Implementation of e-business development at The Driving Skool

Introduction .............................................................................................................................................3
Background...............................................................................................................................................3
Pilot Research.............................................................................................................................................3

Relation to previous studies ..................................................................................................................4

Outcomes of pilot research ...................................................................................................................5

Research Question and Objectives.................................................................................................................5

Research Design .................................................................................................................................5

Research Methods and Data Collection ................................................................................................5

Alternative methods ............................................................................................................................6

Summary ..................................................................................................................................................6
Timescale .................................................................................................................................................7
References ...............................................................................................................................................8
Appendices ..............................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 1: Pilot Research ...................................................................................................................9

Appendix 2: Pilot Research: Questionnaire Results Analysis .................................................................. 11

Appendix 3: Initial Interview with Mike Jack (The Driving Skools owner) ................................................ 18

Appendix 4: Individual interviews reviewing local competitors websites ................................................ 19

Appendix 5: Focus group study outlining suitable online resources ........................................................ 21

Appendix 6: Chaffey (2007) Benefits of e-business ............................................................................... 22

Appendix 7: The Driving Skools website ............................................................................................. 22

2
Introduction
The purpose of this proposal is to determine how a specific area of The Driving Skools business can be
improved. This report outlines how initial research and analysis of The Driving Skools external environment
has resulted in determining several research objectives to help improve and enhance the current e-business
and branding strategies. Research design and data collection methods are explained in detail describing
how further research is planned to achieve the research objectives.

Background
Mike Jack founded the Driving Skool in 2006. Its primary business is teaching people how to drive in
preparation for passing the Driving Standards Agencys practical and theory driving tests. It also offers
training courses for taxi and fleet drivers. The Driving Skool operates as a franchise and today has 10
instructors working under its name covering South East London, Kent and Essex. In the next 5 years Jacks
ambition is to add a further 20 cars to his fleet and to develop and establish The Driving Skools brand and e-
business strategies. Additional information can be found on the companys website (appendix 7).

Pilot Research
A strategy for creating value through e-business was discussed from the opening meeting with Mike Jack on
the 29th of October 2010 (appendix 3). According to the initial pilot research data (see appendix 2) over
60% of people looking to learn to drive would first consider an internet search before deciding on which
driving school to learn with.

Age:

Diagram 1: How different age

categories choose and find potential
Number of people who chose this method driving schools.

Diagram 1 shows how different age categories would most likely find a driving school. The target market for
The Driving Skool is 17 to 24 year olds and interestingly this age category expressed that they would most
likely look for a driving school online.
3
 Diagram 2: How
useful respondents
feel they will find
unique capabilities
improving their
learning
experience.

94% of respondents believe they would find online driving resources improving their learning experience
useful or very useful. This coupled with the fact local rivals are not providing these services a gap exists for
The Driving Skool to exploit. Results show 60% of respondents believe their decision to choose one driving
school over another could be affected by the unique resources schools offer on their websites. With
implementation of an improved e-business strategy a competitive advantage over local rivals can be
achieved by locking in potential customers when they visit The Driving Skools website. Other factors that
affect customer decisions to decide on a driving school can be found in appendix 2.

Relation to previous studies

Bhatt and Grover (2005) explain that IT capabilities can create unique resources and provide businesses with
a competitive advantage. Carr (2003) however argues that any advantage a firm has with an e-business
strategy can easily be copied or obtained by rivals. But it must be argued in this case that many local driving
schools do not have the capability or strategic vision to utilise and implement effective e-business
strategies. In the local driving school market 60% of the schools have a website, but none scored highly in
the website review interviews conducted (appendix 4).

Pilot research data has demonstrated that a higher value service can be created for The Driving Skools
customers by utilising IT to provide new online driving instruction services and improving the current
website to match and exceed users needs (appendix 5). These services could form the basis of a unique
capability that will help sustain competitive advantage over rivals.

Developing the brand online was also an issue brought forward in preliminary talks with the owner
(appendix 3). Rowley (2004) outlines several factors that must be considered when building a brand online,
including deciding on a brand message, brand design and brand context. Conducting further research
evaluating numerous branding frameworks and models will enable steps to be taken to improve The
Driving Skools brand image online. This will result in increased perceived value and could result in
competitive advantage (Johnson et al, 2009)
4
Outcomes of pilot research
Further research is planned to understand exactly how e-business and online branding strategies can be
implemented to create value, develop brand image and gain competitive advantage over local rivals. Chaffey
(2007) outlines the numerous advantages of implementing e-business strategies (appendix 6).

