Enterprise 2.0. - Resource and Capability - Essay Example

? Number: Enterprise 2.0 as a resource and capability The conventional models of how people and organizations publish and utilize information on the web have fundamentally changed in the modern times. Rather than viewing information on static web pages, web users and organizations in particular publish their own content through blogs and Wikis. The current global economy and the ability to be agile to technological change have increasingly become critical in businesses. Information and interactions around it have become the principal resources and capabilities for most business entities. Moreover, making the right decisions is the defining operating feature of succeeding companies (Hinchcliffe, 2009; McAfee, 2009). The success results from competitive advantage resulting from Enterprise 2.0 usage. The marketplace imperative to access the right information and people at the exact time has resulted in an enhanced interest in building a next-generation enterprise place of work setting where users carry out daily trade activities. Such a workplace necessitates for Enterprise 2.0 technologies and usage pattern to transition the workplace to an internet powered, which is user centered, as well as community centered. Web technologies have sites that form collective fabric tying people, processes and systems together. As such, Enterprise 2.0 technology can be used both as a resource and as a capability by an organization to give rise to competitive advantage (Taprial & Kanwar, 2012). Organizations can use social media platform to their advantage through what is referred to as the resource based view of the firm (RBVF). The resource-based view of the firm holds that firms possess resources that enable them achieve a competitive merit. In turn, the attained competitive merit results in excellent long term performance. Resources that are precious and rare may result in the creation of competitive merit, which can be continued for longer times periods if the business will be able to safeguard against resource imitation. Firms may use web 2.0 resources to make their resources and capabilities valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and non substitutable (Westner, 2009). Web technologies will be valuable if they help a firm to put in place strategies than enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Priceless organizational resources owned by many rival firms cannot be sources of a competitive merit. Therefore, a firm should adopt web technology in an agile manner to ensure that its capabilities and resources will be rare, eventually resulting in a sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, the resources and capabilities should not be imitable and substitutable. Modern businesses face a world of changing technologies, increased global competition and dealing with enlightened customers. Customers precisely know what they want, and use the web to look for every detail of their product of choice. This calls for businesses to use the fresh wave of enterprise 2.0 technology to act swiftly to optimize reaction to market opportunities to gain a competitive edge (Qualman, 2012). Web technologies in social media can be utilized as a resource for increased interaction between a corporation’s different stakeholders. The use of web 2.0 technologies can be used as a resource for driving revenue. Companies are looking for ways to enhance their efficacy in their innovation programs in a bid to gain essential competitive differentiation. This has come about as a result of a worldwide marketplace pattern of increasing rivalry and adding new competitive elements and means of conducting business online. It is worth noting that contemporary businesses will not succeed only by cutting costs and doing usual business activities day in day out. For instance, South West Airlines use social media to give information of flights, and notify customers on any flight changes. South West Airlines uses social sites like Facebook to build relations with the public, and this presents a potential to gain new customers. Online competitions by the corporation through Facebook further enhance the airline’s image. As a result, the airline has gained a competitive merit through social media sites. Whole Foods also uses social media sites to its advantage by creating an environment for its partners and customers to interact online. For instance, the organization’s Facebook fan page gives a variety of tools for customer engagement and feedback (Hinchcliffe & Kim, 2012; Hana & Hendricks, 2011). Innovation is the engine of business growth, which is made possible by technologies such as web 2.0. Revenue may be driven by basic approaches like searching for new markets, increasing revenue life for current products of by finding new applications for technologies. Social media sites are an integral tool that can help a corporation find new markets for its existing products. New customers will result in additional sales eventually driving up a corporation’s revenue. Corporations can also utilize web 2.0 technologies as a resource to develop strategic innovation capacity which is a critical success component. Web 2.0 technologies play a crucial role in daily innovation needs of the enterprise in searching for new ways to conduct operational excellence. Innovation is the successful recipe to propel the health and efficiency of an organization (Yarbrough, 2013). Apart from using web 2.0 technologies as resources, organizations have realized that social media sites, blogs, Wikis and social networking also add value to the business. Social networking increases people’s aptitude to share knowledge, information and be in touch with one another. For instance, emails have become an indispensable element in organizational communication. A modern concept that helps organizations make the most of their capital is cloud computing. Cloud computing may be used as an information technology capability, and a resource to connect system users within the company. Organizations can use cloud computing to enlarge their network of interaction with partners, clients and suppliers, as well as enhancing internal relationships to lessen costs, increase profitability and sustain their competitiveness (Pyke & Fingar, 2010). In conclusion, web technologies have become part of the modern global trade. Enterprise 2.0 impact on businesses cannot be underestimated as they can be used as an innovation to derive competitive advantage for a corporation. Social media sites have become popular for promoting products and services. A social site like Facebook is used for collaboration where companies use it to reach prospective customers and potential employees, as well. Companies also use web 2.0 technologies to obtain collaborate with their partners as a means of increasing their competitiveness through the concept of the resource based view of the firm. Therefore, web 2.0 technologies have revolutionized the world of business in terms of resources and capabilities in innovation, customer management, promotion and competitive advantage. Bibliography Hana S. N. & Hendricks J.A., 2011. Social Media: Usage and Impact. NY: Lexington Books. Hinchcliffe, D., 2009. Communal management: the essential capability of successful enterprise 2.0 efforts. Accessed on 23 April 2013 from: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hinchcliffe/community-management-the-essential-capability-of-successful-enterprise-2-0-efforts/913. Hinchcliffe, D. & Kim, P., 2012. Social Business By Design: Transformative Social Media Strategies for the Connected Company. Connecticut: John Wiley & Sons. McAfee, A., 2009. Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization's Toughest Challenges. Cambridge, Mass.: HBS Press Book. Pyke, M.A. & Fingar, P.J., 2010. Enterprise Cloud Computing: A Strategy Guide for Business and Technology Leaders. Tampa, Florida: Meghan-Kiffer Press. Qualman, E., 2012. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. Connecticut: John Wiley & Sons. Taprial, V. &   Kanwar, P., 2012. Understanding Social Media. London: Bookboon. Westner, M.K., 2009. Is Offshoring: Essays on Project Suitability and Success. NY: Springer Yarbrough, E., 2013. Enterprise adoption strategies. Accessed on 23 April 2013 from: http://www.allyis.com/thinking/Pages/Enterprise-20-Adoption-Strategic-and-Tactical- Considerations.aspx Read More