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This work was previously published in Entrepreneurship and Innovations in E-Business: An Integrative Perspective, edited by
F. Zhao, pp. 223-237, copyright 2006 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).
1665
Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 5.18
Organisational Challenges of
Implementing E-Business in the
Public Services:
The Case of Britain’s National
Mapping Agency
Francesca Andreescu
University of Greenwich, UK
ABSTRACT
8QGHUSLQQLQJ ǧ ELOOLRQ RI HFRQRPLF DFWLY-
ity in the United Kingdom, Britain’s National
Mapping Agency is a commercialising public
sector organisation having trading fund status
and existing in the intersection of two different
spheres—the public and the private. Recog-
nised as a leading participant in the geographic
information industry, within which it is forging
partnerships with key private sector companies,

the organisation has enthusiastically grasped e-
business as an all-embracing phenomenon and
implemented a new strategy that transformed the
way it did business. Drawing on longitudinal data
gathered over a period of four years, this article
explores the processes of strategic and organisa-
tional transformation engendered by e-business
implementation in this organisation and discusses
the successful elements, as well as some of the
challenges to its change efforts.
INTRODUCTION
A common theme within the management litera-
ture in recent years has been the take up of private
sector management strategies and practices by
public sector organisations, designed to increase
HI¿FLHQF\SHUIRUPDQFHDQGFRVWHFRQRP\LQWKH
activities they performed. In the United Kingdom,
PRUHVSHFL¿FDOO\LQWKHFRQWH[WRIVLJQL¿FDQW
changes in their operating environments and
SUHVVXUHV WR LQFUHDVH HI¿FLHQF\ DQG DFFRXQW-
ability, public sector organisations have been
urged to experiment with new organising ideas,
1666
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
structures, and processes and transform the way
they do business, by taking the opportunities
and meeting the challenges that e-technologies
and e-ways of working presented. As a result,
public sector organisations have embraced e-busi-
ness and have made innovative uses of Internet

technologies to invent new business models or to
enhance existing practices. E-business has been
seen as a way of transforming these bureaucratic,
centralised, and reactive organisations and their
capabilities. Whilst the Internet created new com-
mercial opportunities for public sector organisa-
tions, e-business was thus about exploiting those
opportunities.
7KLVDUWLFOHGUDZVRQ¿QGLQJVIURPDVWXG\
conducted over a period of four years in a com-
mercialised public sector organisation to reveal
the processes of strategic and organisational
transformation engendered by e-business during
the implementation of a complex structural and
cultural change programme aimed at reshaping
this organisation and rethinking how it provided
value to its customers. The discussion will examine
W KH G L OH P P D VDQG FRQ VW U DLQW VLGHQ W L ¿H G E\PD Q D J-
ers in the interpretation of the e-business strategy
concept and why its implementation in practice
can be challenging. Whilst the Internet offers a
WHFKQRORJLFDOVROXWLRQWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKLVFDVH
study suggest that the successful implementation of
a wider e-business strategy depends on managing
simultaneously a number of projects which cross
organisational boundaries and link organisational
and technological factors.
7KHDUWLFOHLVGLYLGHGLQWR¿YHPDLQVHFWLRQV
7KH¿UVWVHFWLRQUHYLHZVUHFHQWHEXVLQHVVUHVHDUFK
and highlights that studies treating the concept of

e-business as an all-embracing phenomenon and
analysing in depth its implications are relatively
rare. The second section of the article describes
the methodology used in the study. Information
on the contextual developments within the case
study organisation is followed by a discussion of
WKHUHVHDUFK¿QGLQJV7KHFDVHVWXG\LVXVHGDV
a background for discussing some of the chal-
lenges and constraints that this commercialising
organisation faces in implementing a wider e-busi-
ness strategy. Finally, the concluding discussion
highlights key lessons learnt and implications
for practitioners.
E-BUSINESS AND
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE:
REVOLUTION OR E-VOLUTION?
Increasing environmental pressures, global
economic uncertainties, changes in public and
community expectations, and pressures to in-
crease public accountability have provided the
momentum for British public sector organisations
to examine the effectiveness of their management
structures, systems, and processes. The empha-
VLVLVRQDFKLHYLQJHI¿FLHQF\HIIHFWLYHQHVVDQG
economy in the activities performed by public
organisations and on developing their ability to
compete with private sector organisations. As
a result, many public sector organisations are
now existing in the intersection of two different
spheres—the public and the private (Kickert,

