7, p.10) The Strategy Hierarchy As a vital aspect of understanding the implications of E-commerce to marketing strategy, it's vital to look at all levels of the strategic hierarchy. The strategy hierarchy (Fig 2.) identifies the: corporate strategy business strategy And at a functional level, the marketing strategy. It is imperative that when addressing the strategic implication of E-commerce, that all three areas of the organisation must be addressed. In doing so, the marketing role within the organisation is not isolated, and is in keeping with the overall organisations core objectives. The first step is to address the corporate strategy and define the its link to the strategic development of E-commerce. The basis for the corporate strategy identifies where the business wants to focus its attention in regards to the scope of the organisation. In doing so bases it's mission and vision to align with key objectives. (Brown, L. 1997) Paxton, B. Baker, T. (1997) suggests that "it is essential that the Internet planning process is not divorced from the corporate strategic management process but is integrated into each stage of your company's existing process". The focus of the corporate strategy is to develop synergy between the various Strategic Business Units (SBUs). This is a vital element to any organisation that is evolving its strategies into new domains, particularly as a result of environment shifts. Therefore when formulated a strategy based around the use of E-commerce, it is imperative that the SBU planning is in synergy with the core corporate objectives. In doing so, the other relevant SBUs will follow the corporate strategies lead. As the varying SBUs are aligned within the corporate strategy, they too have influence over their relative functional levels. The business strategy possesses more defined objectives as well as a clearly defined competitive strategy. Because the SBUs operate in their relevant markets, such clearer...
