New Patterns of Power and Profit

Eric K. Clemons is Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. For thirty years he served as the Founder and Project Director for the School's Sponsored Research Project on Information: Strategy and Economics. He worked with C-suite officers from organizations like Merrill Lynch, Marriott Hotels, Lever Brothers, and Continental Airlines, to develop research that advanced their daily decision making. His experience includes analyzing bet-the-farm decisions with individuals as varied as the Chairmen of the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange and the Chief of Naval Operations, to the president and chief operating officer of a rapidly growing craft brewer. He is a pioneer in the digital transformation of business strategy.

1. Introduction.- 2. Information Changes Everything:  It's Not What You Know, It's What You Know Before Everyone Else.- 3. The Power of Framing:  If You Can't Answer the Question, Turn it into a Question You Can Answer.- 4. Resonance Marketing in the Age of the Truly Informed Consumer:  Creating Profits through Differentiation and Delight.- 5. Online Brand Ambassadors and Online Brand Assassins:  Master The New Role of the Chief Perception Officer.- 6. Resources, Platforms, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage:  How to Win and Keep on Winning.- 7. Understanding The Power of Third Party Payer Businesses and Online Gateways.- 8. The Continuing Power of Third Party Payer Businesses.- 9. Power and the Potential for the Abuse of Power in Online Gateway Systems:  An Analysis of Google.- 10. Scenario Analysis and Managing Strategic Ambiguity:  How to Remember Future Events, before They Actually Occur.- 11. Examining the Wide Range of Business Models Currently in Use in Online Businesses:  How to Understand A New Business Using Existing Frameworks.- 12. Conclusions:  So What is Digital Transformation of the Firm and is it a Big Deal?.