7KH\¿WQHLWKHULQWKHVWULFWO\SXEOLFUHDOP
of state action nor in the strictly private realm
of commercial relationships. They are expected
WR IXQFWLRQ OLNH EXVLQHVVHV²WR EH HI¿FLHQW
customer-driven, and client-oriented—yet they
perform tasks that are inherently public. How to
strengthen organisational capabilities in order to
confront successfully the competitive pressures
becomes, consequently, one of the biggest chal-
lenges for these organisations.
Research into appropriate e-business models
KDVJURZQVLJQL¿FDQWO\RYHUWKHSDVWIHZ\HDUV
with authors taking both theoretically and em-
pirically based approaches to the development of
taxonomies of business models suitable for the new
economy. A number of business models focused
upon individual business transactions that use the
1667
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
Internet as a medium of exchange, including both
business-to-business and business-to-consumer
(e.g., Becker & Berkemeyer, 2005; Carlton, 2001;
Clay, 2001; Clegg, Chu, Smithson, Henney, et al.,
2005; Gao, 2005; Garicano, 2001; Scott Morton,
2001; Smith, 2001). Interest has also tended to
focus on new startups (Chaston, 2001; Clarke
& Flaherty, 2004; Colombo, 2001) and on tradi-
tional organisations moving towards integrating
electronic marketing and sales, purchasing, or
customer service with their current businesses

(e.g., Barnes, Hinton, & Mieczkowska, 2005;
Bhaskar, 2005; Chen & Leteney, 2000; Hansen,
2000; Kotha, Rajgopal, & Rindova, 2001; Lee &
Wang, 2001), or on the technology itself (Day &
Schoemaker, 2000; Smith, 2001). Much research
into the use of e-commerce, furthermore, has
WHQGHGWRIRFXVRQODUJHU¿UPV'XWWD6HJHY
1999), new business models for digital content
(Barnes & Hunt, 2001; Boddy & Macbeth, 2000;
Daniel, Wilson, & Myers, 2002; Mahadevan,
2000; Van der Wiele, Williams, Van Iwaarder,
Wilson, & Dale, 2002), and the growth and de-
velopment of dot-coms (Benoy, Cook, & Javalgi,
2001; Clay, 2001). Further studies revealed how
the Internet has made possible types of business
models previously very hard, or impossible, to
implement (Mahadevan, 2000; Rayport, 1999;
Timmers, 2000).
A key concern is how strategy can be developed
in hypercompetitive markets where the speed
of change makes traditional forms of analysis
impractical (Hoffman & Novak, 2000; Ordanini
& Pol, 2001; Venkatraman, 2000). Eisenhardt
DQG<RI¿HDQG&XVXPDQRD
1999b) address this issue with concepts derived
from complex systems theory and emergent
VWUDWHJ\PDNLQJ(EXVLQHVVKDVDOVRFRQ¿UPHG
WKHVLJQL¿FDQFHRIWKHUHVRXUFHEDVHGYLHZRIWKH
¿UP&RPSHW HQFLHVVXFKD VN QRZOHGJHPDQDJH -
ment and the ability to integrate complex sets of

