Enrique Dans

Publicaciones

Pulse aquí para la versión en español
Journal articles
  • What's new? Dans, E. "IT Does Matter" (rebuttal of an article by Nicholas G. Carr published in Harvard Business Review), Working Paper Series, Instituto de Empresa. Published in European Business Forum (EBF), Issue 16, Winter 2003/4
Some articles lately have hypothesized about IT being a commodity from which firms cannot extract a true competitive advantage anymore. Therefore, according to those authors, the competitive edge would be now in carefully managing IT to reduce costs and avoid overspending. The author rebates these viewpoints using Swanson's Tri-Core model and proposes a different way to look IT management in the future in order to avoid the current pitfalls.
En 1958, algunas empresas pioneras empezaron a invertir en ordenadores con el fin de automatizar algunas tareas administrativas y controlar algunas funciones de producción. Algunos autores, en aquella época, comenzaron a escribir acerca de los futuros impactos de aquella tecnología sin nombre establecido, a la que comenzaron a referirse de manera genérica como tecnologías de información, y a reclutar un nuevo tipo de profesionales, que formaron los Departamentos de Sistemas de Información dirigidos en muchos casos por una nueva figura, el CIO (Chief Information Officer). Pero ¿tienen algo que ver la tecnología de aquella época y la actual? ¿Existen parecidos entre las funciones del Departamento de Sistemas de entonces y las de ahora? ¿Hasta que punto ha cambiado la composición de este Departamento y el perfil de sus integrantes en estos años? Consecuentemente, ¿cuáles podría ser los retos que los investigadores deberíamos plantearnos a futuro?
In this paper we report an extensive analysis of the different business models for auctions found on the Web. Three hundred websites from the B2C, B2B and C2C arena, randomly selected from the main search engines, are analyzed, classified, commented and compared in terms of their basic parameters. Departing from a theoretical review of the classical auction theory applied to the online world, twelve business models are defined and analyzed. The confusing terminology regarding the new online auction models is also conveniently organized. The results show that the new possibilities brought by the popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web are making possible emergent business models in both the business-to-consumer and the business-to-business arena.
Commerce among firms through the Internet, the so-called B2B commerce, constitutes a newly developed area in which most theses are yet to be demonstrated. The value proposition for firms in B2B commerce suggests the creation of highly efficient markets, access to a larger number of suppliers and/or customers, or even internal productivity increases. However, firms' perceptions of such benefits have not been empirically researched yet. In this study, 152 large Spanish firms are surveyed to gain some insights about their perceptions and developments regarding B2B. Results show both positive and negative priorities depending on aspects such as firms' current state of B2B development, perceived role in a B2B scenario, or characteristics of the industry. These results can help to assess the future diffusion of B2B initiatives, and also to evaluate new functions and areas for development in e-marketplaces.
Information Technologies (IT) can be used as an agent to foster social change. This case study describes an Internet start-up, Lonxanet, and analyzes its role as catalyst of drastic changes in the Galician (NW Spain) artisanal seafood fisheries. These fisheries are traditionally associated to rural communities of fishers, selling their products in local auction markets known as "lonxas". Galician seafood is hugely appreciated in the Spanish market, where products can achieve extremely high prices and have luxurious connotations. However, the product passes through a wide array of intermediaries, where lack of transparence prevails, until it finally reaches the market, so fishers achieve just a tiny amount of the potential profits despite assuming all the risks associated to the extractive phase. In order to foster social and economic change, Lonxanet proposes a large e?marketplace initiative integrating marketing and logistic services, partially owned by several fishers' organizations, and selling directly to restaurants and other final consumers. This change enables fishers to exert control over the full commercial cycle. Consequently, they switch from a "survival" mentality to an "industrial" one, and they become especially interested in the sustainability of the resource, thus achieving environmental benefits.
