Distinctive characteristics of electronic business and electronic marketplaces facilitated through the Internet have been articulated in terms of the five C’s of e-commerce—content, commerce, connectivity, communities, and convergence. The underlying logic is that the Internet is a content-rich medium, where people can explore, and in some instances exploit, information asymmetry, products, and services for profit anytime and anywhere.

Connections between buyers and sellers are made at any moment, and almost in real time. Consequently, the Internet has resulted in a convergence of time, geography, and culture that in effect has levelled the playing field across e-markets. Corporate size, location, history, culture, time zones, and other details can be easily masked from the Internet viewer. Interestingly, digital communities (groups of people with similar interests who exchange ideas and share information over the Internet) have exerted substantial influence on corporate behaviour, since their feedback—negative or positive—is immediate and disseminated quickly to a large audience.

In the euphoria following the introduction of the Internet, many executives, entrepreneurs, observers, and even pundits and academics have flirted with the idea that the realities of the Internet as articulated in the five C’s have rendered strategy obsolete. Some overzealous observers even went so far as to suggest that the advent of the Internet marks the “beginning of the end” of traditional bricks-and-mortar operations, along with their attendant strategies. Hindsight suggests that, in reality, strategy is not obsolete but in fact needed more than ever. Strategy will likely be the battleground where competitive advantage is won or lost.

The dot-com crash and burn of 2000 is evidence of the detrimental consequences and misguided beliefs about the Internet and its inappropriate use. Indeed, the Internet has changed the nature of competition, industry structure, profitability, and even the definition of the firm. It would appear the real winners in the New Economy will be those who view the Internet as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, traditional strategies for competing effectively.

The cases and readings in this Theme explore the relevance, application, and consequences of strategy in the Internet age. The readings provide both a theoretical and a practical articulation of the relevance of traditional strategic frameworks and emerging strategies. The cases offer thorough descriptions of the strategies some companies use to harness and leverage business opportunities resulting from the Internet. Also, hidden in the cases are keen insights into some of the emerging strategies companies are using, against which more traditional strategies and approaches might be benchmarked.

Part 1: E-Business Strategy

Part 2: E-Business Models