Revenue maximization strategies in e-business platforms

¶ … employed in order to increase the total revenue accrued from an e-business enterprise. It concentrates on a variety of literature devoted to the process of maximizing the output in terms of revenue that is derived from e-business-based platforms.

This paper uses a variety of parameters in the evaluation of the efficiency of the revenue accrued from an e-business-based platform. It does this through a review of extant literature with the revenue earned as the dependent variable by means of a statistical model based on multiple regression theory. It explores the extent to which the inclusion and manipulation of various elements of an e-business can result to an overall increase in the yield.

Purposes: The purpose of this research paper is to determine the methods that can be instituted in order to increase the revenue accrued through an e-business platform.

E-business definition

Internet

The internet is the technological framework that has revolutionized the way business is done. The internet can also be referred to as the information superhighway and can be described as "The biggest technological advancement since the personal computer and the primary technological force causing all corporations to rethink their business model, the Internet is a system of millions of interconnected networks that spans to the earth" (Wilson, 1996).Other scholars such as Young (1999) have forms one of the most cost-effective ways of conducting business.

World Wide Web (www)

World Wide Web forms a subset of the internet. It was conceptualized several years past along protocols that initially were designed from the MOSAIC software architecture. The users of the MOSAIC software experienced a multimedia marvel. They could experience videos, graphics, pictures and sound. This was through a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The www is implemented on a server and client environment. The power of the www framework has been adopted by various corporations in the process of enhancing their broad range of product and services.

Literature review

Extant literature has been dedicated to the study and analysis of the processes that can be employed in the process improving the business process through the adoption of various e-business platforms. E-business has generated a lot of hype in the field of management and IT. There is however a lot of confusion regarding the views on the subject. There are therefore several definitions of the term. The level of confusion is further increased by its relationship with e-commerce. Several scholars have a perspective of e-commerce as a derivative of e-business with an inclination towards the buying and selling of goods and services over an internet framework. Other scholars however, view the e-business as a superset of e-commerce (Turban et al., 2006).The two concepts are however completely different as postulated by Laudon and Traver ( 2008).

It is a matter of fact however that the concept of e-commerce and e-business bear distinct commonalities such as their role in the improvement of various aspects of business processes and their reliance on various common IT infrastructures such as internet and extranet. The definition of e-business is the utilization of ICT infrastructure for the process of re (designing),managing, improving and controlling of various business processes. It entails operations conducted both within an organization and between different organizations. This therefore makes the integration of the front office and back office processes via a multichannel system a crucial element of any e-business platform.

Methodology

Research design

The process adopted in the development of methodology for this research is pegged on the utilization of inductive case study (Eisenhardt, 1989).In order to understand all the parameters that are important for the success of any e-business, the research is to be conducted through an in-depth study and analysis of 20 e-business firms. This is in light of the thorough and well developed e-business platform that these firms possess. Each firm is to be investigated by means of nearly 40 open-ended questions that act as the main guidelines.

The process is to involve the use of questions that are formulated from the use of multiple sources of data. This means that the research is to be designed on the basis of multiple case studies which have the advantage of allowing for the replication of logic (Yin, 1989).The implication of this is that the research design allows for the treatment of various cases as a set of experiments. Individual cases are regarded as basic theoretical insights that are gathered through the analysis of several previous cases. He aim is to refine and modify them in order to increase their revenue throughput. This form of replication of logic results in the creation of very stable theory which is free and clear from various forms of bias from the researcher (Eisenhardt, 1989). The overall result is the creation of relatively testable theory that is free from various forms of researcher bias and also allows for close correlation between the theory itself and the data gathered (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).

The field of e-business is rapidly evolving and the collection of a pool of emerging theory in terms of data gathered can result in the acquisition of better perspectives on the currently existing research domains (Hitt et al., 1998). This framework is particularly important in the earlier stages of the research domain. The extent to which the research topic is to be exploited is however hard to predict as due to the multivariate nature of the research domain and the existing theories of e-business.

