Gaining Competitive Advantages through a Functionality Grid for Website Evaluation

Abstract

As firms become more mature and competitive in deploying their Web sites, gaining competitive advantage through innovative Web site functions has become increasingly difficult. Previous studies lacked comprehensive analysis of the functionality of commercial Web sites. This article proposes a framework in the form of a two-dimensional grid for analyzing, comparing, and improving specifically the functionality of commercial Web sites. The grid classifies Web site functions into four types: information, communication, downloading, and transaction. It addresses a wide range of electronic commerce activities including advertising, sales, customer service, distribution, financing, and market research. A set of metrics are defined for objectively measuring the functionality of each type of function. Use of a functionality grid and the associated metrics are illustrated in a case study on the comparative analysis of three oil companies' Web sites. The results provide insights into how commercial Web sites differ in functionality.

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