Online Service Firms

Many service businesses are involved in the provision and transfer of information. Consequently, some of the first companies to generate significant revenues from the World Wide Web were service firms. Examples include online retailers, the travel industry, finance organisations and search engines. Further opportunities arose following the digitisation of data which created new opportunities in the entertainment industry. Internet technology improvements in areas such as download speeds and multi-media software tools caused many service businesses to migrate online as a whole range of new opportunities became apparent. The Internet permitted greater real-time and synchronous interactions between customer and provider. Additionally, as an interactive medium, the web allowed the merger of mass production and mass customisation to deliver the added customer benefit of one-to-one marketing.