Organizational strategies to address stakeholder relationships: A customer portal perspective

The purpose of this study is to understand how portals impact stakeholder relationships within the electronic business environment. The study extends the understanding of information systems through the application of portals as critical stakeholder communication and information channels.; The research questions were derived from the literature in the areas of organizational strategy, Internet driven strategies, strategic uses of information systems, as well as stakeholder and portal strategies. The seven primary research questions addressed the areas of strategy, organization and portals.; Strategies - How do organizations address stakeholders? (1) What are the strategies for creating customer value? (2) How are customer relationships managed?; Organization - What does the organization adapt? (3) How do organizations design their organizational/administrative infrastructure to address customers? (4) How do the organizations design their technological infrastructure to address customers?; Portals - What is the role of portals? (5) What portal models are appropriate for addressing customers? (6) What customer attributes affect portal strategies? (7) How do organizations use portals to respond to particular customers?; The investigation was carried out using a multiple case study methodology. Eight companies were studied with the exploratory information for four of the companies coming primarily from published data (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Cisco, and Dell) and the confirmatory information for the remaining companies coming primarily from interviews (Lowe's, NetBank, SAIC, and WC Bradley Company). Individual cases were created and analyzed for each company. To aid in the selection and analysis of the companies a focus format matrix was utilized. This focus format matrix placed each company in one of four quadrants based on the company's focus (consumer or business) as well the business focus (e-commerce or multichannel).; The findings of this study suggest that companies are utilizing portals, and portal technologies, in unique ways to address customers directly. Portals appear to enhance a company's ability to be customer-centric and augment the overall customer experience. Portals also enable the organization's information system strategy to become better aligned with the organization's strategy.