Intelligent Modeling of E-Business Maturity
Expert Systems with Applications
Expert Systems with Applications 32 (2007) 687–702 www.elsevier.com/locate/eswa Intelligent modeling of e-business maturity
George Xirogiannis b a,*
, Michael Glykas
b
a
University of Piraeus, Department of Informatics, 80, Karaoli & Dimitriou St., 185 34 Piraeus, Athens, Greece
University of Aegean, Department of Financial and Management Engineering, 31, Fostini Street, 82 100 Chios, Greece
Abstract
E-business has a significant impact on managers and academics. Despite the rhetoric surrounding e-business strategy formulation mechanisms, which support reasoning of the effect of strategic change activities to the maturity of the e-business models, are still emerging. This paper describes an attempt to build and operate such a reasoning mechanism as a novel supplement to e-business strategy formulation exercises. This new approach proposes the utilization of the fuzzy causal characteristics of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) as the underlying methodology in order to generate a hierarchical and dynamic network of interconnected maturity indicators. By using
FCMs, this research aims at simulating complex strategic models with imprecise relationships while quantifying the impact of strategic changes to the overall e-business efficiency. This research establishes generic adaptive domains – maps in order to implement the integration of hierarchical FCMs into e-business strategy formulation activities. Finally, this paper discusses experiments with the proposed mechanism and comments on its usability.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Fuzzy cognitive maps; E-business modeling; Strategy planning; Decision support
1. Introduction
Today, there is an increasing demand for a strategiclevel assessment of e-business capabilities that can be assembled and analyzed rapidly at low cost and without significant intrusion into the subject enterprises. The benefits from completing such an exercise are quite straightforward, for instance,
Expert Systems with Applications 32 (2007) 687–702 www.elsevier.com/locate/eswa Intelligent modeling of e-business maturity
George Xirogiannis b a,*
, Michael Glykas
b
a
University of Piraeus, Department of Informatics, 80, Karaoli & Dimitriou St., 185 34 Piraeus, Athens, Greece
University of Aegean, Department of Financial and Management Engineering, 31, Fostini Street, 82 100 Chios, Greece
Abstract
E-business has a significant impact on managers and academics. Despite the rhetoric surrounding e-business strategy formulation mechanisms, which support reasoning of the effect of strategic change activities to the maturity of the e-business models, are still emerging. This paper describes an attempt to build and operate such a reasoning mechanism as a novel supplement to e-business strategy formulation exercises. This new approach proposes the utilization of the fuzzy causal characteristics of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) as the underlying methodology in order to generate a hierarchical and dynamic network of interconnected maturity indicators. By using
FCMs, this research aims at simulating complex strategic models with imprecise relationships while quantifying the impact of strategic changes to the overall e-business efficiency. This research establishes generic adaptive domains – maps in order to implement the integration of hierarchical FCMs into e-business strategy formulation activities. Finally, this paper discusses experiments with the proposed mechanism and comments on its usability.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Fuzzy cognitive maps; E-business modeling; Strategy planning; Decision support
1. Introduction
Today, there is an increasing demand for a strategiclevel assessment of e-business capabilities that can be assembled and analyzed rapidly at low cost and without significant intrusion into the subject enterprises. The benefits from completing such an exercise are quite straightforward, for instance,
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