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Eric K. Clemons

Bio: Eric K. Clemons is an academic researcher from University of Pennsylvania. The author has contributed to research in topics: Information system & Information technology. The author has an hindex of 51, co-authored 208 publications receiving 11613 citations.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argues that information technology (IT) has the ability to lower coordination cost without increasing the associated transactions risk, leading to more outsourcing and less vertically integrated firms, called the "move to the middle" hypothesis.
Abstract: Investments to increase the level of explicit coordination with outside agents have generally resulted in increased risk to the firm; firms have traditionally avoided this increased risk by becoming vertically integrated or by underinvesting in coordination. This paper argues that information technology (IT) has the ability to lower coordination cost without increasing the associated transactions risk, leading to more outsourcing and less vertically integrated firms. Lower relationship-specificity of IT investments and a better monitoring capability imply that firms can more safely invest in information technology for interfirm coordination than in traditional investments for explicit coordination such as co-located facilities or specialized human resources; firms are therefore more likely to coordinate with suppliers without requiring ownership to reduce their risk. This enables them to benefit from production economies of large specialized suppliers. Moreover, rapid reduction in the cost of IT and reduction in the transactions risk of explicit coordination makes possible substantially more use of explicit coordination with suppliers. The resulting transaction economies of scale, learning curve effects, and other factors favor a move toward long-term relationships with a smaller set of suppliers. We call this combination--a move to more outsourcing, but from a reduced set of stable partnerships--the "move to the middle" hypothesis.

1,107 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work identifies and examines some opportunities for deploying IT to leverage structural resource differences among firms, including differences in vertical integration and diversification as well as differences in the quality and organization of key resources.
Abstract: Information systems are strategic business tools, frequently essential to a firm and central to its competitive strategy. Their importance is now acknowledged. But information technology-equipment and services-is available to all firms, and most applications can be duplicated. The copying firm often enjoys the advantages of newer and better technology, learns from the experience of the innovator, and thus can offer comparable services at lower costs. When can an information technology-based strategy confer sustainable competitive advantage? The answer may lie with the role of strategic resources in explaining the allocation of economic benefits from an IT innovation. Specifically, information technology can lead to sustainable competitive advantage when it is used to leverage differences in strategic resources. This may be true even in cases where duplication is relatively easy and there are few dynamic effects, like first-mover advantages, to protect the innovation. An important characteristic of IT is its ability to manage interactions among economic activities; the economic theory can be used to establish a link between this characteristic of IT and shifts in resource values. This allows us to identify and examine some opportunities for deploying IT to leverage structural resource differences among firms, including differences in vertical integration and diversification as well as differences in the quality and organization of key resources.

968 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2006
TL;DR: The authors analyzed how online reviews can be used to evaluate product differentiation strategy based on the theories of hyperdifferentiation and resonance marketing and found that the variance of ratings and the strength of the top quartile of reviews play a significant role in determining which new products grow in the marketplace (resonance).
Abstract: We analyze how online reviews can be used to evaluate product differentiation strategy based on the theories of hyperdifferentiation and resonance marketing. Hyperdifferentiation says that firms can now produce almost anything that will appeal to consumers and can manage the complexity of diverse product portfolios. Resonance marketing says that informed consumers will only purchase products that they actually truly want. When consumers become more informed, firms that provide highly differentiated products should experience higher growth rate. We construct measures of product positioning based on online ratings and find supportive evidence using craft beer industry data. In particular, we find that the variance of ratings and the strength of the top quartile of reviews play a significant role in determining which new products grow in the marketplace (resonance). It is more important that some consumers love you than it is that most consumers like you.

782 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that different OTAs offer tickets with substantially different prices and characteristics when given the same customer request, suggesting the presence of both price dispersion and product differentiation in the online travel market.
Abstract: Previous research has examined whether price dispersion exists in theoretically highly efficient Internet markets. However, much of the previous work has been focused on industries with low cost and undifferentiated products. In this paper, we examine the presence of price dispersion and product differentiation using data on the airline ticket offerings of online travel agents (OTAs). We find that different OTAs offer tickets with substantially different prices and characteristics when given the same customer request. Some of this variation appears to be due to product differentiation different-OTAs specialize by systematically offering different trade-offs between ticket price and ticket quality (minimizing the number of connections, matching requested departure and return time). However, even after accounting for differences in ticket quality, ticket prices vary by as much as 18% across OTAs. In addition, OTAs return tickets that are strictly inferior to the ticket offered by another OTA for the same request between 2.2% and 28% of the time. Overall, this suggests the presence of both price dispersion and product differentiation in the online travel market.

