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Insights
The new economy has brought major changes to the competitive environment and to the business relationships within it. With fragmented markets, increasing capital-investment requirements, shrinking product life cycles, and global competition, companies are increasingly banding together for mutual self-interest. U.S. companies form more than 5000 alliances every year, and the average multinational company has a portfolio of some 100 alliances. Moreover, in recent years, new networked forms of alliances have begun to emerge, aiming for a delicate balance of cooperation and competition as companies seek flexibility and quick access to the resources and expertise they need to compete effectively. Unlike traditional alliances, which generally were short-lived and in which partners did not like to share control, multifirm alliances in the new economy can operate in a variety of time horizons and can adopt a range of structures, from licensing agreements to direct investment. Often, they last for long periods, with the partners changing the nature of their relationship as business conditions change. As a result, selecting the right partners is critical, as is careful management of alliance relationships. Always, these alliances need to flow directly from the company's strategic objectives and have the full support of top management. Author: Mauricio Davila. 18 pages. Index Keywords: Computer Networks; Electronic Commerce; Global Operations; Strategic Alliances; Strategic Planning.
Intranets—also, corporate portals or enterprise information portals—have proved their utility as a communication tool in large organizations. As the market for intranet products and services matures, organizations are determining if intranets can return greater utility as a process platform. Multinational organizations, especially, stand to benefit from an intranet as a virtual work space for process streamlining and collaboration. This study highlights five diverse case studies and discusses unique challenges and approaches, as well as globalization software tools and best practices. The subjects of the case studies are Nike Inc. (Beaverton, Oregon), Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong, Hong Kong), Factiva (New York, New York), World Bank Group (Washington, D.C.), and the Acer Group (Taipei, Taiwan). As these organizations differ by industry, business model, and cultural variables, so do their respective intranet strategies reflect their differences. Where "tribal villages" were key to a product design tool on Nike's intranet, "hidden empires" were a liability to the open environment that Cathay's intranet team worked to foster. Where federalist principles held together the World Bank governance framework for its development-community portal, corporate branding through the intranet platform tied together Acer's company units. Global intranet strategies can use the intranet as a medium to reinforce an organization's global structure or enable changes by altering functional or hierarchical relationships. However, deliberate deployment is essential to avoid irreversible and unintended consequences from a medium that reaches employees directly and daily. Author: Margaret Pak. 9 pages. Index Keywords: Communications; Global Operations; Information Technology; Intranet; Knowledge Management.
Currently, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are enjoying a resurgence of interest and a corresponding increase in funding. Major organizations are actively developing systems that are based on ANNs because of their ability to process immense quantities of information while effectively handling unstructured and incomplete information. ANNs are a form of artificial intelligence modeled on the human brain. ANNs are particularly well suited for solving complex pattern-recognition problems, with the ability to generalize in making decisions about imprecise input data. At present, practical applications of ANNs are making rapid transitions from the laboratory into the marketplace. They are proving to increase efficiency and reduce costs in many commercial applications. Improved graphical user interfaces have also increased the acceptance of this technology. ANNs represent, in particular, a very powerful decision-support technology. ANNs function in conjunction with other expert systems or as stand-alone applications. Their implementation is mostly under some sort of human supervision. ANNs have proved very useful in a wide range of business software applications. This study focuses on the leading real-world applications of ANNs that are taking place in the fields of finance, energy, medicine, and transportation. Author: Christina H. Lee. 15 pages. Index Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Computer Software; Diagnostic Technology; Energy Management; Health Care; Information Technology; Technology Trends.
The human body is subject to many conditions that stem from disease, old age, or accident and that currently lack effective treatments. Tissue-engineering (TE) technologies—which grow tissue to replace parts of the body or help generate new parts—can offer a person with a diseased or worn-out organ the chance to regain a normally functioning body. They can also offer accident victims new parts as good as the originals. The market for such products is huge and growing larger as the Boomer generation advances into old age. The more active lifestyle of this generation will also lead to a bigger market for TE products as people stay active longer than previous generations could. The first wave of TE products—starting with the simplest two-dimensional scaffolds for growing skin and bone tissue—has already arrived on the market, and more will soon arrive in many new areas. Farthest away is whole-organ generation, which involves complex three-dimensional scaffolding and growth of many types of cells with different functions. Current market conditions, demographics, and infrastructure developments are poised to combine with new technology to help TE explode into a revolutionary and profitable industry. If TE companies, regulators, and society at large can resolve remaining issues of safety, liability, and affordability, the new technologies have great prospects for improving people's quality of life. Authors: John Russell and Shane Cross. 14 pages. Index Keywords: Aging Population; Biotechnology; Health Care; Medical Research.
