WIDENER UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

MBA PROGRAM

Electronic Commerce - Marketing 635R
Spring 2001

Texts:
Electronic Commerce; A Managerial Perspective by Efraim Turban, Jae Lee, David King and H. Michael Chung (Prentice-Hall)

Course Objectives:

This course studies the rapidly developing world of electronic commerce from a marketing perspective. Specifically, it examines changes in the external marketing environment brought about by the internet along with the impact this has had on the design of marketing mixes in business and non-profit settings. Students will be familiarized with the risks and opportunities of operating in this new dynamic setting.

• Familiarize students with the basic terminology and concepts in electronic commerce..
• Review the scope and depth of internet applications for electronic commerce.
• Study examples of successful and unsuccessful applications of interactive marketing.
• Develop research skills in generating new information and insights about the evolution and direction of electronic commerce.
• Develop skills in understanding what goes into designing an effective marketing mix in a new dynamic competitive setting.
• Gain an appreciation of the Internet as an information source.

Learning Method:

Electronic commerce is a cutting edge course in the marketing curriculum. In addition to the reading list, attention will be directed to new material as it appears in print or on the internet. You are strongly advised to review technology news at Web portals such as Yahoo, Excite, Alta-Vista or GO for current information and share it with the class. We will review the brief history of the internet as a business medium to better understand the reasons for its successes and failures.
 

Course Requirements and Student Evaluation:

A. Reading List:
Each member of the class will be a discussion leader of one of the academic articles on the reading list .

B. Exams
There will be a mid-term exam and a final based on the material in the text, the reading assignments, class discussions and student presentations. All questions or exam assignments will require an essay response. The mid-term and final will be a 1 - 1½ hour exam. Grading will be based on the plus minus system adopted by The School of Business Administration. I reserve the right to modify the final grade based on student in-class performance. However, any grade adjustments will generally be in the one half letter range – i.e. B to B+.

C. Term Paper/Oral Presentation
Each student will write a term paper on a marketing aspect of electronic commerce. For example: How is electronic commerce changing the traditional car dealership? What impact do Web pages have on attracting customers? Potential employees? College students? University professors? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Web as a promotion medium? What prevents established companies from adapting to the demands of the Web? What are the problems and opportunities in the B-B segment? The B-C segment? Is e-commerce a new genre or will it become a part of conventional ways of doing business?
Unlike the typical graduate paper, with its reliance on secondary sources, this paper may require substantial analysis of primary sources, i.e. visits to Web sites. At the same time, you must have a conceptual framework for your paper based on previous research, i.e. secondary sources. In selecting a topic consider: Why is the topic that you are researching important? Who said it is important or should be studied? Can you cite a source that has investigated the topic? The paper should be a minimum of 20 double spaced pages but try not to exceed 25 pages. Prejudice will be shown to students who do not meet the minimum requirements. Beginning with week nine, a group of students will make individual oral in-class presentations about their research. The presentation should be about 30 minutes. Students are strongly encouraged to support their presentation with any necessary handouts, overheads or multi-media tools. You will give me a one page typed outline of your topic proposal on February 21, 2001.
 
 

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The content area of electronic commerce is being up-dated daily and important new information may become available that will be incorporated into the course. Therefore, attendance at all classes for the full length is vital. You are responsible for all in-class activities. If you cannot attend class, please notify the instructor in advance. Keep in mind that late arrival and early departure disturbs the class; consequently do not schedule activities that interfere with your class. If you cannot make the great majority of classes during their normal meeting time, you should not enroll for the course at this time.

Evaluation Criteria:
Mid-Term                                         30%
Final Exam                                       30%
Term Paper/Presentation                 30%
Academic Article Group Leader      10%

Reading List:

A. The Economist Reports/ Academic Articles:The Death of Distance”, The Economist – A Survey of Telecommunications. September 1995.
“A Connected World”, The Economist – A Survey of Telecommunications. September 1997.
"The Net Imperative", The Economist - A Survey of Business and the Internet. June 1999.
"Shopping Around the Web", The Economist - A Survey of E-Commerce, February 2000.
"The World in Your Pocket", The Economist - A Survey of Telecommunications. October 1999.
"Untangling E-conomics", The Economist - A Survey of the New Economy. September 2000.
"The Virtual Threat", The Economist - A Survey of Online Finance. May 2000.
"Inside the Machine", The Economist - A Survey of E-Management. November 2000.
"Understanding E-Procurement", Financial Times (Special Supplement). Winter 2000.
Shih, Chuan-Fong, "Conceptualizing Consumer Experiences in Cyberspace", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Raman, Niranjan V. and John D. Leckenby, "Factors Affecting Consumers' Webad Visits", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Sahay, Arvind, Jane Gould and Patrick Barwise, "New Interactive Media: Experts' Perceptions of Opportunities and Threats for Existing Businesses", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Yuan, Yuehong, Jonathan P. Caulkins and Stephen Roehrig, "The Relationship between Advertising Content Provision on the Internet", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Dholakia, Utpal M and Lopo L. Rego, "What Makes Commercial WEB Pages popular? An Empirical Investigation of WEB Page Effectiveness", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Hofacker, Charles F. and Jamie Murphy, "World Wide Web Banner Advertisement Copy Testing", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
 
 
 

 
Topic Sequence and Assignments

Week One
Course goals and class organization
What is electronic commerce? Why is it important? How is it different from conventional commerce? Forces fueling electronic commerce's development. Comments on causes of success and failure.
“The Death of Distance", and "A Connected World" – The Economist.
Overview of E-Commerce - Chapter 1 Turban et al.

Assignments for next week:
"The Net Imperative", "Shopping Around the Web", and "The World in Your Pocket" - The Economist.
Chapter 2 Turban.

Week Two.
Discussion of The Economist articles.
Retailing on the Web
A framework for e-commerce retail strategy.

Assignments for next week:
"Untangling E-conomics" - The Economist
Chapter 3
Shih, Chuan-Fong, "Conceptualizing Consumer Experiences in Cyberspace", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Sahay, Arvind, Jane Gould and Patrick Barwise, "New Interactive Media: Experts' Perceptions of Opportunities and Threats for Existing Businesses", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.

Week Three
Discussion of articles.
Auto Industry's use of the Web as a research tool.
Intertwining Cable and the Web – Eonline.
The travel industry on the Web: Travelocity and Expedia.
Assignments for next week.
Chapter 4
Raman, Niranjan V. and John D. Leckenby, "Factors Affecting Consumers' Webad Visits", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Dholakia, Utpal M and Lopo L. Rego, "What Makes Commercial WEB Pages popular? An Empirical Investigation of WEB Page Effectiveness", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
Hofacker, Charles F. and Jamie Murphy, "World Wide Web Banner Advertisement Copy Testing", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 7/8 1998.
 
 
 
 

Week Four
Discussion of articles.
Advertising on the Web.
Look at University Web pages. University of Florida, Smith College, UVA, Penn State, Temple University, Yale, Rice, Murray State, Grinnel College. Where is competition in higher education heading? What does a Web Site say about an institution? What are the best examples and what are the worst?

Assignments for next week.
Chapter 5
"The Virtual Threat" - The Economist

Week Five
Discussion of articles.
Services on the Web
Brokerage Houses on the Web – The Big and the Not-So-Big: Vanguard, PainneWebber, Merrill Lynch, Quick&Reilly, Gabelli, E-Trade, Schwab, Scott Trade, Datek Online, & Web Street. Are traditional brokerages dinousars? What are the implications for banking?
Assignments for next week.
Study for Mid-Term Exam

Week Six

Assignments for next week:
Chapter 6
"Understanding E-Procurement", Financial Times
 

Week Seven
Discussion of articles.
Business- to Business on the WEB. Boeing, Bausch&Lomb; Cisco; Intel; 3M; Baxter International.

Assignments for next week:
Chapter 7&8
"Inside the Machine" - The Economist

 
Week Eight
Discussion of article.
Intranets and Extranets
Electronic Payment systems
Issues in TeleLearning and Distance Education.

Assignments for next week.
Chapter 9

Week Nine
Economics of E-Commerce
Research project presentations (4 students)

Assignments for next week.
Chapter 10
 

Week Ten.
Legal and Ethical Issues
Research project presentations (4 students)

Assignments for next week.
Chapter 11&12
 

Week Eleven
Infrastructure of the Web
Internet communities
Government on the Internet – Edgar files, SIC, IRS, CIA, Senate
Research project presentations (4 students)
 
 

Week Twelve
Closing comments
Turn-in hard copies of research reports.

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