Sample Selection

In the gathering of samples to be utilized in this research, I am going to concentrate on e-business firms that are based in the United States. A list is to be created of all the relevant e-business firms whose revenue are listed in the New York Stock Exchange. The information to be used is to be sourced from an online portal (hoovers.com).The list is to include 20 e-business firms .The initial list is to consist of ten e-business firms whose basis of selection is pegged on the uniform probability distribution of all the companies selected for the sample pool. So as to come up with a comparable list of data samples, I am to consider a set of e-businesses that are based in other parts of the world such as Europe. The eligibility of the selected firms is based on three major criteria;

The initial criterion is that the company must be based on the larger U.S.A.The a second criterion is that the company is to have publicly quoted stock exchange data. The third criterion is that the chosen firm must have a direct involvement with its customers in its provision of various forms of transactions that are based on the electronic exchange of data. In order to have a fully acceptable and representative research, the sample must be drawn from companies with a multinational presence but whose base or headquarter is in the United States. This also highlights the decrease in the role played by geography in the virtual markets' domain.

The chosen companies must also be publicly traded companies. This is to allow for easier access and increased availability of the data gathered .The accuracy of which is also enhanced.

The choice of publicly traded companies' lies in the fact that they have a vast data source that can readily be collected and appropriately organized for the ease of subsequent analysis. The demerit of this technique of selection is the disadvantage associated of public data while ignoring the data that exists in a select number of private companies. The overall effect is the limitation of the scope of my research. There is however danger involved in the selection of public companies for the research sample.

Data Collection

The data to be used for the research is to be gathered from publicly available sources. These include annual reports, company websites, IPO data and investment reports gathered from analysts. The research questions are to be gathered using structured and open ended questionnaires. The data to be collected include the date of the company's formation, its size, business model and the services provided. The financial data is also gathered. The other important parameter to be included is the role how the company is positioned in relation to its competitors.

Data Analysis

The data analysis is to be carried out by means of inductive technique. The difference between the processes of data analysis and data collection is very slim. This is because the process of constructing the theory is based on data is done through an iterative process. The resulting framework is then systematically compared to the cases that are presented in the research (Eisenhardt, 1989). Several scholars have argued that it is therefore better to employ a data collection coupled with analysis as a joint process (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). The joint process is then employed and then a continuous process which entails the comparing of the data and then model advanced is then used. This is refereed to as a cross-cased analysis (Yin, 1989).

The data analysis is to be carried out using evidence acquired from within-case techniques. Notes are then to be taken. The process is to involve the answering of the questions that are enumerated in the questionnaire. Several data sources are also to be integrated and then subsequently triangulated from the various sources of data (Yin 1981, 60). The analyses carried at this stage are important since they are important in the process of formulating the research hypotheses. The hypotheses are also to provide us with the appropriate insight into the major elements of e-business. A final model is the derived from the process of cross-case analysis of the various data sets.

Timetable:

Proposal prepared by [Date, Month]

Literature review to be finished by [Date, Month]

Fieldwork to be accomplished by [Date, Month]

Analysis to be accomplished by [Date, Month]

Presentation to be done on [Date, Month]

Final report to be completed by [Date, Month]

Limitations: The main limitation that is most likely to hinder the progress and timely completion of this research is time constraint. This is due to the very short period of time that makes up a semester. The research is therefore to be completed exhaustively within a very limited period of time. The other source of problem that faces this research is the tedious and long process involved in the booking of appointment with various organizations that participate in e-business. This limitation results to a slow pace in the process of data collection. This inevitably results too much delayed analysis and hence a delayed research project. The final limitation that faces this research is the existence of multiple variables each of which carry varying weights. This results from the fact that these variables bear different interaction levels with the research topic.

The final limitation that faces this research is the possibility of lack of correlation between the theory of e-business phenomenon and the real-life context of the same. This results in the research strategy lacking a clear cut boundary between the context and the phenomenon that is observed (Yin,1981: 59).

Delimitations: In the process of completing carrying out this research, I opt not to work with multiple teams despite the obvious advantages associated with it such as the ability to have comparability; a crucial element needed for having a thorough and in-depth analysis of the research topic. The use of structured interviews is also to be avoided in my research so as to minimize the effects associated with obtrusiveness of the interviewee and even my own.

Proposed Budget

1

I

A. Faculty Honorarium

$600.00

B. Faculty Summer Stipend ($3,700 max)

C. Student Summer Stipend ($5,700 max)

D. Student Summer Housing

Yes/No

2

Secretarial and other paid assistances

3

Travel (for research purposes) not to include travel to conferences

4

D

Contractual Services

5

E

Supplies and Materials

Internet Connection Package Fee

$100.00

Subscription to Online Libraries

$400.00

Telephone Bills

$350

Laptops (1)

$400

Recording paper (7rolls)

$130.00

The Total of proposed budget

$1,980