Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)

Place to Space: Migrating to eBusiness Models
By Peter Weill and Michael R. Vitale

The first book to provide a structured, practical approach for traditional firms migrating to the Web

Awarded Best Business Books 2001
Library Journal March 2002

The recent stock market correction has been an external motivation for firms to trim the by-product of some of their exuberant expansion during one of the longest bull markets in history. However, along with the painful decisions of layoffs and restructuring, companies are faced with a major opportunity. Firms have a chance, even a responsibility, to rethink their business models, combining the best of traditional and online capabilities.

Do these market corrections indicate that established bricks-and-mortar companies should give up on developing online aspects to their businesses? Absolutely not, say Peter Weill and Michael R. Vitale. A profitable business model incorporating e-business is NOT an oxymoron. And they can prove it. In Place to Space: Migrating to eBusiness Models (Harvard Business School Press), Weill and Vitale present in-depth, structured research on how organizations must adapt their bricks-and-mortar business to complement their on-line ventures to be able to outdo their competition in a rapidly morphing economic climate.

Much of the debate on ebusiness has been speculative, anecdotal, episodic, and often biased. In contrast, Weill and Vitale provide a more realistic view of the e-landscape, arguing that ebusiness models can be systematically analyzed to understand their revenue, potential profitability and competencies need for implementation.

Based on several years of research and a detailed study of fifty online initiatives in a variety of traditional firms, Place to Space is the first source to offer viable, tried-and-true guidance to those needing to mix digital and analog strategies. They provide:

• a systematic, practical analysis of eight “atomic” e-business models
• an adaptable hybrid model for competing using the Web
• revolutionary new schematic tools for analyzing current business models and evaluating promising new Web initiatives.

Through frameworks for discussion and dialogue supported by detailed case studies and empirical data from firms implementing e-business models — such as Lonely Planet Publications, GE Supply Company, Gap, and Seven-Eleven — the authors demonstrate how can companies can improve their on-line efforts and exceed customer expectations instead of simply to leveraging current products in a virtual marketplace.

Testimonials
“The emerging Internet economy is based on a set of atomic e-business models. Weill and Vitale provide the most rigorous, relevant, and readable analysis of these basic building blocks that I’ve encountered. Understanding models like these is the difference between alchemy and science, ignorance and knowledge, and ultimately, failure and success. I heartily recommend this book.”
— Erik Brynjolfsson, Co-director of the Center for eBusiness, MIT

“Cutting through the swirling mist of dot-com business models with penetrating simplicity, Place to Space delivers the essential for dissecting our Internet strategy, truly understanding its internal workings, and then-most important-explaining it to our bankers. The authors’ concise case studies, interspersed with astute observations, make for truly intriguing reading.”
— Steven Hibbard, CEO, Lonely Planet Publications

“Place to Space provides breakthrough value along with actionable advice. The atomic business model paradigm gives CEOs a practical tool for redesigning their businesses to unlock new assets. Executives can use this book — unlike any other — to exploit “place” and “space” and create a sustainable economic advantage over the competition.”
— Dr. John J. Sviokla, Vice Chairman, DiamondCluster International, Inc.

“Place to Space is a first-rate, reliable, imaginative, and intensely realistic guide for creating e-businesses upon solid foundations and principles. Weill and Vitale provide executives with the business models and initiatives they need, so that their companies can meet the challenges, exploit the opportunities, and minimize the risks of e-business.”
— Peter Keen, author of From .Com to .Profit and The E-Process Edge

Place to Space: Migrating to eBusiness Models
By Peter Weill and Michael R. Vitale
Harvard Business School Press
May 28, 2001 * 400 pages * $35.00
ISBN: 1-57851-245-X