Research Question and Objectives

How the implementation of e-business and branding strategies can be used to enhance customer value
and brand image resulting in competitive advantage.

Objectives:

1. Create customer value through development of unique capabilities.

2. Determine success factors for effective online branding and creation of a website that exceeds customer
needs.

3. Explore uses of social networking sites and online directories to develop brand awareness and
increase web presence.

Research Design
In order to achieve the research objectives first the relevant literature from each subject area must be
studied and reviewed. Both deductive and inductive research strategies will be implemented to understand
and explain the relationship between the variables relating to each research objective. Gergen and Gergen
(2000) explain an inductive research strategy comprising of qualitative research is very effective because it
allows information to emerge freely and in relation to the context of the research. The qualitative research
will produce rich answers containing individual beliefs, interests and attitudes towards the specific research
objectives.

However, as the aim of the research is to determine precisely how each objective can be achieved, and
considering that the final report is for the management of The Driving Skool, solid quantitative results must
be produced too.

Research Methods and Data Collection

A mixed-method research strategy will be used, with qualitative methods such as interviews and focus
groups being used to understand and identify consumer feelings on the research objectives. The initial
qualitative research will be conducted in several rounds to narrow down results. The quantitative research
will be designed from these results and will be implemented to prioritise, rank and score variables
affecting e-business effectiveness.

Interviews will be scheduled first to understand the broad values and attitudes of individuals. Holding
individual interviews first will also stop peer-pressure affecting opinions. However the usefulness of
interviews is limited to the experience of the person staging them. According to Gratten and Jones (2004) it
is of high probability that an inexperienced interviewer will add bias, often unconsciously, during an
5
interview and therefore remove the actual purpose of holding the interview in the first place. To nullify
this disadvantage interviews have been practiced in the pilot research period.

People to interview will be gathered from The Driving Skools database of customers and employees,
friends, family and members of the public who agree to take part in the study. Interviews will take place at
an office in Bromley (the central location where The Driving Skool operates). At least 20 people will be
interviewed. Interviews and focus groups will be staged in a semi-structured fashion to make sure
discussions remain related to the research objectives but allow rich opinions.

Internet and paper-based self-completion surveys have been chosen as the most appropriate method of
gathering data for the quantitative part of the research. Benefits include answers are more likely to be
honest (Kellner, 2004) and respondents have more time to think about their answers compared to other
quantitative methods. This will result in more informative and accurate conclusions being found (Brace,
2008). Surveys will be distributed via several online media including websites, social networking and e-mail.
Paper-based surveys will be distributed in the University library and local area. Online surveys can be
circulated quickly to hundreds of people and can be placed on sites relevant to the subject area, increasing
the possibility of them being completed and meeting the sample requirements.

Alternative methods
Alternative methods such as telephone and mail surveys were considered but are more expensive in terms
of cost and time, people also prefer to fill in self-completion surveys over these methods because they are
easier to understand and require less intense input (Fink et al, 2003). According to Lake and Harper (1987)
response rates to mail surveys are often less than 30%, thereby making the administrative effort of
selecting the sample and designing the survey not worth the effort.

A semi-structured interview technique has been chosen over an unstructured technique because it benefits
from capturing a high depth of respondents beliefs as well as keeping data valid and in context. It assures all
criteria are covered systematically and completely enabling both high reliability and validity (Hersen et al,
2007). An unstructured interview would perhaps allow a more in depth insight into respondents broad
views on the subject areas, but the data extracted may be of little relevance to achieving research
objectives.

Summary
From conducting a pilot research study and reviewing part of the literature based on the information
gathered in the initial meeting with Mike Jack, it is clear that e-business capabilities will be very important in
creating customer value and developing The Driving Skool brand. The research highlighted above must be
conducted to understand exactly how the research question and objectives can be achieved. The next page
highlights exactly when each part of the project will take place.
6
Timescale

Diagram 3: Gannt chart depicting timescale of project.

7
References
Bhatt, G. and Grover, V., 2005, Types of information technology capabilities and their role in competitive
advantage: an empirical study, Journal of Management Information Systems, 22(2): 253-277.

Brace, I. (2008), Questionnaire Design: How to Plan, Structure and Write Survey Material for Effective
Market Research, Kogan Page Publishers, London.

Carr, N. (2003), IT doesnt matter. Harvard Business Review, May 2003: 41-49.

Chaffey, D.(2007),E-business and E-commerce Management-Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Harlow:

Pearson Education.

Fink, A., Brookover Bourque, L., Fielder, E. (2003), How to conduct telephone surveys, Sage
Publications, California.

