Thinking Strategically about E-Commerce

Although many view the speed and reach of the emerging Internet-based economy as signaling an end to the need for business strategy, BCG's Philip Evans and Tom Wurster present a formidable counterargument in their groundbreaking book Blown to Bits. This close examination of the implications of the new information age highlights the need to redefine many core business strategies in response to the deconstruction of traditional value chains.

 

BCG Insights & Highlights

  • BCG begins publishing a nine-part series of Perspectives on e-commerce. The series points out the advantage a strong brand gives a company in the world of e-commerce
  • Offices opened: Berlin
  • Consultants = 2,166

World News

  • War erupts in Kosovo between Yugoslavian forces and Albanian rebels. After numerous massacres and deportations by Yugoslavian forces, NATO launches Operation Allied Force. After 78 days of relentless bombing, Slobodan Milosevic relents and withdraws his forces from the disputed province
  • The Pakistani government is overthrown in a coup amid economic turmoil and continued fighting with India over Kashmir
  • A U.S. judge declares Microsoft a monopoly
  • Tobacco companies admit to knowing the harm caused by cigarette smoking
  • The European Monetary Union adopts a single currency called the euro
  • In the ongoing impeachment trial of President Clinton, the U.S. Senate votes along party lines and fails to convict Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice
  • Two U.S. high school students in Littleton, Colorado kill 12 other students and a teacher before turning their guns on themselves
  • The number of Internet users worldwide reaches 150 million. More than 50 percent are in the United States