In July 2001, staff members in SRI Consulting Business Intelligence's (SRIC-BI's) European office met to discuss signals of change that they had picked up in their reading and professional activities. The meeting was part of SRIC-BI's Scan process, which allows analysts, researchers, and marketers to brainstorm about the implications of emerging changes and look for unexpected patterns across industries and markets. European staff discussed what happens when high-growth markets plateau: Companies no longer face the challenge of convincing customers that they need their product, but that they need a better version of their product. What strategies could companies employ when facing a market in which most sales are replacements? Product manufacturers can learn lessons from the car industry, such as the importance of developing a used-product market to encourage new sales. This study also highlights the broader implications of shifting to a replacement-sales market and the implications for product manufacturers in general. The subject of ongoing concerns about food safety and how technology might address these issues also surfaced from the meeting. Technologies with the ability to provide rapid real-time tests for food safety—for example, sensors and electronic noses—could find application not just in the production or distribution process but, ultimately, at the consumer level. Extending the application of food-safety devices will require companies to form new partnerships. New opportunities for companies—marketing, branding, and recruitment—might also come from emerging online communities. Differences between online and offline communities and how companies should rethink their strategies for online communities formed the last discussion topic. This study develops the ideas that arose during the European Scan meeting and provides key implications for companies. Authors: Samantha Blighe, Rob Edmonds, Carolyn E. Sleeth, Robert Thomas. 9 pages. Index Keywords: High-Growth Markets; Internet; Sensors. Watch-List Spotlight: Biotechnology B-I-P's watch list identifies defining forces that are transforming the business environment. This selection from the watch list of defining forces is Biotechnology. Biotechnology The completion of the human-genome project is just one of many recent revolutionary developments in biotechnology that promise to transform industries and markets in a variety of domains. Biochip technology allows the rapid screening of compounds as drug candidates and the rapid acquisition and processing of diagnostic data. Discoveries concerning genetics and stem cells raise possibilities for new modes of farming and animal husbandry and even for tissue and organ regeneration. The public controversy surrounding many biotech developments indicates that businesses all along the value chain—from researchers to retailers—must stay abreast of developments and trends in the area. News The summaries below describe current activities and programs not included in the B-I-P membership but of potential interest to members. New MacroMonitor Marketing Report Hispanics in the United States now outnumber Canada's population. These U.S. Hispanics constitute the fifth-largest Hispanic group in the world, just behind the population of Argentina. By 2025, they will constitute the second-largest group, behind only the population of Mexico. This dramatic demographic shift is a wake-up call to all businesses that have not yet put in place a strategy to serve the needs of what is already a huge U.S. consumer subsegment. The new MacroMonitor Marketing Report, Servicing the Hispanic Market: The Stakes Go Up, offers some valuable insights about the financial attitudes that characterize the Hispanic market and what some of its financial needs might be. For more information about the Consumer Financial Decisions program, telephone: +1-609-734-2048; e-mail: info@sric-bi.com. New Report from Digital Futures The latest report from Digital Futures, Streaming Audio/Video for the Enterprise, discusses the trends in enterprise adoption of what is now a technology ready for corporate consumption and highlights the experiences of the early adopters. It also examines the opportunities for technology and service providers in this emerging market and describes the competitive landscape. For more information about Digital Futures, telephone: +1-650-859-4600; e-mail: info@sric-bi.com. Current Watch-List B-I-P's scanning and research processes identify areas on the periphery of your business's focus area that constitute potential opportunities or threats. The areas that we decide bear watching go on B-I-P's watch list of defining forces that are transforming the business environment. Current watch-list topics include:
The Bulletin will periodically highlight each defining force, listing related B-I-P publications. |
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