3 Internal analysis
Internet technologies are adopted in various ways to meet a range of business objectives.
Organisations are responding differently to the opportunities and challenges created by
the technology. General Electric Corporation was an early adopter of the technology and
incorporated it into its transaction processing systems, which resulted in huge cost sav-
ings. Google was created through innovative use of carefully designed algorithms which
enabled the company to be differentiated in the market by providing superior search
services. But not all companies have been such proactive and innovative adopters of the
technology. Many have taken cautious steps, say by introducing e-mail, developing a
poster web site presenting company contact details and a view of the corporate head-
quarters, and then gradually moving towards e-commerce applications. However,
increasingly, companies are looking for ways to get the best out of digital technologies:
ips Intelligent Print Solutions is one such company. The company has won many indus-
try awards for its use of digital solutions that both enhance levels of service and improve
business efficiency (see Figure 11.1).This raises the question; why are organisations adopting Internet technologies at differ-
ent rates and for different purposes? An important influence on how an organisation
behaves is its internal environment: the dominant culture is determined by the shared
sets of values within an organisation. Some have a culture that stresses the customer is
always rightwhereas others are more bureaucratic and stress the need for doing things inCHAPTER 11· BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTERNET MARKETING
Figure 11.1ips Intelligent
Source: http://www.ips/tv/