  • Dans, E. and D. Allen, "Methodology and Rigor", under review for the section "Issues and Opinions" in Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ)
El comercio entre empresas a través de Internet, conocido como comercio B2B, es un área de desarrollo incipiente en el que pocas o ninguna cosa están todavía demostradas. Las propuestas de valor para las empresas inciden en áreas tales como la formación de mercados más eficientes, acceso a mas proveedores y/o clientes, o incluso ganancias de eficiencia en procesos internos. Sin embargo, la percepción y valoración que las empresas tienen de dichas propuestas de valor no ha sido hasta el momento estudiada de una manera empírica. En el presente estudio, 152 grandes empresas españolas son encuestadas para conocer sus percepciones acerca de estas propuestas, así como su grado de aproximación al fenómeno del comercio electrónico B2B. Los resultados muestran diferentes percepciones, preocupaciones y prioridades en función de aspectos como el grado actual de implicación de las empresas, la información de que disponen, su papel en un hipotético mercado B2B o las características del sector en el que desarrollan su actividad. Los resultados pueden ser relevantes de cara a evaluar la posible difusión del fenómeno B2B entre las grandes empresas españolas en el futuro, así como para evaluar posibles áreas de desarrollo en las funcionalidades de los e-marketplaces.
El reciente auge del Customer Relationship Management (CRM) en empresas de todos los sectores ha hecho que nos planteemos una revisión del concepto de marketing basado en las reglas que parecen marcar lo que se ha dado en llamar "la nueva economía", y que tratemos de evaluar hasta que punto dichas reglas han cambiado. El presente artículo pretende realizar una revisión conceptual y terminológica del marketing ligado a iniciativas novedosas como el CRM, así como elaborar una visión normativa del mismo en sus diferentes fases. Las conclusiones sugieren que herramientas como el CRM están ligadas a una nueva visión, a un concepto de economía cliente-céntrica que se opone al producto-centrismo habitual y que trasciende al área de marketing, aunque una segunda interpretación afirma que no se trata, en general, de conceptos nuevos, sino más bien de la recreación de los antiguos a la luz de las posibilidades brindadas por el desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías.
Una de las preguntas más actuales con relación al comercio electrónico entre empresas y particulares, denominado B2C ó "business to consumer", es si las compras a través de este canal resultan más baratas que a través de los canales tradicionales. Aunque a primera vista parezca una tesis de respuesta fácil a través de un sencillo análisis empírico, existe una cuestión que le añade cierta dificultad: ¿cómo se cuantifica monetariamente el coste que supone realizar la compra en los establecimientos convencionales? No es fácil introducir una cantidad al respecto, ya que esta dependerá de cada persona, en función del número de productos que compre al mismo tiempo, del modo de transporte empleado, de la distancia al establecimiento comercial, y de factores cuyo valor resulta todavía más difícil de determinar como son el ahorro de tiempo y la comodidad, así como el carácter más o menos lúdico que para cada individuo puede representar el hecho en sí de realizar la compra por Internet o a través de establecimientos comerciales convencionales.
Can established newspapers leverage their offline brand equity to the online edition in order to create traffic and page views? This question is key for publishers, as they are now facing a change only comparable to the advent of the printing press in the fifteenth century. In the present study, both a cross-sectional and a time-series analysis are applied to 12 Spanish newspapers. Our findings indicate that brand equity in the market place can be efficiently leveraged into the market space. On-line readership depends both on off-line popularity as on the profile fit between the typical Internet user and the typical off-line reader of the newspaper. Persistence modeling of these time-series uncovers the digital market dynamics and the competitive advantage for the three leading brands. First, category incidence initially evolves, and then stabilizes. Second, brand choice is stable and proportional to the brand equity borrowed from the printed newspaper. Third, usage depth is proportional to the "stickiness" score of the Web site. Finally, digital newspapers obtain different benefits from important news items. Our analysis yields specific recommendations for the three leading newspapers.
Recent research has demonstrated the existence of a positive relationship between IT investment and productivity in the context of large firms. However, the validity of such relationship for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has not yet been established. The issue is of critical importance for SMEs, which suffer a constant struggle for survival due to the absence of slack resources and high competitive pressures. The present study analyzes a sample of 1,700 SMEs from Spain using a sample selection model, and examines several indicators of IT investment and their impact on productivity. The results confirm for SMEs the positive relationship between IT investment and productivity previously found in large firms: the so?called "productivity paradox" does not hold true for SMEs either.
