2020, Leimstoll, Uwe, Wölfle, Ralf, Dornberger, Rolf

Contrary to expectations expressed in the 1990s, e-commerce has so far led to relatively little disintermediation. Even large and well-known brands continue to generate the majority of their sales through traditional distribution channels. However, many end customers expect to be able to buy directly from the brand. In addition, structural changes in the value chain have made it necessary to pre-sent the brand on the Internet in a brand-specific manner. Depending on the structure of their online activities, however, brand manufacturers are competing with their traditional indirect distribution channels, which remain important for them. This raises the question of which e-commerce strategies brands can use to meet the needs of end customers without harming their distribution partners. To answer this question, qualitative expert interviews were conducted with e-commerce managers of market-shaping Swiss companies. The results confirm that the importance of brand engagement in communication and interaction with end customers is increasing. For the implementation of online direct sales, three strategies have emerged that avoid or at least minimize conflicts with traditional sales partners: a pure online direct sales strategy, a multi-touch-point strategy, and a platform strategy. The multi-touch-point strategy can in turn be designed in four different variations.

2018, Leimstoll, Uwe, Dannecker, Achim, Knechtli, Hanspeter, Quade, Michael H., Tanner, Christian, Wölfle, Ralf, Dornberger, Rolf

In recent years, the development of information technology has reached a new level of evolution. It should be noted, however, that digitalization and digital transformation are not fundamentally new phenomena. A phase marked by strong digitalization, for example,was the result of the increased business use of the Internet in the early 1990s. The era of e-business began. The focus was on the digitalization of cross-company processes, which also brought new business models and interlinked value-added structures. Against the background of current developments, the question arises as to what role e-business now plays in digital transformation. The aim of this chapter is to show the current developments in e-business and their relationship to digital transformation. Following an introductory clarification of concepts and a consideration of the importance of mobile computing, the classic areas of e-business are addressed, in particular e-commerce, e-procurement and e-organization. The results show that e-business has