The 8C Framework as a Reference Model for Collaborative Value Webs in the Context of Web 2.0

Abstract

After

Offering Appropriate Information Technologies at Different Stages in the Customer Service Life Cycle for Improved Service Delivery

“…Several of the top Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software vendors support blogs where experienced users can discuss issues encountered in using the ERP applications as well as the solutions they arrived at to address the issues. As these systems attract more user participation, they will become even more valuable, unique, and richer [18]. And when users help each other, the supplier doesn't have the expense of providing quite as much customer support.…”

“…http://blogs.oracle.com/) [36]. Businesses can install platforms to facilitate peer-to-peer interactions that can be used to solve and share solutions to mutual problems related to the company's service [17,18,20]. This interaction can be of two distinct types: viewing and posting.…”

“…In a B2B environment, collective intelligence can be used to improve forecasts or understand demand patterns. Additionally, customers can exchange their views on the supplier's service [15][16][17][18][19][20] or share ideas on how to improve the service [18]. Several of the top Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software vendors support blogs where experienced users can discuss issues encountered in using the ERP applications as well as the solutions they arrived at to address the issues.…”

“…These applications allow business customers to specify the type of information they want to receive from a supplier so that the supplier can proactively provide the information [15] and the buyer can then organize and view the information they receive more effectively [16]. For example, Web 2.0 can enable a business customer to automatically and securely access information about their account or perform complex data entry for highly customized purchase orders through an easy-to-use desktop-like experience such as drag and drop [17,18]. In short, Web 2.0 technology allows a business customer to get real-time information about their account or current business transactions in an information-rich environment with the added benefit of being able to do it from anywhere at any time [17].…”

“…Technology-Mediated · contact sales staff through the website [13] · purchase on-line, pick-up in person [59] · pay for orders online [13] · management information and reporting [48] · online support [13] Peer-to-Peer · research/verify the experiences of existing customers [17] · problem resolution through interactions with customers encountering similar problems [18] Technology-Generated · service catalogues [11,57,65,71,79] · automated caller ID units and voice response units that suggest solutions to meet needs [58] · customer forums [58] · service and pricing transparency real-time [59,88] · global marketing automation -segmentation, targeting, response tracking [59,78] · personalized purchasing website [69] · order tracking [13] · receive automatic, real-time information about the supplier's inventory levels to make restock decisions or adjust forecasts [15] Technology-Mediated Service Technology-Only · EDI · automated payment systems [71] · automate current information flows [35,49,83] As illustrated in Table 2, research has shown that suppliers do employ a wide spectrum of customer contact technology modes to handle the complexity of the service being sought or the depth of information that must be gathered in order to suit many different buyer needs. For example, high-demand customers might need faceto-face presales support to handle all their specific service questions [69].…”