WHFKQRORJLFDODQGEXVLQHVVVNLOOVDUHLGHQWL¿HG
as success factors in a number of case studies
(e.g., Feeny, 2001; Harris, Coles, Dickson, &
McLoughlin, 1999; Kotha, 1998; Sauer, 1993).
Various studies also addressed the risks of Inter-
net ventures, barriers to implementation, success
factors, and steps needed to manage technology-
driven change (e.g., Barua, Konona, Whinston, &
Yin, 2001; Eisenhardt, 1999; Kotha et al., 2001;
Porter, 2001).
In general, existing research has focused on
issues related to the digital content provision
(particularly online provision) and technologies
or technology-based change generically, rather
WKDQIRFXVLQJVSHFL¿FDOO\RQWKHRUJDQLVDWLRQDO
transformation required for successfully making
the change to e-business. This topic is critically
important because the majority of organisations
are not startups, and many are not solely con-
cerned with e-commerce and electronic markets.
Rather, most organisations are traditional busi-
QHVVHV ZKLFKPXVW JUDSSOHZLWK ¿QGLQJDQHZ
architecture to meet the imperative of remaining
competitive in an increasingly Internet-enhanced
economy. Their concern is the adoption of e-busi-
ness as an all embracing phenomenon, in other
words, transforming key business processes with
Internet related technologies (Deise, Nowikow,
King, & Wright, 2000; Symonds, 1999). In par-
ticular, within the literature drawn on public sec-

tor organisations, the issue of how public sector
organisations undergoing commercialisation can
successfully make the transition from traditional
approaches to e-business by taking advantage of
e-technologies has received little attention.
Building upon these arguments, this article
explores the processes of strategic and organisa-
tional transformation engendered by e-business
implementation through an in-depth case study of
a commercialising British public sector organisa-
tion within the geographic information industry.
On doing so, the study aims to provide fresh in-
sights into the internal transformation processes
which occurred in an organisation evolving from
W K H FOD V V LF D O E X U H D X F U D W LF  D Q G F H QW U D O L V H G³ SX E O L F 
1668
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
sector model” towards a new organisational form
through embracing e-business as a corporate
philosophy. We also aim to see whether practice
had overtaken theory and, if so, what enhance-
ments to existing theory could be learned from
WKHSUDFWLWLRQHUVLQWKH¿HOG
7KHGH¿QLWLRQRIe-business adopted in this
research takes the view that e-business repre-
sents:
the way in which organisations can gain value
from the Internet technologies and encompasses
not only e-commerce—selling and buying over a
network, but also the way people within an organi-

sation work together, the sharing of information
and effective communication, the transactions and
connections across a supply chain, between suppli-
ers and distributors and consumers, as well as the
relationships between individuals and institutions.
(Symon, 2000, p. 6)
Thus, unlike other authors (e.g., Clegg et al,
2002; Poon & Swatman, 1999) who use the terms
more or less interchangeably, this study seeks to
distinguish between e-commerce and e-business.
E-business is not just the sharing of business
information, maintaining business relationships,
and conducting business transactions by means
of Internet-based technology; it is also about
the organisation’s social environment and the
relationships between people and technologies.
Such a perspective highlights the complex nature
of the notion and shows that e-business goes
beyond e-commerce, in that when implemented
successfully, it transforms an organisation and
its capabilities entirely.
RESEARCH APPROACH
7KHUHVHDUFKUHSRUWHGKHUHLVGUDZQIURP¿QGLQJV
from a four-year study of organisational change
in Britain’s National Mapping Agency, carried
out between 2001 and 2004. The study adopted
a longitudinal perspective on change concerned
with the holistic and processual character of
organisational transformations over time (Pet-
tigrew, 1985, 1990).

An inductive research strategy was employed,
which was both iterative and developmental. The
UHVHDUFKDLPZDVQRWWRFRQ¿UPK\SRWKHVHVEXW
to understand the process of e-strategy implemen-
tation and the perceptions of those involved and
affected. What was important was the process by
which the changes were introduced, the reaction
by organisational members to those changes, and
their perception of them.
Data Collection and Data Types
The time period for data collection was between
2001 and 2004. This research involved three main
types of data: in-depth interviews, documentary
data, and nonparticipant observation.
Data were collected from the organisation
at two time points during the research period to
track the internal changes over time:
• Time 1 (2001/2002), corresponded to the
RI¿FLDO DGRSWLRQ RI WKH QHZ ³EXVLQHVV
model”)
• Time 2 (2003/2004) corresponded to the
incorporation and consolidation of strategic
changes, allowing for change to become
SDUWLDOO\³DQFKRUHG´LQQHZVRFLDOVWUXFWXUHV
and practices
A total of 89 interviews were conducted with
the main actors involved in the strategic initiative
programmes and in the implementation of change,
such as deputy chief executive, corporate strate-
gists, members of the top and middle manage-

