Eric K. Clemons

Eric K. Clemons and M. C. Row (Working), Alternative futures for Electronic Customer Interaction: Market Structures and Competitive Strategies.

Eric K. Clemons and S. P. Reddi (Working), An Analysis of the Impact of Information Technology on the Organization of Economic Activity.

Eric K. Clemons and Paul F. Nunes (Under Review), Carrying Your Long Tail: Delighting Your Consumers and Managing Your Operations.

Abstract: The growing ability to sell a wider range of goods, in smaller quantities, while still making a profit, is now widely called a long tail strategy. Profiting from greater product diversity represents a real change in optimal business strategy, which is based on real changes in customer behavior. Many firms want to develop long tail strategies, avoiding competition in mass market fat spots, and harvesting the superior margins available through selling in market sweet spots. Sweet spot offerings resonate with customers, allowing customers to find what they truly want and to avoid compromises; consequently, customers pay more while remaining happier with their purchases, and firms earn more and are more profitable. Evidence from earlier recessions suggests that in an era of excess capacity and pressures on consumers to find the best possible prices, competing through resonance offerings may represent an important source of protected profits. And yet, carrying a long tail and selling into sweet spots requires new skills, both for locating targets of opportunities and for controlling costs.

Eric K. Clemons, Bin Gu, Michael C. Row (Working), ECommerce and eDistribution: Understanding The Role of Power When Selecting Alternatives Channel Strategies.

Abstract: In a wide range of industries alternative electronic distribution channels may permit customers to deal directly with manufacturers and primary service providers, effectively disintermediating wholesalers, retailers, and agencies. In some cases manufacturers or primary service deliverers will be able to implement strategies to interact with and sell directly to their customers, while in other industries existing intermediaries will be able to withstand attempts to bypass them. Two illustrative industries — consumer packaged goods and air travel — are compared. Simulation models are used to examine alternative strategies for channel participants in both industries. Simulation, particularly the philosophy of Industrial Dynamics, is employed in order to observe the dynamic behavior of complex systems, where the strategies of consumers, producers, and intermediaries interact in complex and non-linear ways. The critical aspects of the system, including consumer preferences and brand strength, channel power and channel conflict, and the role of customers’ speed of adoption, are borrowed from the marketing literature. We conclude that consumer packaged goods manufacturers will for a variety of reasons continue to find it difficult to disintermediate major retailers; in contrast, airlines have found that the power structure of their industry supports either disintermediation of agencies or dramatic reduction in commissions paid to them. Strategic responses for the weaker channel participants in both industries are explored. While we focus here on exemplars where the end-consumer of the good or service is an individual, this does not mean that the analysis applies solely to business-to-consumer channels. Indeed, the most attractive customers sought by airlines were corporate travelers, and the attempted disintermediation of retailers and of wholesalers of industrial components can be addressed with the same simulation models.

Eric K. Clemons and Rick Spitler (Working), Information, Uncertainty, and Pricing: Profiting from Customer Preferences In a Resonance Economy.

Eric K. Clemons and Heinz Schimmelbusch (Working), Measuring Return on Strategic Agility: The Power of Agility when Facing Uncertainty and Strategic Ambiguity.

Eric K. Clemons and B. Blecherman (Working), Piloting Uncharted Rapids: Successfully Leading Information-Driven Business Transformation.

Eric K. Clemons and Steve Barnett (Working), Strategic Uncertainty and Alternative Futures: Evaluating Our Options in the Post-September 11 World.

Eric K. Clemons and Steve Barnett (Working), The Internet and China: Strategic Implications For China and the West.

Eric K. Clemons and Rick Spitler (Working), The Road Map for eCommerce: Mastering the Territory, Setting Your Strategy.