507 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Information technology can reduce the costs of coordination while also reducing the transaction risks associated with increased coordination, suggesting a move toward tightly coupled, cooperative relationships.
Abstract: :Cooperation is becoming increasingly important in the modern business environment. The resulting emergence of new forms of organizational relationships is challenging managers to understand the fundamental dynamics of cooperation in order to evaluate and restructure their industrial relationships. This paper applies transactions cost economics toward understanding cooperative relationships. Cooperation is viewed as an effort to increase resource utilization and value through higher explicit coordination of economic activities. However, increasing explicit coordination can create transaction risks: exposure to opportunistic behavior by the other party. Transaction risk limits the level of coordination that is achievable. Information technology can reduce the costs of coordination while also reducing the transaction risks associated with increased coordination. These dual effects suggest a move toward tightly coupled, cooperative relationships.

463 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A large number of studies have been conducted during the last decade and a half attempting to identify those factors that contribute to information systems success, but the dependent variable in these studies-I/S success-has been an elusive one to define.
Abstract: A large number of studies have been conducted during the last decade and a half attempting to identify those factors that contribute to information systems success. However, the dependent variable in these studies-I/S success-has been an elusive one to define. Different researchers have addressed different aspects of success, making comparisons difficult and the prospect of building a cumulative tradition for I/S research similarly elusive. To organize this diverse research, as well as to present a more integrated view of the concept of I/S success, a comprehensive taxonomy is introduced. This taxonomy posits six major dimensions or categories of I/S success-SYSTEM QUALITY, INFORMATION QUALITY, USE, USER SATISFACTION, INDIVIDUAL IMPACT, and ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT. Using these dimensions, both conceptual and empirical studies are then reviewed a total of 180 articles are cited and organized according to the dimensions of the taxonomy. Finally, the many aspects of I/S success are drawn together into a descriptive model and its implications for future I/S research are discussed.

10,023 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 1988-Nature
TL;DR: In this paper, a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) is presented.
Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

9,929 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper discusses many of the important IS success research contributions of the last decade, focusing especially on research efforts that apply, validate, challenge, and propose enhancements to the original model.
Abstract: Ten years ago, we presented the DeLone and McLean Information Systems (IS) Success Model as a framework and model for measuring the complex-dependent variable in IS research. In this paper, we discuss many of the important IS success research contributions of the last decade, focusing especially on research efforts that apply, validate, challenge, and propose enhancements to our original model. Based on our evaluation of those contributions, we propose minor refinements to the model and propose an updated DeLone and McLean IS Success Model. We discuss the utility of the updated model for measuring e-commerce system success. Finally, we make a series of recommendations regarding current and future measurement of IS success.

9,544 citations

Book
08 Jul 2008
TL;DR: This survey covers techniques and approaches that promise to directly enable opinion-oriented information-seeking systems and focuses on methods that seek to address the new challenges raised by sentiment-aware applications, as compared to those that are already present in more traditional fact-based analysis.
Abstract: An important part of our information-gathering behavior has always been to find out what other people think. With the growing availability and popularity of opinion-rich resources such as online review sites and personal blogs, new opportunities and challenges arise as people now can, and do, actively use information technologies to seek out and understand the opinions of others. The sudden eruption of activity in the area of opinion mining and sentiment analysis, which deals with the computational treatment of opinion, sentiment, and subjectivity in text, has thus occurred at least in part as a direct response to the surge of interest in new systems that deal directly with opinions as a first-class object. This survey covers techniques and approaches that promise to directly enable opinion-oriented information-seeking systems. Our focus is on methods that seek to address the new challenges raised by sentiment-aware applications, as compared to those that are already present in more traditional fact-based analysis. We include material on summarization of evaluative text and on broader issues regarding privacy, manipulation, and economic impact that the development of opinion-oriented information-access services gives rise to. To facilitate future work, a discussion of available resources, benchmark datasets, and evaluation campaigns is also provided.

7,452 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors build a theoretical framework to explain governance patterns in global value chains and draw on three streams of literature, transaction costs economics, production networks, and technological capability and firm-level learning, to identify three variables that play a large role in determining how global value chain are governed and change.
Abstract: This article builds a theoretical framework to help explain governance patterns in global value chains It draws on three streams of literature ‐ transaction costs economics, production networks, and technological capability and firm-level learning ‐ to identify three variables that play a large role in determining how global value chains are governed and change These are: (1) the complexity of transactions, (2) the ability to codify transactions, and (3) the capabilities in the supply-base The theory generates five types of global value chain governance ‐ hierarchy, captive, relational, modular, and market ‐ which range from high to low levels of explicit coordination and power asymmetry The article highlights the dynamic and overlapping nature of global value chain governance through four brief industry case studies: bicycles, apparel, horticulture and electronics

5,704 citations