ment, other individual organisational members,
and management consultants (Table 1). Most
respondents had been with the organisation for
a considerable period of time. This was supple-
mented with analysis of documentary evidence,
including board minutes, strategy documents,
1669
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
reports of the steering committee, project teams,
minutes of follow-up meetings, business plans, as
well as nonparticipant observation.
'XULQJWKH¿HOGVWXG\WKHUHVHDUFKHUKDGDFFHVVWR
the main participants, formal and informal meetings,
existing minutes, and documentation highlighting
some of the historical, processual, and contextual issues
relevant to the e-business strategy implementation. In
addition, the interviews emphasised both individual
and shared interpretations of key participants concern-
ing actions, events, views, beliefs, aspirations, and
motives. All interviews were tape-recorded.
The following section will introduce the case
study organisation and present the results.
Research Site
Britain’s National Mapping Agency (NMA) is a
quasiautonomous agency within the geographic
information industry with trading fund status.
It employs approximately 1,850 staff, 1,350 of
ZKRP DUH EDVHG DW WKH KHDG RI¿FH ZKLOVW WKH
rest—cartographic surveyors and territorial sales
representatives—are dispersed among a network

RIORFDORI¿FHVDURXQGWKHFRXQWU\
NMA is recognised as a leading participant in
the geographic information industry, within which
it is forging partnerships with key private sector
companies. Its principal activities are twofold: the
maintenance of the National Topographic Data-
base by recording and storing measurements of
new roads, houses, and so forth, and the creation
of products from it, such as paper map series and
digital datasets used in geographic information
systems (GIS).
The organisation offered an excellent opportu-
nity to study the organisational change required
in transforming a former government agency
into an e-business, culturally, commercially, and
technically. Confronted by powerful pressures
to improve organisational performance under
the government modernisation agenda, NMA
implemented a complex e-business strategy,
combined with a huge investment in technology
new product development, which were designed
to radically change the organisation’s structure,
management, and knowledge processes. To take
advantage of the opportunities that e-technologies
Table 1. Number of respondents participating in interviews in Phase 1 and Phase 2
Position of Interviewee Number in
Time 1
Number in
Time 2
CEO

Strategy Directors and Strategy
Managers
Senior Managers
Senior Consultants
Project Managers
Line Managers
Individual Organisational
Members (Sales and Finance)
1
6
14
3
21
8
2
1
5
8
2
10
6
2
Total Interviews = 89 55 34
1670
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
and e-ways of working presented, NMA charted an
ambitious organisational transformation in which
e-business was seen as a catalyst for change and
e-strategy as a route map.
This knowledge-intensive organisation is a

particularly interesting example of how a public
organisation managed to overcome the constraints
of its business context to fashion its own des-
tiny. Unlike other public sector organisations
with stable, incremental environments, NMA
is operating in conditions of low environmental
stability, with frequent, rapid changes in geo-
graphic information systems technology. Due
to the emergence of new digital technology, the
geographic information industry is on the verge
of rapid growth, particularly in the market for
location-based services. The overlay of layers of
data to create new views creates good commercial
opportunities for NMA, such as in the correlation
of geographic, commercial catchment area and
sociodemographic data for use in supermarket
home delivery services.
All of these trends make the geographic in-
formation industry very different from the more
traditional consumer and industrial markets in
which many other public organisations oper-
ate. With an increasingly challenging environ-
ment, pressures to develop e-business under the
government e-strategy in the public sector and
emergence of new technologies, NMA is closer
WRWKH³UHOHQWOHVVO\FKDQJLQJRUJDQLVDWLRQV´PRGHO
of Brown and Eisenhardt (1998) in the high-veloc-
ity computer industry. There are these particular
³KLJKWHFK´DQG³HEXVLQHVV´IHDWXUHVRI10$
that make this public sector organisation such

