While businesses large and small are scurrying to stake their presence on
the Internet in the form of World Wide Web sites, it is not obvious how
this new medium can create truly innovative value. Our recent studies of
close to two thousand commercial Web sites from four continents affirm
the critique that they are mostly variations and adaptations of
conventional marketing and broadcasting channels. Amidst hyperboles of
global connections, paperless transactions, and electronic commerce, few
clear-cut strategies reflecting well articulated vision and commitment of
top management are to be glimpsed.
Since it will be difficult to piece together a generic view from the
diversity of business backgrounds, a single source of reflection and
inspiration should be useful. Quite befittingly, such an illustration can
indeed be found from our business schools. In December 1996, 225 American
Colleges and Schools of Business have their Web sites listed in one of a
handful of directories. A study of the merits and shortcomings of these
sites turns out a number of lessons for senior executives who may be just
beginning to grapple with strategic issues of the Internet.
Framework for Evaluation
In previous studies [1, 2] we proposed a framework in which the business purposes of a commercial web site are classified into three categories:
I. Promotion of product and services II. Provision of data and information III. Processing of business transactions
Four types of value creation from the perspective of the customer are identified:
1. Timely 2. Custom 3. Logistic 4. Sensational
Although business school sites are by definition in the educational domain, with the familiar ".edu" suffix, rather than the commercial domain indicated by the ".com" suffix, they fit perfectly into our purpose-value framework. After all, they do promote academic and professional programs, provide certain on-line resources for students, faculty and staff, and may eventually become significant channels for processing transactions such as applications and admissions, as well as the delivery of courses. Typical examples of features or functions that fall under each of the purpose-value combination are listed as follows.
Timely Value in Promotion: rankings, media coverage, new program, courses, or building Custom Value in Promotion: searchable resumes Logistic Value in Promotion: degree programs, on-line catalogs, research centers and institutes Sensational Value in Promotion: collectibles Timely Value in Provision: news, bulletins, online magazines, calendar/events, employment opportunities Custom Value in Provision: site search, phone/directory search Logistic Value in Provision: faculty directories/profiles, course listings/descriptions, alumni resources, student resources, recruiter resources, computer/library support Sensational Value in Provision: virtual tours of campus and buildings Timely Value in Processing: on-line application, on-line courses Custom Value in Processing: open class search Logistic Value in Processing: electronic form for inquiry, downloadable application material, course pages Sensational Value in Processing: special offer for on-line transaction.
This list is compiled from the sites under study and is by no means
exhaustive or definitive. While covering all the major functions in
current practice, it will most certainly expand as innovative features
are realized to take full advantage of the Web. To appreciate the
usefulness of this classification scheme, let us examine briefly how it
is derived for Web sites in general.
Consider first the distinction among the purposes. Promotion
is specific to the products and services that a business offers to
customers. Provision pertains to the supply of information to gain good
will, exposure, credibility, or to expedite communication. For an oil
company, information on its gasolines and fleet fueling services is
promotional; whereas data on explorations and reserves, financial reports
for investors, and its environmental polices are provisional. Similarly,
new product announcements are promotional; job postings are provisional.
Processing refers to those business transactions that are beyond the
generation of sales leads by promotion. Requesting a catalog is
promotional; on-line ordering is processing.
The kinds of value created by any given feature of a Web site may not be
obvious. Our model with the four categories: timely, custom, logistic,
and sensational, is distilled from extensive empirical observations.
Timely value applies to time-sensitive information, and not to the speed
of its delivery. Quarterly earnings as a news item is timely, but not as
part of an archived financial report, even when the latter can be
downloaded at the click of a mouse. While timely value can be
serendipitous, both custom and logistic values arise from specific intent
on the part of the visitor to a Web site.
Custom value is predicated on predisposed preferences of the visitor.
Searching a database of real estates listings based on preferred price
range, location, size and style of home, creates custom value. The
indicated preferences are assumed to be meaningful beyond the context of
one particular query. In contrast, logistic value is predicated on
preprogrammed propositions on the Web site. Quoting the rate for shipping
a 2 lb. package to a certain address creates logistic value. The weight
and distance parameters are only incidental to the actual query. In other
words, the proceedings of a custom value-adding feature generate a
profile of the visitor while the proceedings of a logistic value-adding
feature generate a profile of the business of the Web site.
Sensational value in general is totally subjective. The fact that any
Web page can show up on the screen at all can be a thrill to the
first-time browser. So is any variety of fancy graphics. To keep the
evaluation manageable, we judge against the current level of expectation
for a frequent visitor to the Web.
It should be remarked that for the present purpose, we are taking a
customer's perspective, and credit value-adding features accordingly.
Value created for the business, for example, in terms of demographic data
for market analysis, is not taken into account explicitly. Asking a
visitor to sign a guest book is of value to the business, but not to the
visitor. However, if signing the guest book enters one in the drawing of
free gift, then we count it as having sensational value.