Aging information systems are expensive to maintain and most are eventually retired and replaced. But what determines (in the choices made by managers) whether and when a system reaches end-of-life? What shapes managers' judgments about a system's remaining useful life and do these judgments influence the maintenance effort itself? Here we examine system maintenance and prospective replacement in new terms, positing that managers "equilibrate" (balance) their allocation of maintenance effort with their expectations of a system's remaining life. From data on 758 systems among 54 organizations, we find substantial support for a structural equation model in which the maintenance effort and expectations of the system's remaining life are hypothesized to be directly and positively related. Additionally, we find that a "portfolio effect" reflecting a system's familial complexity is directly and positively related to the maintenance effort. We find further that a system's size is directly and positively associated with its expected remaining life. Notwithstanding normative research suggesting the contrary, larger systems may tend to be longer-lived than smaller systems.
In 450 years of existence, the written press has never faced a change with the intensity and consequences as those of the Internet. The decision of going online represents a whole set of opportunities and threats that editors must carefully weigh. Once they have made the step, newspapers find themselves in a completely different competitive environment. They deal with different competitors, business models, customers and patterns of consumption. The present study explores such patterns of consumption by using data from 15 Spanish newspapers, covering time periods from 2 to 20 months. Characteristics of the printed newspapers and general patterns of the Internet are also analyzed in order to isolate the factors that enable an Internet newspaper to achieve a high level of readership. The findings indicate that reading patterns on the Internet strongly differ from those in the physical world, particularly when we consider weekday versus weekend circulation. The use of the newspaper is different too: reading of Internet newspapers is usually more functional and goal oriented, as indicated by the small number of pages read per visit. These and other results can provide editors with valuable insights to understand this new frontier in the history of journalism.
 

Congress presentations
Information Technologies (IT) can be used as an agent to foster social change. This case study describes an Internet start-up, Lonxanet, and analyzes its role as catalyst of drastic changes in the Galician (NW Spain) artisanal seafood fisheries. These fisheries are traditionally associated to rural communities of fishers, selling their products in local auction markets known as "lonxas". Galician seafood is hugely appreciated in the Spanish market, where products can achieve extremely high prices and have luxurious connotations. However, the product passes through a wide array of intermediaries, where lack of transparence prevails, until it finally reaches the market, so fishers achieve just a tiny amount of the potential profits despite assuming all the risks associated to the extractive phase. In order to foster social and economic change, Lonxanet proposes a large e?marketplace initiative integrating marketing and logistic services, partially owned by several fishers' organizations, and selling directly to restaurants and other final consumers. This change enables fishers to exert control over the full commercial cycle. Consequently, they switch from a "survival" mentality to an "industrial" one, and they become especially interested in the sustainability of the resource, thus achieving environmental benefits.
  • Dans, E. and D. Allen, "B2B e-Marketplaces: What's in it for me?" Proceedings of the IX European Conference of IT Evaluation (ECITE), Paris, July 15-16, 2002
 Commerce among firms through the Internet, the so-called B2B commerce, constitutes a newly developed area in which most theses are yet to be demonstrated. The value proposition for firms in B2B commerce suggests the creation of highly efficient markets, access to a larger number of suppliers and/or customers, or even internal productivity increases. However, firms' perceptions of such benefits have not been empirically researched yet. In this study, 152 large Spanish firms are surveyed to gain some insights about their perceptions and developments regarding B2B. Results show both positive and negative priorities depending on aspects such as firms' current state of B2B development, perceived role in a B2B scenario, or characteristics of the industry. These results can help to assess the future diffusion of B2B initiatives, and also to evaluate new functions and areas for development in e-marketplaces.
Information technology today is a complex area, in which new problems and challenges constantly arise and innovations emerge. The ability to incorporate an innovation in time or to solve a problem efficiently can mean competitive advantages for some firms. Being responsive in IT involves being alert, knowledgeable and prepared to face technical problems and to solve them in appropriate ways. In Europe, the year 1999 confronted firms with two examples of such challenges: the adaptation to the new European currency, the Euro, and the so-called millennium bug or Y2K problem. The present paper studies how fast a sample of 1,700 small and medium enterprises in Spain have reacted to these two problems, and introduces the company's degree of IT responsiveness into a classical production function expressed as a structural equation model. The newly defined construct is found to be positively associated to output generation: firms that are proactive and responsive to their IT-related problems tend to outperform those who are not.
