Faculty Research :: University of Colorado Denver Business School

Jungles and Gardens: The Evolution of Knowledge Management at J. D. Edwards

Scott, Judy E., Globe, Alden and Schiffner, Kristen
Management Information Systems Quarterly Executive Vol. 3, Issue 1, p. 37-52

Over a period of eight years, 1995-2003, J.D. Edwards evolved three innovative approaches to knowledge management (KM). The evolution in each started with a grass-roots team effort and grew to become an institutionalized enterprise application. With limited resources, J.D. Edwards has built a Global Web site Community, a sophisticated intranet/extranet (called the Knowledge Garden®), and a content management application (called Content Manager) that allows people to reuse multilingual technical documents, drawing them from a "single source" location. The evolution of these three projects is analyzed using a four-phase stage model and illustrates 12 lessons for others on how to more effectively plan an enterprise KM project, anticipate change, and set appropriate expectations. In the initiation stage, organizations need to identify and encourage an evangelist or champion to gain executive support and sponsorship. In the contagion stage, organizations need to establish content ownership and useful standards, and devise innovative ways of aligning the KM project with revenue generation. In the control stage, organizations need to anticipate the ongoing needs of updating the technologies and improving the governance processes. Finally, in the integration stage, organizations need to find a unifying vision and use techniques that will institutionalize knowledge management. The impact of these enterprise content management initiatives at J.D. Edwards has been considerable. Early ROI studies on the Knowledge Garden indicated an 1811% return, totaling $5 million annually in saved time and reduced paper costs. Content Manager, with a 270% ROI the first year, has been a consistent revenue driver, delivering over $7 million to the bottom line by early 2003?-and an additional $7.5 million from the Web-based training tool and courseware. By February 2002, jdedwards.com was driving over $10 million worth of pipeline leads.

Labels: Scott

An Empirical Study of Consumer Switching from Traditional to Electronic Channels: A Purchase-Decision Process Perspective

Gupta, Alok; Bo-chiuan Su and Walter, Zhiping
International Journal of Electronic Commerce Vol. 8 Issue 3, p131-161

This paper examines the relationship between purchase decisions and channel-switching intentions. A theoretical model that explains channel-switching intentions was tested with a sample of 337 consumers. The results show a 52 percent tendency to switch from off-line to on-line across four product categories: books, airline tickets, wine, and stereo systems. The order of the switching tendency was consistent with the products' search and experience attributes. Logistic regression analysis across product categories shows that differences in channel-risk perceptions, price-search intentions, evaluation effort, and waiting time have a significant impact on consumer switching from off-line to on-line shopping. Consumers who purchase on-line perceive significantly lower channel risk, search effort, evaluation effort, and waiting (delivery) time on-line than off-line and express significantly higher price-search intentions on-line than off-line. Consumers attracted to off-line channels also perceive lower search-cost and higher price-search intentions on-line than off-line, but their perceived on-line search effort and price-search intentions are significantly lower than for consumers attracted to on-line channels. These results support the important influence of the examined factors on channel switching. They also suggest that demographics may not be an effective basis for market segmentation.

Labels: Walter

Assessing Perceived Risk Of Consumers In Internet Airline Reservations Services

Cunningham, Lawrence F., Gerlach, James and Harper, Michael D.
Journal of Air Transportation Vol. 9 Issue 1, p. 21-35

This research investigates the premise that the use of Internet airline reservation systems is perceived to be riskier than traditional airline reservation systems. Unlike previous studies on perceived risk that typically focused on the relationship of perceived risk and information search, this study examines the dynamics of perceived risk throughout the various stages of the consumer buying process. A survey of 159 respondents reveals that perceived risk for both traditional and Internet airline reservation services follows a systematic pattern throughout the consumer buying process. Perceived risk for both traditional and Internet airline reservation systems falls during information search but recovers and rapidly increases as consumers approach the moment of purchase. When viewed as a dynamic process, perceived risk for Internet airline reservation services shows more radical changes in risk levels than the traditional service. Another major finding of this study is the discovery of a risk premium for Internet airline reservation services that permeates all stages of the consumer buying process.

Labels: Cunningham, Gerlach, Harper