Dissertation

LR/ 2019-20/
Trimester –6 Credits – 9

RESEARCH PROPOSAL- CREDITS 1

Name of Candidate and P.G. No.-Nancy Gupta, PG20181414

Name of Faculty Dissertation Mentor- Dr. Prabhash Chandra

Proposed Research Area (Marketing/ Finance/ OB HR/ Operations/ Economics/ Public Policy/
General Management/ Others (please specify)- General Management

Proposed Research Topic- Essentials in the digital strategy. A comparison of digital strategies in
B2B and B2C organizations.

Proposed Research Problem (Statement in 50 words)- Examine the comparative analysis of B2B
and B2C organizations in digital context. It is known that the rise of the internet has made an
indelible impression on the society and commerce. It has changed how consumer purchase
goods, use services and search information. Businesses do not have a complete understanding
of digital. Key drivers of digital transformation among B2C organizations are profitability,
customer satisfaction, and increased speed-to-market. Therefore to see how the internet paved
the way for new forms of business for both B2C and B2B.

Introduction- Context and Relevance of the Study (100 words)- Digital is a very broad term.
Overall, a digital strategy focuses on a company’s electronic business or e-business. The
Department of Trade and Industry (2000) defines e-business as an entity that includes all business
activities that apply information and communication technologies to facilitate a company’s
operations and create cost-efficiencies. Digital strategy can optimize internal processes and way
of working, it can help with the collaboration with partners and lastly it can create value for the
end-consumer through e-marketing and e-commerce. Three different models are described to
develop a sound digital business strategy. Yannopoulos (2011) states that success in digital
marketing and e-commerce could be achieved by following the classic basic principles of doing
business while learning new rules in the digital environment. Miller (2012) adds that the digital
strategy must be a derivative of the general strategy. Basu & Muylle (2007) there are four phases
for the development of any new e-business project. Digital Marketing creates value by new
activities or adds value to existing business processes, it results in a reduction of costs, an
opportunity for market expansion, current non-consumers or unserviceable consumers can now
be reached, is has an international scope and it significantly improves customer relationships. E-
commerce is defined by the point that the broad e-business begins to directly generate revenue
that is point that e-business turns into e-commerce. E-commerce, all electronically information
exchanges between an organization and its external stakeholders. It is a platform for selling
products online, either via an owned site or a third-party-website. Ecommerce is not only
exclusive for the large players in the market, SMEs are catching up to adopt ecommerce. There
are internal and external challenges that threaten the achievement of digital goals. Customer
retention and acquisition were reported as the most critical challenges, suggesting that many
organizations struggle with high customer turnover acts. Internal staffing is also an issue for
organizations, especially when it comes to skills. Successful digital organizations are not
accidental- they are intentionally structured to enable the company to achieve key business
goals. From operating models to investment priorities, there are several variables that impact
the effectiveness of today’s leading digital organizations. B2B is a business model where business
is done between companies. B2C is another business model, where a company sells goods
directly to the final consumer. In B2B, the buying and selling cycle is very lengthy as compared to
B2C.

Proposed Research Questions (Please Number)-

1. What does a Digital Strategy contain?

2. What are the different models for developing a digital business strategy?
3. What is Digital Marketing & E-commerce?
4. What are the challenges faced by Digital Organizations?
5. Differences in B2B and B2C ?

Literature Review (Give references in APA format as bullet points) -

 “The online digital media is a real-time medium of communication that uses as a strategic
tool for building brands through marketing and advertising campaigns. Companies are
now more tilted towards the different channels of digital media. The interactive online
digital media is an effective channel for interacting with the consumers at real-time, and
 get the instantaneous feedback regarding the products and services(Rizwan Raheem
Ahmed,2019,p.12)”

 “B2B transactions are transaction between companies; items purchased are commonly
to be consumed during the processes in producing end products that selling to general
public. Quantity purchased is relatively large as compared to consumer purchase, but the
industrial products are only needed by companies that involves in the market segment as
relates to the selling company( De Chernatony & McDonald (1998),p.5)”

 “Digital Transformation In The Age Of The Customer, explored the hypotheses that firms
are confused about what constitutes digital transformation (and who should drive it) and
that many firms don’t have the required skills to transform into digitally mature
organizations(Accenture Interactive commissioned Forrester consulting, May 2015,p.2)”

 “In B2B, the perceived value of an offer has been addressed primarily through economic
and functional considerations (materialized by the cost–benefit computational
approach). Industrial purchasers are often thought of as experts guided by rational
criteria alone. The objectives of the organization, the pressure within the purchasing
department and the strategic importance of goods and services in B2B also plead in favour
of the predominance of a utilitarian perspective on value (Corsaro and Snehota, 2010;
Hansen et al., 2008, p.212)”

 “Digital is a very broad term. Overall, a digital strategy focuses on a company’s electronic
business or ebusiness. The Department of Trade and Industry (2000) defines e-business
as an entity that includes all business activities that apply information and communication
technologies to facilitate a company’s operations and create cost-efficiencies. Using ICT
will grow businesses, enhance the competiveness and increase the customer value
(Wright, 2002; Chaffey, 2007, p.13)””.

References(APA style)

1. Chaffey, D., Smith, P. R., & Smith, P. R. (2012). eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and
optimizing your digital marketing. Routledge.
2. Rémi Mencarelli, Arnaud Riviere. Perceived value in B2B and B2C: A comparative
approach and cross-fertilization. Marketing Theory, SAGE Publications, 2015, 15 (2),
pp.201-220.
3. RESULTS FOCUSING ON B2C FROM THE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PAPER “DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION IN THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER,” OCTOBER 2015.
4. Digital and Social Media Marketing. . . . Järvinen, Tollinen, Karjaluoto and Jayawardhena,
Marketing Management Journal, Fall 2012.
Proposed Research Design/ Methodology-

Data Sources: The study will be based on Qualitative research- Six companies from different
markets will be examined on their digital approach and will choose the companies based on
three criteria. First, all of them are multinational corporations, considered as large corporations
(>500 employees) worldwide. Secondly, the business models of these companies both are
focused on the end-consumer as on other business, allowing differentiating between B2C and
B2B. Thirdly, these companies play in different industries and markets with each other.

Proposed Timeline (For full report) -

As per the timeline of module leader.

Proposal Accepted/ Accepted with changes/ Rejected by Committee

Signatures of the Module Leaders and Mentor

Mentor (Dr.Prabhash Chandra) Bidisha Banerji Sanyukta Jolly