an interesting case for management research in
general, and for e-business change implementa-
tion in particular.
Key Facts About NMA
• Modern data collection using the geographic
positioning system (GPS) and location in-
formation.
• Turnover from operating activities: £110
millions in 2004; most of the income comes
from computerised geographic data, which
is used extensively in both the private and
public sector, with around £136 billion of
Britain’s GDP underpinned by it.
• Core markets by 2004: Public sector and
utilities (32%); land and property (5%);
consumer (12%); commercial markets (mo-
bile communications and wireless; large
UHWDLOHUVEDQNLQJ¿QDQFHDQGLQVXUDQFH
transport and distribution) (51%).
• Has operated as a trading fund since April
1999, providing a greater degree of commer-
FLDOÀH[LELOLW\DQGLQFUHDVHGUHVSRQVLELOLW\
IRULWVEXVLQHVVSODQQLQJDQG¿QDQFHV$V
a trading fund the business has to make a
SUR¿WEXWGRHVQRWUHFHLYHDVXEVLG\IURP
the taxpayer.
• A potential change in status towards a gov
-
ernment-owned plc. was proposed in 2002
and rejected because it did not deliver the

QHFHVVDU\EHQH¿WVWRWKHRUJDQLVDWLRQ,WZDV
decided that it was in the public interest for
NMA to remain a trading fund. However,
HQKDQFHG¿QDQFLDOIUHHGRPVDQGÀH[LELOL-
ties have been granted by the government
through a revised framework document in
2003.
Results
External Context
The E-government Strategic Framework (April
2001) set out a series of guiding principles for
public sector organisations centred upon building
s e r v i ce s a r o u n d c it i z en s c ho ic e s , m a k i n g g ove r n -
ment and its services more accessible electroni-
cally and managing information and knowledge
LQ PRUH HI¿FLHQW ZD\V WR HQVXUH HDVLHU RQOLQH
access and more effective use of all services. It
1671
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
set a series of e-government policies and targets
for quasiautonomous agencies, stating as main
objectives that 90% of low-value procurement
transactions and 100% of document management
should take place electronically by 2004 and
that 100% of services should be available elec-
tronically by 2005. In order to meet these aims,
public sector organisations must innovate within
a common framework and manage their services
as a business, focusing on cost effectiveness and
funding mechanisms.

In line with these targets, Britain’s national
mapping agency was granted trading fund powers
by Pa r l ia m e nt i n 19 99 t o g i ve it d i re c t re s p on s ib il-
LW\IRULWVRZQ¿QDQFHVDQGIUHHGRPWRGHYHORS
new initiatives. In effect, this meant that NMA
would remain obliged to serve the government
by providing information across Britain whilst
earning revenues in a commercial and increasingly
competitive marketplace, reducing dependence on
the taxpayer. Such a status provided the organisa-
tion with the opportunity to operate and compete
commercially by earning commercial revenues for
its geographical information in order to be self-
funding, as well as be more accountable for the
HI¿FLHQF\DQGHIIHFWLYHQHVVRILWVRSHUDWLRQV
Internal Context
The organisation had a long history of unsuccess-
ful reorganisations and frequent changes of Chief
Executives. Since 1993, NMA has launched three
different reorganisation initiatives under different
governments, all of them recognised by managers
DQGVWDIIDV³VSHFWDFXODUO\XQVXFFHVVIXO´
Similar to other public sector entities under-
going public sector reform in the form of com-
PHUFLDOLVDWLRQ WKH HI¿FLHQF\DQGHIIHFWLYHQHVV
of management processes were major challenges.
NMA was a vertically integrated organisation,
with an excessive degree of specialisation, rigid
hierarchical divisions, and divided areas of ac-
tivity with niches and boundaries that served no

