Competitive Force/Marketing Mix (CF/MM) Framework

Abstract

Information systems researchers continue to grapple with the development of frameworks to aid managers in the identification of opportunities for the strategic use of information technology. Many of the current frameworks have been proposed to guide the systems development process, but few have successfully dealt with the underlying business issues that drive the need to develop an information system in the first place. Because the difficulties that a particular business must cope with arise from the distinctive characteristics of the firm, its product and the particular niche in which the firm operates, this chapter presents a two-dimensional Competitive Force/Marketing Mix (CF/MM) framework that can be used to recognize opportunities for strategic information systems within the firm’s niche. The CF/MM framework is based on a combination of Porter’s view of strategy as a response to the unique mix of the five competitive forces faced by a firm, and the firm’s marketing strategy. By using the CF/MM framework, managers and researchers can identify opportunities to use emerging information technologies as part of front-line competitive strategy. After presentation of the CF/MM framework, the chapter presents a summary of the results of a CF/MM-based analysis of 150 articles related to the competitive use of information technology that have been published in both the popular press and scholarly press. Organizations that are successful in creatively focusing the use of the expanding array of modern information technologies on their particular business niche will increase their ability to survive in the dynamic business environment of the year 2000 and beyond. The CF/MM framework can also be used by IS managers to orchestrate the mix of applications held by a firm in order to maximize the strategic impact of IT investments.