Embracing the net

by Soumitra Dutta and Sandeep Srivastava

Published 14 December 2000
 Going on-line is easy; succeeding on-line is much harder. Much has been written about the "front-end" of electronic commerce - what happens on the Web site. Yet little attention has been directed to the "back-end" - the organisational redesign that is so critical for success on the Internet. New models of strategic thinking have to permeate the organisation. New processes have to be created to fit the new business models. Organisational hierarchies need to learn flexibility and to open up departmental boundaries in an effort to speed up information flow and decision-making. A culture to encourage experimentation and learning has to be created.  The book is based on inovative research undertaken at INSEAD over the last few years in cooperation with several leading firms who have well established and successful internet-based business procesess.

The real winners in the Internet age will be the old economy firms that seize the opportunities offered by the Internet and integrate its possibilities into their existing business.