Eric K. Clemons

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.

Eric K. Clemons and Elizabeth T. Gray, jr (Working), Vendor Relationship Management: The Role of Shared History and the Value of Return on Trust.

Abstract: Information technology outsourcing has become too important to ignore, or to delegate. The twin goals remain unchanged — (1) creating and retaining economic value over time while (2) controlling exposure and strategic risks — but the scale of both the upside gain and downside risk have become enormous. Fortunately, as we shall show in this article, setting strategy for outsourcing is principally a leadership issue, not a technical issue, and thus now falls squarely within executives’ expertise and experience. Managing sourcing is principally about setting a strategy, based on economic objectives, communicating those objectives within and between firms, and managing psychology and expectations when the high economic stakes cause communications to break down. Successfully managing expectations and maintaining effective communications leads to trust, which, we have seen, produces great and measurable economic benefits in strategic sourcing relationships.

Eric K. Clemons (Working), Victory: Information Endowment, Hyper-Differentiation, And Non-Information Goods.

Noi Sian Koh, Hu Nan, Eric K. Clemons (Forthcoming), Do Online Reviews Reflect a Product’s True Perceived Quality—An Investigation of Online Movie Reviews Across Cultures, ECommerce Research and Applications.

Eric K. Clemons and Nehal Madhani (Forthcoming), Regulation of Digital Businesses with Natural Monopolies or Third Party Payment Business Models: Antitrust Lessons from the Analysis of Google, Journal of Management Information Systems.

Eric K. Clemons (Forthcoming), The Power of Patterns and Pattern Recognition When Developing Information-Based Strategy, Journal of Management Information Systems.

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.