Strategic Planning of Internet-Based Start-ups: An integrated decision-analytic approach to policies evaluation

Gao Fang

Abstract

The potential of information technology and the electronic business model has leveraged the entrepreneurs onto a platform that they could actually provide equivalent services and products as the large-sized corporations. However, such advantage could only be fully realized with the adoption of systematic and judicious business strategies. This thesis aims to support the entrepreneurs in choosing the most suitable online business approach to reach its strategic goals, through a rigorous integrated multi-criterion selection process with the iterative application of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Cost Efficiency Analysis of the uncertain market. The integrated approach proposed by this thesis recognizes the business planning process from both subjective assessments and objective historical data analysis using AHP. The forward process gives prediction of the trend of E-Commerce market based on the economic, political and social factors listed by the managers of startup companies. The backward process helps suggest possible policies for the managers to create convergence of the likely and desired futures of the company. This thesis shows how iterative AHP could be used by planners of technological start-ups to identify a SME Dominated Market as the most desired scenario which is the same exploratory scenario projected as the most likely future. After that, study of risk and uncertainty using Decision Analysis tools is included to determine the worthiness of the decision. A numerical study based on real-life scenarios is then conducted to illustrate the application of the integrated approach. The thesis concludes with limitations and possible improvements of the proposed approach.