Information Age Economy – serie

As social beings, humans are not living in isolation but rather interact and communicate within their social network via language, meant to convey parts of some conceptualization from the sender to a single recipient or a set of recipients. Communities of agents not only share a common language but also the individual conceptualizations of the world (real and abstract) have to overlap to a significant extent, allowing for efficient reference to whole conceptual structures like "the German constitution", "game theory" or "medical sciences". For "societies" of interacting technical devices or software agents the situation is not quite as Babylonian since although these agents are meant to act individually (and also have a private state and private knowledge) in most cases they are designed to refer to one common ontology or standardized protocol and thus do not have to deal with misunderstanding. However, the more these systems become interconnected, the more this situation resembles the one described for societies of human agents even though the misunderstanding might be easier to detect when the different reference ontologies are made explicit and published. Obviously, in both cases standardization of a common language or set of rules for interaction reduces the individual degree of freedom for the sake of compatibility and benefits derived from interaction. In his work, Falk Graf von Westarp addresses the software market as a domain strongly depending on compatibility effects of the individuals' decisions.

The theme of this book "New strategies for financial services providers" is an equally relevant and important topic in science and practice. In the (post) informa­ tion age economy, the German financial services market and many big financial services providers are in a deep crisis. Increasing competition due to deregulation and improved transparency through new means of communication on the one hand, and empowered customers demanding individualized solutions for their fi­ nancial problems e. g. because of new working circumstances, increase the pres­ sure on the market participants to alter their strategies according to these new challenges. Many firms have reacted defensively either by merging in the hopes of realizing scale effects - a high-risk venture considering the last few years - or by adapting "me-too-strategies" (also known as "lemming-banking") that do not provide for a sustainable competitive advantage. Based on a profound analysis of developing mega-trends in the years ahead, es­ pecially in information and IT-intense market, Dr. Kundisch develops a new anti­ cyclical strategy that aims at using IT as an enabler to strengthen customer rela­ tionships and focus on individualized solutions wherever it seems economically sound to do so. However, he does not stop after the development of the strategy, but provides two important concepts that may help turn this vision and strategy into reality. Thus, he favorably and refreshingly differentiates against many contributions that stop at the fairly abstract strategic level.

Standards play a prominent role in systems characterized by interaction. In information systems, standards provide for compatibility and are a prerequisite for collaboration benefits. More generally speaking, standards constitute networks. In this work, a standardization framework based on an analysis of deficiencies of network effect theory and a game theoretic network equilibrium analysis is developed. Fundamental determinants of diffusion processes in networks (e.g. network topology, agent size, installed base) are identified and incorporated into a computer-based simulation model. As a result, typical network behaviour (specific diffusion patterns) can be explained and many findings from traditional network effect theory can be described as special cases of the model at particular parameter constellations (e.g. low price, high density). On this basis, solution strategies for standardization problems are developed, and a methodological path towards a unified theory of networks is proposed.

Outsourcing has been one of the most controversially discussed topics in the infor- mation systems (IS) management field within the last decade. While some organi- zations have been quick to adopt outsourcing, others have been slow to consider this sourcing option. Still others have evaluated outsourc ing but adopted insourcing in- stead. In other words, organizations appear to behave totally different in the sourc- ing of their IS tasks. There are no generall y accepted practices, e.g., outsourcing certain types ofIS services while keeping others in-house. The sourcing decision ap- pears to be highly dependent on the specific situation of each organization. Recognizing the unique context of each organization, this book presents an empiri- cally tested model that can be used to analyze the options of IS insourcing versus outsourcing of every organization. The model takes into account the unique IS re- quirements and the differences between insourcing and outsourcing at both the in- dividual (i.e., worker) and the organizational level.

