B ADM 457: Electronic Commerce
Fall 2002

Course Syllabus

Mon, Wed 4:30-5:50pm, 226 Wohlers Hall

Instructor: Dr. Judith Gebauer
gebauer@uiuc.edu
Phone: (217) 244-0330
Office Hours: Mon, Wed 1:30pm-3pm, 328G DKH and by appointment

The course web site is available through http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~gebauer.

Course Overview and Prerequisites

Although the excitement about electronic commerce has waned much after the dramatic fallout of numerous Internet-startup companies and the failure of many electronic commerce initiatives, the Internet and related technologies are still of significant importance to our economy. As Bill Gates is said to have observed, the impact of emerging technologies is often overestimated in three years but underestimated in ten years. In many ways, it is easier today than it was a few years ago to assess the opportunities, challenges, and consequences of the Internet for businesses and consumers. As we realize that most all of the fundamentals the "old economy" is based upon continue to be valid, we are better able to apply our knowledge of business strategy and management to developments that we observe in the context of the new technologies. Nevertheless, incorporating electronic commerce into business models and strategies is not a trivial issue, and many open question remain. How should businesses best match their requirements with the opportunities presented by the Internet? How should they go about starting an online-initiative? How much will it cost and what is it worth? What are the major challenges and what can be learned from the failures? What is the future of electronic commerce? 

In this course, we will address these and other questions, and explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the Internet and other emerging technologies, such as mobile and peer-to-peer computing, to businesses and consumers. We will briefly review the technology upon which electronic commerce is based, but only as much as is necessary to understand the implications for strategy and management. Throughout this course, the Internet will serve both as an object of study as well as as a resource as students will practice how to incorporate the Internet into their work.

After the course, the students should be able to:

• Analyze critically the business model of a firm, and determine the role that the Internet (and related technologies) can play to support or even enable this model
• Understand the key issues involved in managing electronic commerce initiatives
• Better appreciate the potential of emerging technologies to impact their respective organizations, e.g., mobile computing, web services, and peer-to-peer systems. 
• Utilize the Internet to collect information and to conduct research.

Topics to be covered in class:

• Basic concepts:

• EC-Infrastructure (Case: Dell Online)
• Taxonomy and Appraisal of E-Business Models (Case: eBay)
• Internet Strategy as Part of the Overall Strategy
• E-Business Management (Case Staples.com)
• Competitive and Macro Environments (Case: Amazon/Book Industry)

• Application of concepts:

• Targeting the End-Consumer (business-to-consumer EC) (Cases: Online Groceries, Wine-industry, Peer-to-Peer technologies)
• Connecting Businesses (business-to-business EC) (Cases: Motorola/Online Procurement, Ford/Supply Chain Management)
• Online Markets (Case: Covisint)

The course features a mix of lectures, case study discussions, and student presentations. Students are expected to participate actively by contributing to in-class discussion, as well as by preparing and presenting a term project and a research project. The projects are done in groups of three to four students. Individual assignments include three homework assignments and two exams (midterm and final).

Prerequisite: Cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or honors in the Junior year; senior standing, 1 to 4 hours.

Instructor 

Judith Gebauer joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an Assistant Professor in the Fall of 2001. Her research interests include the management of emerging technologies and its impact on organizations, innovative forms of organizations, the changing role of intermediaries, and electronic markets. In cooperation with Motorola, Inc., she is currently involved in a project to identify and assess the opportunities presented by mobile applications to support business processes. At her previous appointment as a research fellow at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Gebauer played a leading role in a research project on electronic procurement and inter-organizational electronic commerce. The project mapped the state of the art of Internet-based procurement systems and addressed their use and  effects on purchasing processes and supplier relations. Dr. Gebauer holds a Ph.D. (1996) and a master degree in Economics from the University of Freiburg, Germany (1991).

Grading

This course requires a considerable amount of work from the students, inside and outside of the class room. Research shows that learning is most effectively done if students become actively involved with the learning material. In a field that is as dynamic and applied as electronic commerce, lectures can only provide an overview and introduction to the issues. Much activity will have to come from the students, including hands-on projects, independent research, and interaction between the course participants. Students are encouraged to share their experiences and knowledge about electronic commerce obtained from prior jobs, internships or from simply using the Web.

