Business in a Virtual World

FIONA CZERNIAWSKA is Founder and Managing Director of Arkimeda, specialising in research and consultancy for consulting companies. She is also Director of the Management Consultancies Association's Think Tank in the UK, and lectures at London Business School and other European business schools. As a management consultant of long-standing experience, she has worked with many top companies. She is the author of Management Consultancy - What Next?, Management Consultancy in the 21st Centuryand Corporate Speak.GAVIN POTTER is a partner in Coopers & Lybrand's management consulting practice where he specialises in assisting clients with the business aspects of information technology. He has a particular expertise in ensuring that information technology solutions serve the needs of the business and was responsible for the development of Coopers & Lybrand's benefits realisation methodology.

• PART 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction: Information and the Virtual Business PART 2: THE VIRTUAL ECONOMY The Information Revolution Comes of Age Information is the Raw Material of the Future What Do We Mean by the Virtual Business? PART 3: BUILDING A VIRTUAL BUSINESS The Economics of Difference Who Owns Your Customers? Electronic Commerce Exploiting Your Products' Infosphere Prosumption Knowledge is your Only Asset Keep it Complex The Virtual Value Chain Reducing Time to Market Them That Have, Get: Achieving New Levels of Business Performance PART 4: MANAGING A VIRTUAL BUSINESS Valuing Your Information Asset Dealing with Technology Organising Your Organisation

'In a world increasingly absorbed by news of fresh internet start-ups and e-commerce initiatives, Czerniawska and Potter provide a timely reminder that the changes taking place in business go far beyone discovering new ways of retailing. The scale and accessibility of information now available means that those who find new ways of applying it - whether in strategy or in processes - will gain competitive advantage over those who are slow to understand the implications.' - The Antidote