Der Direktvertrieb stellt eine neue Methode fur den Absatz von Finanzdienstleistungen dar, eine kundenindividuelle Beratung erfolgt im Direktvertrieb derzeit nur selten. Vor dem Hintergrund des Beratungsbedarfs vieler Kunden untersucht der Autor, ob mittels Direktvertrieb auch beratungsintensive und kundenindividuell massgeschneiderte Finanzdienstleistungen absetzbar sind. Ihm gelingt der Nachweis, dass der Direktvertrieb auch hierfur geeignet ist und ein erhebliches Potential zur Erreichung der Absatzziele besitzt. Daruber hinaus kann er Gestaltungshinweise fur das Informationssystem ableiten. Das Buch gibt wichtige Empfehlungen fur Leistungsgestaltung und -absatz sowie zur Nutzung des Internet und Realisierung der notwendigen Systemunterstutzung.

The Internet provides an infrastructure that makes the steadily increasing amount of information accessible efficiently, quickly, and inexpensively. Closely connec­ ted with this opportunity is the danger that the available information will over­ charge the individual information seeker's capability to process the information and to judge its quality. In this situation, information intermediaries can take upon the role of an expert and a guarantor of quality similar to intermediaries in markets for physical goods or finances. Thus, information intermediaries can be a trust­ worthy, information processing third party, mediating between information seekers and information sources. The current technological development has created information technologies that are capable to efficiently process large amounts of information. However, the pro­ vision of intermediation services necessitates a thorough examination of the basic principles underlying the economics of information intermediaries as well as a sound foundation on information technologies. The present work by Frank Rose addresses the fundamental question concerning the economics of information intermediaries by means of an abstract model. The model focuses on services that concentrate on the search and mediation of information, and identifies the essential influencing factors of the intermediary's environment. The model is then employed to investigate the impact of environmental conditions on the information intermediary on the one hand, and the optimal strategy of the information intermediary as a reaction to environmental conditions on the other hand.

The present work by Sascha Weber addresses procurement which deals with business partners beyond the boundaries of one's organization. Procurement refers to the function of purchasing goods and services from suppliers, whether raw material used to manufacture an organization's final products, maintenance and repair supplies, or capital goods such as machinery and buildings. Major decisions in procurement concern the selection of the right suppliers with whom to establish a business relationship, the design of purchasing contracts, and the selection of information technology used to support the procurement process. In recent years the progress in information technology not only provided opportunities to rationalize the existing way of organizing procurement, but also opened up new ways of conducting business as the emergence of virtual enterprises and electronic markets may indicate. The objective of Sascha Weber's research is to analyze and answer the question of how the use of information technology and expected progress influences procurement decisions of an organization. The analysis is conducted identifying important parameters which describe the relevant properties of information technology and supplier relationships. Information technology is distinguished flrstly in terms of the task which is supported between information technology used to support the evaluation of potential suppliers and information technology for the support of the execution of a supplier relationship.

New information and communication technologies unquestionably brought about enormous changes that resulted in an ever-increasing networked society. Indeed, there is no area in the social and economic world which is unaffected by the recent advances. In response to these changes scientists from numerous disciplines teamed up in 1997 to lay a foundation for a common theory of networks. The objective was to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind social, economic, technical and other kinds of networks in order to develop a unified theory of networks. Such a theory would then guide public and private decisions concerning the planning, operations and controlling of all kinds of networks. The contributions in this book represent the first steps toward this ambitious goal.

Networks of firms have been in the focus of management research for several years. Recently, special attention has been paid to so-called business webs. Business webs are networks of firms which provide complements to a common product architecture. In the past, research focused on management issues of such webs but neglected the important question of how they actually came into being. The present book explicitly examines the formation and early growth of business webs. The author illustrates the early growth phases with two in-depth cases of the formation of the wireless internet ecosystem i-mode and the leading person-to-person online auction platform eBay. The book uncovers the contingencies under which the establishment of business webs is likely to succeed. Business researchers will benefit from the theoretical framework, while interested business managers will find explanations and advice for establishing a business web.