A Profile of Business School Web Sites
In December 1996, there were 225 business schools in the US with Web sites listed in the "Business School Index" of the popular search engine Yahoo, and the "Business School Page" maintained by the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. For the study, each site was explored in sufficient detail so that all its value-adding features were identified and classified using the above framework. The percentage of sites having particular features in our list of examples was recorded. Since we are mostly interested in a snapshot of the collective wisdom in current practice, we choose not to refer to any specific site or school by name in tabulating and interpreting the results.
PURPOSE/Value FEATURE % OF SITES PROMOTION Timely Rankings 15 Media coverage 3 New program/course/building 5 Custom Searchable resumes 4 Logistic Degree programs 99 Research centers/institutes 46 Sensational Collectibles 1 PROVISION Timely News/bulletin/magazine 33 Calendars/Events 34 Employment opportunities 8 Faculty positions 7 Custom Site search 11 Phone/directory search 4 Logistic Faculty directories/profiles 81 Course listings/descriptions 32 Alumni resources 29 Student resources 59 Recruiter resources 15 Computer/library support 27 Sensational Virtual tour 12 PROCESSING Timely On-line application 3 On-line courses 2 Custom Open class search 1 Logistic E-form for request/inquiry 36 Downloadable material 9 Course pages 27 Sensational Bonus for on-line transaction 1
Lessons Learned
Though not all schools have their sites developed enough to address the needs of all audience groups, it is easy to see that the latter comprise i) prospective students and their parents; ii) current students; iii) faculty and staff; iv) alumni and friends; and v) prospective employers and recruiters. Yet, only 2 out of the 225 sites are explicitly organized around such target audiences, directing each to menus and topics of particular interest! While several other sites come close, all the rest are functionally oriented, by academic and research units, departments, offices, etc. From a customer's perspective, it is typically impossible to know if certain information is available without actually exhausting all the links from a given branch. To be effective, Web sites must be designed with users in mind, rather than as a technical showcase, no matter how impressive that may be in appearance.
The purpose of a Web site can be any mix of i) promotion of products and services; ii) provision of informational resources; and iii) processing of business transactions. In any case, the actual intent and capabilities, rather than some ultimate goals, should be apparent to the user. Declaring a site to be a perpetual work-in-progress is no excuse to murkiness in purpose. Many business school sites proclaim themselves to be resources for current students and faculty (a provisional purpose) when indeed they are little more than online brochures for prospective students (a promotional purpose.) As one selects the "Faculty" menu, only 1 out of the 225 sites has features specifically designed for the faculty. All others contain primarily information on the faculty. Is it any wonder why many webmasters find it difficult to attract more faculty to use their own sites?
One third of the sites have a "What's New" feature, in the form of bulletins, news magazines, or press releases. Unfortunately, many are hopelessly out of date. The latest news at one site was dated April 1995 when viewed in December 1996! Do not expect a visitor to continue browsing with confidence after such an encounter. Another site has three professors in one department credited as chairperson in their respective biographical profiles. These are not typographical errors, but stale information. And since the professors in question probably never browsed those pages (as we learned from Lesson 2), who would care enough to point it out? This goes to show that putting up a Web site may be simply a technical project requiring certain expertise, but maintaining it properly is a continuing operation that should involve significant authority and responsibility. Most business schools enlist a student as the webmaster. Who is in charge of the content of your Web site?
The process of application for admission to a school is a significant transaction. Communication over the Internet has great potential in streamlining this aspect of its operations. 36% of the Web sites provide an electronic form for the request of application material. A prospective applicant fills in the form, which is then transmitted as electronic mail to the school. The requested material will be sent to the applicant and eventually be returned to the school, all by regular mail. While giving the Web site the appearance of being interactive, this feature is hardly real progress. As a matter of fact, one top-ranked school obstensively declares that at least four weeks should be allowed for delivery. By contrast, 9 % of the sites provide for direct downloading of applicaiton forms, which does save one round of mailing. Actually, only 6 of the 225 sites have some form of online application, which is approaching doing business over the Internet. Granted that real progress takes time, effort, and resources, an important first step is to be able to tell the difference.
Apart from so-called virtual tours of campuses or buildings, which range from simple photo galleries to jerky videos, it may be difficult to expect business school Web sites to provide much by way of sensational value. Indeed, they are all very similar architecturally, perhaps varying mostly in their stages of development. However, a few interesting ideas do stand out to show that it is always possible to be creative in this evolving medium. One site waives the usual fee for online applications. Another presents its faculty as an agency of expert witnesses. Yet a third site have a page to market custom-labeled, commemorative vintage wines.
References
[1] J.K. Ho, "Evaluating the World Wide Web: A
Study of 1000 Commercial Sites,"
http://www.uic.edu/~jimho/www1000.html (June 1996).
[2] ______, "A Comparative Study of Commercial Web
Sites in Australia, France, Hong Kong, and the US,"
http://www.uic.edu/~jimho/world.html (July 1996).