useful purpose. Underlying many of the problems
RILQHI¿FLHQF\DQGKLJKFRVWVZDVWKHPRQRSRO\
situation that all costs could eventually be passed
on to the market. The organisation was also a
classic example of public service culture and
organisational systems and processes. NMA’s
administrative structure based on departments
DQGZHOOGH¿QHGMREFDWHJRULHVKDGHIIHFWLYHO\
prevented the organisation from operating in
accordance with its own objectives and values.
It was realised that, especially in the relationship
between NMA’s employees and its customers,
too much importance was being given to re-
solving bureaucratic issues, to the detriment of
customer service. In short, the internal structure
worked against the integration of main business
processes.
Drivers for Change
NMA has expanded considerably in recent years
into commercial and leisure markets, both in the
U.K. and internationally. The environment in which
the organisation operated was characterised by
emerging opportunities for the rapid expansion of
the digital market and, in particular, location-based
services offered via the Internet. That sat alongside
its activities in the mature market for traditional
paper-based mapping.
The severe market competition and threat of
product substitution through the mass expansion of
digital information and the new status of trading

fund acted as drivers for revenue maximisation
and for placing greater emphasis on increasing
the utilisation of geographical data. A key aspect
of becoming a trading fund was to move towards
performance targets and a culture of measuring,
and rewarding achievement linked to the business
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NMA had to strike the right balance between
maintaining consistent and accurate geographical
information for the whole of Great Britain whilst
ensuring its operations are funded by earning
1672
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
LQFRPHDQGJHQHUDWLQJSUR¿WVIURPWKHOLFHQVLQJ
of data to both the public and private sectors. The
organisation was also required to make an aver-
age return on the capital it employs—on average
around £40 million—of at least 5.5% a year and
to pay an annual dividend to the government
based on each year’s trading results. In response
to this challenge, a series of organisation change
initiatives began.
The Change Agenda: From
Bureaucracy to E-Business
:LWKWKHDGYHQWRIDQHZ&KLHI([HFXWLYH2I ¿FHU
recruited from the commercial sector in September
2000, considerable impetus for change was being
evidenced. A reevaluation of the business from
the customers’ perspective was completed and the
need for the organisation to develop innovative

products and services that could be delivered elec-
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E\WKHH[HFXWLYHWHDPLGHQWL¿HGWKDWWKHJUHDWHVW
hindrance to achieving NMA’s corporate goals
were its structures and work practices. Another
major change that had to occur was a shift from
the old culture of public monopoly to the culture
of a market-oriented, customer-focused, and self-
¿QDQFLQJRUJDQLVDWLRQ7KHQDWXUHDQGGLUHFWLRQ
of the required cultural shift was a radical change
for many employees, who had spent virtually all
their careers in the relative security, comfort,
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F X O W X U H  7 KH ³ F X O W X U D OL QH U W L D´ D PR Q J W KH P DMRU L W \
of employees, at all levels, was one of the major
challenges to management in trying to achieve
WKHWUDQVIRUPDWLRQWRWKHQHZV\VWHPRIHI¿FLHQW
business operations.
Following the review, a new vision formed
the foundation on which the organisation could
be transformed into an e-business: NMA and its
partners will be the content provider of choice for
location based information in the new information
economy. In October 2000, a cross-functional team
from across NMA was established to develop the
vision into a new strategy for the organisation.
The team used the mission statement as a starting
point for designing the structure and process of
the change programme and translating it into a
new e-strategy.