Term project, research project, and homework assignments (55%): Students will work in groups to complete two projects: a term project and a research project (20% each). The results of both projects will be presented in class. In addition, both projects require a written report of 10-12 pages. Furthermore, throughout the semester, students will complete three smaller assignments individually (15%). Details on the homework assignments will be announced in class and through First Class.

Class participation (15%): Class participation is a significant part of the overall grade. To ensure the quality of in-class discussions, students are strongly encouraged to prepare by working through the assigned reading material before class. This is especially important for the case studies. A list of discussion questions is included in the course reader, immediately following the case description. The questions should be kept in mind when reading the case. For other readings, the following questions should be considered: (1) What does the reading say? What is the central issue/theme/point that is conveyed? (2) What have you learned? What has it added to your knowledge/understanding of the subject? What connections did you make to your experience? (3) Tie this reading or case into the larger set of materials on the subject in the course.  

In general, contributions inside and outside of the classroom will be assessed according to the following guidelines:

Earning an "A" participation grade involves (1) applying conceptual material from the readings or the lecture, (2) applying other ("outside") material that has not been provided in the readings or lecture to the discussion, (3) integrating comments from previous students, (4) reaching back to something said previously in the discussion that is pertinent to the discussion at the moment, (5) taking issue with a classmate's analysis, (6) pulling together material from several places in the case and readings, (7) drawing parallels from previous cases and readings, (8) tying in briefly an experience you have had that is relevant to the discussion, or (9) by generally demonstrating that you have carefully read the case and readings and given them careful thought. If you speak occasionally but do not contribute anything new to our knowledge, your participation grade will be rated "B" (depending on how "occasionally" and how well prepared you are). If you almost never speak in class or miss several classes, you will earn a participation grade of "C" to "D".

Also, please keep in mind that frequency of comments are NOT important and in fact, too frequent commenting can detract from the grade. There is a limited amount of "air time" and we want to hear everyone's ideas.

While these guidelines apply primarily to in- classroom participation, I will also count participation outside the classroom, such as posting comments, related articles and other material to First Class; as well as providing constructive comments on how to improve the course. This possibility to contribute to class is intended as an opportunity particularly for students who feel uncomfortable to speak in class or are unable to attend a session for whatever reason. 

Midterm and final exam (30%): The midterm (15%) and the final (15%) will consist of short questions and a brief case analysis.

Bonus presentations: Throughout the semester, students also have the opportunity to earn bonus points by giving short presentations in class (10 min, 3% per presentation). For topics, scheduling, and further details, please coordinate with the instructor, preferably at the beginning of the semester.

To summarize, grades will be determined as follows:

• Class participation: 15%
• Homework Assignments: 15%
• Term Project Report and Presentation: 20%
• Research Project Report and Presentation: 20%
• Midterm exam: 15%
• Final exam: 15%

The grading scheme will include +/- grading for letter grades A through D. In the past, I have assigned the grades as follows: 

• 95% of total points or better = A
• 90% or better = A-
• 86.6% or better = B+
• 83.3% or better = B
• 80% or better = B-
• 77.6% or better = C+
• and so on...

Grades will be posted on Gradebook.

General Course Policies

• On-time delivery: All papers and homework assignments are to be submitted no later than at the beginning of the class on the due date indicated in the schedule. Assignments can be handed in on paper in class or submitted by email (to gebauer@uiuc.edu) prior to class. Managers contend that the greatest disservice professors do to students is to accept late assignments. Lateness is unfair to other students who complete all assignments and course-related behaviors on time, is unfair to the instructor who must rearrange work schedules, and most importantly represents a pattern of behavior that is not rewarded in the real world. Therefore, except in extraordinary circumstances, late papers will not be accepted and make-up assignments are not available. When preparing your papers and assignments, please, allow time for unexpected delays and avoid last-minute scheduling. 
• Backup copies: It is recommended that you make copies (electronic or on paper) of all assignments before submitting them. It protects you and allows you to continue working while the assignment is being graded.
• Format of assignments: All assignments should be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around and a 12-point print font. All assignments submitted must be neat and organized. This includes information about the assignment (title, name of student, course information, date) as well as a list of the references used. Incomplete, sloppy, disorganized, or otherwise "unprofessional" work can be returned ungraded with a score of zero.
• Academic misconduct: I will not tolerate academic misconduct of any form. Actions including, but not limited to, plagiarism, copying another student's work, copying and/or submitting work done by students in prior semesters, and cheating on exams will be punished to the full extent permitted by university policies and procedures. Regarding plagiarism, please note that any time you put your name on a piece of work for this course, you are asserting that it is your own work, except when otherwise indicated and permitted. To avoid plagiarism, the source of any information that you use must be reported using an appropriate citation format. Direct quotations must be indicated with quotation marks and page references.
• Proper conduct is expected in class. This includes being on time and being alert during the class session (even if not participating verbally). It also includes showing respect to the instructor as well as to fellow class members. I reserve the right to deduct points if these criteria of good conduct are not met. Mutual respect and honesty are values that will make this course rewarding as well as fun.