Gergen, M., and Gergen, K. (2000), Qualitative inquiry, tensions and transformations. In N. Denzin & Y.
Lincoln, The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 1025-1046). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.

Gratten, C. and Jones, I. (2004), Research methods for Sport Studies, Routledge, New York.

Hersen, M,. Turner, S. and Beidel, D. (2007), Adult psychopathology and diagnosis, John Wiley and Sons.

Johnson, R. and Onwuegbuzie, A. (2004), Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has
come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14_26.

Johnson G; Scholes K and Whittington R, 2009, Fundamentals of Strategy, Prentice Hall.

Kellner, P., 2004, Can online polls produce accurate findings? International Journal of Market Research.

Lake, C. and Harper, P., 1987, Public opinion polling: a handbook for public interest and citizen
advocacy groups, Montana Alliance for Progressive Policy, Island Press.

Rowley, J., 2004, Online branding, Online Information Review, Volume 28, 131-138.
8
Appendices
Appendix 1: Pilot Research
Date: Research undertaken from 3rd November to 20th November.

Metadata:
Sample size = 52, consisting of twenty-nine males and twenty-three females.
Thirty-eight 17 to 24 year olds, seven 25 to 30 year olds, four 30 to 40 year olds and three over 40s took part.

28 completed the survey online, 24 completed on paper.

Research Methods
Research was quantitative based on self-completion surveys. Survey was circulated online via email,
websites, and social networking. 28 of the 52 people responded to the survey online. The remaining 24
answered the survey on paper. This method was chosen because it was the quickest way a large number of
respondents could be achieved in the short time period allocated. Paper surveys were completed in several
locations including the University library, Bromley high street and other locations nearby. The survey was
designed on Surveymonkey.com
9
Questionnaire
Appendix 2: Pilot Research: Questionnaire Results Analysis

1. Age:

Response count Response percentage

11-16 0 0%
17-24 38 73%
25-30 7 13.5%
30-40 4 7.7%
40+ 3 5.8%

Most respondents were of the age 17 to 24. These types of people were targeted on purpose through the
selection of research methods (online survey). It is most important to understand this age categories
preferences because this is The Driving Skools target market and where it receives more than half of its
revenues.
11
2. Gender:

Response count Response percentage

Male: 29 55.8%
Female: 23 44.2%
12
3. Before learning to drive which of these methods would use to find a driving instructor/school?

Response count Response percentage

Recommendations from friends 10 19.2%

Yellow Pages/ other directory 3 5.8%

Internet Search 32 61.5%

Seeing a Learner car drive past 7 13.5%

Other (please specify) 0 0%

13
4. How important are these factors when deciding on which driving school to learn with?

Very important Important Little importance Not important

Useful online 29 11 10 2
resources to help
you pass your test

Pass rates 24 13 10 5

Ease of contacting 27 24 2 0
driving school

Price of lessons 34 12 6 0

Location of lessons 11 26 11 4

Other 0 0 0 0

When questioned it was intriguing to see that many respondents believe online resources can be
very important. From this result it is evident there is real purpose behind this project.
14
5. Have you heard of The Driving Skool?

Response count Response percentage

Yes 14 27%

No 38 73%

Less than 30% of the respondents knew The Driving Skool existed, and to be honest I am surprised even
that 14 people had heard of it. This relates to the branding of the business and will be an aspect the final
project will address.
15
6. If a driving school could offer a unique capability through the internet to help you learn and understand
how to drive better, e.g. in-depth tutorials on how to parallel park, reverse around corner, drive on the
motorway, etc.

How useful do you think this will be?

Response count Response percentage

Very Useful 32 61.5%

Useful 17 32.7%
Not Useful 3 5.8%

Over 90% feel online resources will be useful in aiding their driving experience. Consequently, The
Driving Skool should implement a strategy of including such resources on its website as soon as possible.
16
7. And would having access to these extra resources, that will improve your chances of passing your test,
sway your decision to choose that driving school over another?

Response count Response percentage

Yes 31 59.6%
No 21 40.4%
17
Appendix 3: Initial Interview with Mike Jack (The Driving Skools owner)
Date: 29th of October 2010.

Interview Questions

The interview was semi-constructed with key areas being addressed that needed covering with questions.
The questions were used as topic conversation starters and other questions were then created on the
spot to probe further information. The interview was set in an informal setting and lasted an hour.

Can you give me a general overview of the background of the company, for example stating
why, when and where it started and where the company is today?

How many employees are employed today?

Since the company began what has been the performance been like each year?

What is the target market for The Driving Skool and why?

What would you say are the strengths of The Driving Skool?