In this paper we report an extensive analysis of the different business models for auctions found on the Web. Three hundred websites from the B2C, B2B and C2C arena, randomly selected from the main search engines, are analyzed, classified, commented and compared in terms of their basic parameters. Departing from a theoretical review of the classical auction theory applied to the online world, twelve business models are defined and analyzed. The confusing terminology regarding the new online auction models is also conveniently organized. The results show that the new possibilities brought by the popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web are making possible emergent business models in both the business-to-consumer and the business-to-business arena.
Recent research has demonstrated the existence of a positive relationship between IT investment and productivity in the context of large firms. However, the validity of such relationship for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has not yet been established. The issue is of critical importance for SMEs, which suffer a constant struggle for survival due to the absence of slack resources and high competitive pressures. The present study analyzes a sample of 1,700 SMEs from Spain using a sample selection model, and examines several indicators of IT investment and their impact on productivity. The results confirm for SMEs the positive relationship between IT investment and productivity previously found in large firms: the so?called "productivity paradox" does not hold true for SMEs either.
In 450 years of existence, the written press has never faced a change with the intensity and consequences as those of the Internet. The decision of going online represents a whole set of opportunities and threats that editors must carefully weigh. Once they have made the step, newspapers find themselves in a completely different competitive environment. They deal with different competitors, business models, customers and patterns of consumption. The present study explores such patterns of consumption by using data from 15 Spanish newspapers, covering time periods from 2 to 20 months. Characteristics of the printed newspapers and general patterns of the Internet are also analyzed in order to isolate the factors that enable an Internet newspaper to achieve a high level of readership. The findings indicate that reading patterns on the Internet strongly differ from those in the physical world, particularly when we consider weekday versus weekend circulation. The use of the newspaper is different too: reading of Internet newspapers is usually more functional and goal oriented, as indicated by the small number of pages read per visit. These and other results can provide editors with valuable insights to understand this new frontier in the history of journalism.
In 450 years of existence, the written press has never faced a change with the intensity of the Internet. The present study examines to what extent consumption patterns of digital news differ from those of printed news. Both a cross-sectional and a time-series analysis are applied to daily data of 15 Spanish newspapers. On the one hand, we find that the awareness and strength of the brand in the marketplace can be leveraged into the marketspace. On the other hand, the vastly different usage patterns and demographics of the Internet audience require newspapers to adapt to the new medium.
 

Cases

  • What's new? Dans, E. y de Haro, G., "Banco Sabadell" (en preparación)
  • What's new? Dans, E.,de Haro, G. y Manzanaro, M., "Sanitas: para lo que de verdad importa" (en preparación)
  • Dans, E. "LonxaNet: llevamos la lonja a su casa" 
  • Corral, N. y E. Dans, "Goodex Iberia" 
  • E. Dans y Prieto, J., "Cátenon"
  • Louis, P. and E. Dans, "TESCO: Every Little Helps"
    Web-based CRM case, available only in English. Access restricted. The case describes how Tesco, the main UK supermarket chain, implements a CRM strategy based on the Tesco Clubcard. If interested, get your password at Enrique.Dans@ie.edu. The Spanish version, with a much better designed user interface, is available through Executive Education at Instituto de Empresa, execed@ie.edu 
  • Aparicio, F. y E. Dans, "Gastón y Daniela A y B"
  • Dans, E. "La Vanguardia Electrónica"
    The first Internet case developed in Spain. The case describes the launching of the newspaper La Vanguardia on the Web, project philosophy, funding strategy, initial infrastructure, web structure and each section's functionality. The case is also furnished with details on the newspaper industry in Spain, competitive landscape in the paper arena and initial ventures of the main competitors into the Web. Some comparisons to international media such as the Wall Street Journal are also drawn. Available in both English and Spanish.
  • Alvarez de Novales, J. M. y E. Dans, "Vega Sicilia"
    A typical Strategy case, focused on the wine industry in Spain. Available both in English and Spanish
 

Books
  • "Casos Prácticos de e-Business: Para ser competitivo", Edited by SPRI, 2004, "Nueva Economía: Una Revisión Crítica", Pages 65 to 68.
  • "Herramientas informáticas para el análisis cuantitativo"
     Edited by SPESA, 1995