As executives of existing Asian companies race to launch their new online businesses, many will make a fundamental error that is likely to put their whole strategy at risk. By neglecting the changes in the off-line business that are also essential, they will fail to question the legacy mindset of their existing business - and that will inevitably undermine the online effort.
Large Asian companies face a threefold organizational challenge in e-commerce. They must build an effective new e-commerce organization. They must also leverage their traditional business to create advantage. And they must aggressively manage the inevitable tensions between these two goals.
Even in the new economy, legacy assets can be extremely valuable. For...