Do you feel there are any major weaknesses or threats to your business?

Where do you feel opportunities lay in the market? Do you feel there are many opportunities
online?

Interview analysis (notes taken during interview rewritten)

The Driving Skool began trading in Chislehurst, Bromley in 2006 with just 1 car. 4 years later 10 cars make up
The Driving Skools fleet. The company is a franchise, meaning individuals who want to work under the
brand name have to pay a fixed amount of money and pay a percentage of profits back every year. Mike Jack
wants to add 20 more cars in the next 5 years as well as develop an online strategy. He feels many
competitors are failing to exploit the potential advantages the internet offers.

Sales and profits have both increased each year since existence. With 2009 being an exception, which
saw sales decrease, profits however still rose in comparison to the previous year. This suggests The
Driving Skools market share has fallen, but with greater experience in the market overhead costs have
been reduced.

The target market is 17 to 24 year olds and this age group make up for over 65% of the companys revenues.

Mike Jack thinks as the internet revolution continues an improved e-business strategy will become more and
more influential in the companies continued success. He understands that the brand image online is
inconsistent to that on the cars and that this needed to be looked into. It was discussed that creating value
online could create a competitive advantage for the firm and could act as a means of attracting and
retaining new customers.
18
Appendix 4: Individual interviews reviewing local competitors websites
Date: Research was undertaken from 20th November to 27th November 2010.

Metadata:

Sample size = 10. Containing; 6 males and 4 females. Six 17-24 year olds, three 25 to 30 year olds and one 31
to 40 year old were interviewed.

Interviews were conducted one on one. Interviews were constructed, each individual had to search and
go through all local driving schools websites. Each website was scored by individuals on several factors on
a scale of 1 to 5. These scores were then summed together to generate an overall score for each driving
schools website.

Results are shown below. Local driving school companys were researched and found through
searching directories online and on paper, visiting learner driver hotspots, and visiting the driving test
centre in Bromley.

Usefulness/ 5 Design /5 Ease of Use /5 Overall

Competitor Does it have a website?
(Average Score) (Average Score) (Average Score) /15

Yes

Dave Miller http://davemillerschool 2 1 2 5

ofmotoring.co.uk/defau
lt.aspx

Walkers Yes
school of http://www.walkerssch 2 3 3 8
Motoring oolofmotoring.co.uk/

D Drive No - - - -

Yes
ABLE http://www.abledriving. 2 2 2 6
co.uk/

Julians School
No - - - -
of Motoring

MKI Driving No - - - -

1st Class No - - - -

Yes
Foley http://www.jerryfoley.c 2 1 2 5
om/
19
 Stella No - - - -

Yes
Koolas http://www.koolas.co.u 2 3 3 8
k/

Yes
Drivewise http://www.drivewisem 1 1 2 4
otoring.co.uk/

System School
No - - - -
of Motoring

Yes
Steve Carter
http://www.drivingless 2 1 2 5
Driving School
onsbromley.com/

Yes
Roads Tuition http://www.roads- 2 4 4 10
tuition.com/#all

Yes
Chequered http://www.chequred- 2 4 3 9
Flag flag.co.uk/#/home/hom
e-1

College
No - - - -
Driving School

Yes
The Driving
http://www.thedrivings 2 2 2 6
Skool
kool.com

Yes
Lanes http://www.lanesschool 2 2 2 6
ofdriving.co.uk/

10 out 17 local driving schools have a website (58%).

Results show that no driving school scored constantly highly. Roads-Tuition received the highest marks
mainly due to its design. It was noted from respondents that most websites were very similar and did not
include much information other than the telephone number and location for the driving schools.
20
Appendix 5: Focus group study outlining suitable online resources
Date: 27th of November 2010.

The 10 individuals who were interviewed to review local driving school websites were gathered together on
the 27th of November to discuss suitable online resources The Driving Skool could implement to improve
the usefulness of their website.

The focus group began with a discussion about local competitors websites. It was concluded that most
driving schools websites were all too similar and offered nothing unique other than design, which was
in most case very basic and not aesthetically pleasing.

It was then discussed that The Driving Skool could offer unique online driving instruction services such as
video and text tutorials on how to parallel park and reverse around corners, etc. These would
dramatically improve the usefulness of the website to users and create value.

Furthermore it was agreed The Driving Skools website design and functionality needed to be updated as
it currently looks out of date and is not consistent with the companys physical presence.
21
Appendix 6: Chaffey (2007) Benefits of e-business

Appendix 7: The Driving Skools website

www.thedrivingskool.com
 22

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