suzuki knew that successfully launching and operating a B2C e-commerce business in Japan, known for its citizens' hesitancy to buy on-line, could be a big coup for him. His challenge now was to convince his would-be partners that he had a potentially successful and lucrative business model.

Set in December 1999, this case is primarily about the aspiration of Suzuki to establish a business-to-consumer e-commerce venture targeted at Japanese consumers. This case depicts the obstacles that he faces and the methods planned to overcome these obstacles.

CATEGORY: E-commerce

INDUSTRY: Retailing

ISSUES: Assessing a business model

SETTING: Japan, 1999/2000

LENGTH: 18 pages

RELATED SITE: http://www.sej.co.jp

Ref No: 00/74C

TRADECARD: BUILDING A GLOBAL TRADING ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM

Farhoomand, A.F. McCauley, M.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/74TN (8 pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and McCauley, M.

In an attempt to provide an online payment mechanism for large-dollar cross-border transactions, TradeCard Inc., the company, developed TradeCard, considered to be the world's first and only "Credit card" for international trade that contains all the three "C's" of a global trade transactions: credit, connectivity and compliance. The case provides a study on how to build a viable international electronic payment system for business-to-business e-commerce. The case looks into this new alternative online payment mechanism and how it is changing the international trade payment environment. The case focuses on how TradeCard Inc. built TradeCard: its technical architecture capable of providing a seamless online settlement transaction and a secure electronic solution involving synchronisation of huge databases in an international transaction. This case also revolves around the marketing issue that TradeCard Inc. is facing: on how to build the network of players in the international trading and aggregating the disparate services necessary onto the TradeCard system.

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce

INDUSTRY: Global Trade

ISSUES: Electronic Commerce, Electronic Payments, Security Solutions, Marketing

SETTING: International, 2000

LENGTH: 21 pages

Ref No: 00/78C

JAPAN AIRLINES: THE IMPACT OF E-TICKETING

Farhoomand, A.F. Kira, D. Hoosain, A. Khan, S.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/78TN (7 Pages) by Farhoomand, A.F., Kira, D., Hoosain, A. and Fung, L.

The case highlights the development of Japan Airlines (JAL) and the Company’s efforts to address its financial problems through restructuring. The case also discusses how the changing business landscape through e-commerce has impacted the airline industry, and discusses the advent of e-ticketing as a means of cutting costs, a source of competitive advantage, and as a facilitator for further innovation towards new channels of distribution. As these rapid changes were taking place throughout the industry, JAL appeared to react passively to the adoption of the

e-commerce and customer service innovations that other players were incorporating..

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce, Strategy

INDUSTRY: Airline

ISSUES: E-Ticketing, Value Chain Management, Strategic Alliance

SETTING: Japan, 1999

LENGTH: 15 pages

Ref No: 00/83C

CENTALINE PROPERTY AGENCY: TACTICS FOR THE VIRTUAL MARKETPLACE

Farhoomand, A.F. Pretorius, F. Sim, C. Lee, A.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/83TN (9 Pages) by Farhoomand, A.F., Pretorius, F., Lee, A. and Sim, C.

Since 1995, Centaline's business had evolved from being a pure provider of estate brokerage services, to a combined provider of both estate brokerage services and timely property information to prospective customers. Although the Company had been successful in pioneering the concept of disseminating information to customers through the Internet free-of-charge since 1998, it was now facing fierce competition from other local real estate agencies. Centaline's main market competitor Midland Realty Ltd., for example, started providing similar services to customers with the extensive use of IT, and vertical portal Propertystreet.net recently introduced a one-stop property shop incorporating information provided from various real estate agencies in Hong Kong. This case explores Web-based business strategies and issues. It allows for a discussion of how the WWW changes the nature of "reach, richness and affiliation" and how that affects the balance of power between industry players and buyers. This case demonstrates that while new concepts enrich our understanding of e-business, the same types of tools and analyses that work in traditional businesses are still applicable and effective.

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce, Strategy

INDUSTRY: Real Estate Agency

ISSUES: Competitive Advantage, Strategy Formulation

SETTING: Hong Kong, 1999

LENGTH: 15 pages

Ref No: 00/91C

ISTEELASIA.COM: A B2B EXCHANGE

Farhoomand, A. Tan, D.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/91TN (7 pages) by Farhoomand, A. and Tan, D.

Forging strategic alliances was a common method employed by operators of steel portals to expand their repertoire of services and to enhance the e-commerce capabilities of their sites. Those that aspired to promote and cement their presence in other countries had gone further by signing agreements with indigenous companies to leverage on their knowledge of and familiarity with the local industry. It can be seen that regardless of their country of origin, these steel portals had taken a similar strategy to attract more users to their sites.

iSteelAsia has been employing the same strategy to offer a range of third party services and to create affiliated portals in other countries. However, in an unprecedented move, it is taking a step further. Instead of finding a strategic partner to promote its presence in other countries, it is proposing to acquire an equity interest in a steel trader.

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce

INDUSTRY: B2B E-commerce, Steel

ISSUES: Conditions for B2B e-commerce, growth strategy

SETTING: Hong Kong, August 2000

LENGTH: 19 Pages

RELATED SITE: http://www.isteelasia.com

Ref No: 00/95C

CASETRUST: BUILDING THIRD-PARTY E-TAILING TRUST

Farhoomand, A.F. Fung, L. Ng. P.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/95TN (7 pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and Ng, P.

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce, e-Tailing

INDUSTRY: Retailing

ISSUES: Trust in Marketspace

SETTING: Singapore, 2000

LENGTH: 18 pages

RELATED CASE: Cold Storage (Singapore) Establishing Trust among Online Customers (Ref#00/98C)
Ref No: 00/98C

COLD STORAGE (SINGAPORE): ESTABLISHING TRUST AMONG ONLINE CONSUMERS

Farhoomand, A.F. Ng. P.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/98TN (5 pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and Ng, P.

CATEGORY: Electronic Commerce, e-Tailing

INDUSTRY: Retailing

ISSUES: Trust in marketspace, the Impact of Third-Party Trust Schemes

SETTING: Singapore, 2000

LENGTH: 8 pages

Ref No: 00/99C

ITV: MARKETING INTERACTIVE SERVICES

Farhoomand, A. F. Chang,E.

TEACHING NOTE: 00/99TN (6 Pages) by Farhoomand, A.F. and Chang, E.

The former Cable & Wireless Hongkong Telecom (HKT) lanuched the world’s first commercial interactive television (iTV) service with a fanfare in March 1998. Nevertheless, its performance in the first two years of operations had not lived up to the Company’s expectations. Many still saw it as a traditional pay television service instead of a multimedia interactive service. Meanwhile, the Company began to shift the focus to its broadband Internet service. In August 2000, HKT was taken over by Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW). The main focus of PCCW was the Network of the World (NOW) project, a convergence service of telecommunications, computing and television technologies independent of the distribution platform.

This case describes the marketing efforts made by HKT in the first two years of iTV’s operation. It examines how, if possible, iTV could fit into the newly merged Company, and outlines the initial marketing strategy of NOW, a new digital convergence service.

CATEGORY: Marketing

INDUSTRY: Television, interactive service

ISSUES: Marketing strategy of high-tech company, the global market versus the local market for multimedia interactive services

SETTING: Hong Kong, 1998-2000

LENGTH: 22 pages