Fundamentally, the e-strategy was about
transforming the business commercially, techno-
logically, and culturally, by implementing a new
business model, combined with a multimillion
pound investment in technology and new prod-
uct development. The main strategic priorities
were:
• Commercial revenue—increase commercial
revenue from existing assets
• Reduce costs and waste
• Invest in new brands, infrastructure, and
capability
• Grow data products and help partners to
develop their products
• Aggressive marketing for products
• Grow partners and enable them to add value
to products
 %XLOG WKH EHVW GDWD WR HQDEOH ³MRLQHGXS
geography”
The key emphasis was on better knowledge
management, focusing on the needs of businesses
and individuals, and helping partners to create
radically new products underpinned by data
maintained by NMA. At the heart of the new
strategy was the idea of NMA working together
with partners to become the content provider of
choice for location-based information. This meant
establishing commercial agreements with various
partners in which NMA was providing the geo-
graphical data and the partners were developing

the software required for customising this data in
different ways and translating it into innovative
products and services under NMA’s brand.
A series of objectives were established:
• Delivering excellence in all aspects of the
business, employing e-business principles
1673
Organisational Challenges of Implementing E-Business in the Public Services
to exceed customer expectations
• Identifying, developing, and maintaining
effective strategic partnerships
• Ensuring that the business strategy is clearly
understood by staff, customers, partners,
and the wider community
• Establishing NMA as the centre of excellence
for innovation in location-based informa-
tion
• Developing a business of progressive people
with skills appropriate to an e-business
• Changing the internal culture
$UDQJHRISURMHFWVZHUHLGHQWL¿HGWKDWZRXOG
exploit e-business technology and approaches to
improve performance. An initial assessment of
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the end of the four-week period, NMA Executive
and Nonexecutive Directors approved the strategy.
More detailed planning and evaluation of imple-
PHQWDWLRQFRVWVDQGEHQH¿WVIROORZHGDVGHYHORS-
ment work began.
A major feature of the e-strategy implementa-

tion was the intention to place the organisation at
the forefront of the new information economy by
embracing cutting-edge technology for supplying
geographical data and enhancing the versatility
of NMA data. This involved the implementation
of a groundbreaking new concept of mapping and
the development of new products, by transform-
ing the map-making process so that electronic
data could be available to customers within 24
hours of being surveyed. The key aim was to
replace the traditional paper map products with
large-scale electronic mapping, so that most of the
products and services offered by the organisation
could be delivered electronically; digital mapping
now accounts for some 80% of the organisation’s
turnover.
Amongst the most pioneering products were a
digital database and online service named Mas-
WHU0DSIHDWXULQJGH¿QLWLYHGLJLWDOGDWDIRUWKH
whole of Great Britain and an online integrated
product called Pre-Build TM. The Master Map
database provides intelligent and accessible data
ZLWKWKHÀH[LELOLW\WROLQNLQIRUPDWLRQDFURVVDQG
between organisations, whilst Pre-Build TM of-
fered highly-detailed digital mapping pinpointing
buildings and roads tailored to the needs of utilities
and telecommunication companies.
The successful implementation of the new
strategy pivoted on the adoption of e-business as
a corporate philosophy. As the Chief Executive

remarked:
e-business is key to our future success, opening
huge new opportunities for us and our partners. It
requires new ways of working and both individual
and team efforts right across the business. We
have the best data to underpin the Master Map of
Britain. Our e-initiatives will ensure we can create
and supply that data when, where and how our
customers want it—and at the same times e-enable
ourselves. (Chief Executive, 2001)
Collecting, maintaining, and delivering geo-
graphical data was at the forefront of NMA’s activ-
ity and the implementation of the new e-business
strategy acted as a driver for the transformation of
its core business processes—data collection and
management. The e-strategy was thus seen as the
necessary framework for driving forward business
change. As some senior managers argued:
The “E” strategy allows us to reassess how we
manage the collection and delivery of our data
to remain at the forefront of the industry, offering
DJLOLW\DQGÀH[LELOLW\WRRXUFXVWRPHUV(Direc-
tor—Data Collection and Management, 2001)
The Digital Maps business cannot grow enough
without the e-strategy. This work is critical be-
cause it will allow us to create and deliver more
innovative products much faster to our customers.
,WZLOODOORZXVWREHFRPHIDUPRUHHI¿FLHQWDQG
cost effective across a wide range of activities.
(Director—Digital Brands, 2001)