Text Book and Readings

Required text is Afuah, Allan, Tucci, Christopher L.: Internet Business Models and Strategies, 2nd edition, Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002. The book is available from all three campus bookstores and from Amazon.   

Note, that this text only covers part of the course material, namely the conceptual parts which will be discussed during the first part of the semester. Be sure to get your text book copy at the beginning of the semester.

Required readings (in addition to the text book) have been combined in a course reader, available from Dup-It (808 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820, phone (217) 337-7000. Fax (217) 337-1152. Email dup-it@pdnt.com). Additional readings might be handed out in class. Part of the readings can be downloaded from the Course Web Site.

Additional recommended readings

• Amor, Daniel: The E-business (R)Evolution, Hewlett-Packard Professional Books/Prentice Hall, 1999 (order from Amazon)
• Kalakota, Ravi & Robinson, Marcia: e-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success, Addison-Wesley, 2001 (order from Amazon)
• Shapiro, Carl & Varian, Hal R.: Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy, Harvard Business School Press, 1998 (order from Amazon)
• Turban, E. et. al.: Electronic Commerce - A Managerial Perspective, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River/NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002 (order from Amazon)
• Weill, Peter & Vitale, Michael R.: Place to Space -Migrating to eBusiness Models, Boston/Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 2001 (order from Amazon)
• See also the List of E-Commerce Books by Rob Kauffman, Univ. of Minnesota and Collection of relevant Texts from the Univ. of Buffalo

Course Schedule and Resources

To view the PDF-files, you need to get Acrobat Reader (it's free).
Please note, the syllabus is somewhat evolving as we go along it - check back frequently to see the latest changes.

Required readings are marked with (**)

8/28: Intro and Overview - Outline scope of the course, identify expectations

To do: 

• Get reading material
• Familiarize yourself with First Class and Gradebook (make sure you have access!)
• Start forming groups, review possible topics for term and research projects

9/2: no class (Labor Day)

9/4: EC overview

• Afuah/Tucci, Ch. 1 (**)
• Clarke, Roger: Electronic Commerce-Definitions (a collection)

9/9-11: EC Toolkit and Players - History of the Internet, Internet basics (Video: Nerds 2.0.1)

• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 2 (**)
• Mendelson, Haim: A Note on Internet Technology, Teaching Note, Stanford Univ. Jan. 1999 (**)
• Business 2.0: E-Business Parts List, January 2002
• Webopedia, Whatis - Online Computer Dictionaries
• Mendelson, Haim & Korin, Anne: The Computer History: A Brief History
• The History of the Internet (Collection of Links)
• A Beginner's Guide to HMTL
• Information on SSL, XML-FAQ, Dynamic HTML
• Warriors of the Net (mpeg-videos) 

• Turban, E. et al.: Electronic Commerce – A manager’s perspective, 2nd ed., Prentice Hall, 2002, Ch. 13 and 14
• Wade, C., Over the Internet Payments, CommerceNet presentation, Oct 29, 2000

DUE (9/9): Project proposals

9/13-16: A Peek into the Future of E-Business (?): Web Services, and Mobile Computing

• Vaughan-Nichols, S. J. Web Services: Beyond the Hype, IEEE Computer, Feb 2002, 18-21 (**)
• Economist Survey: The Mobile Internet, October 11, 2001 (**)
• Kerstetter, J. The Web at Your Service, BusinessWeek e.biz, March 18, 2002, 11-16
• Caulfield, B. What the H*ck are Web Services? Business 2.0, April 2002, 106-108

Additional Reading (recommended): Gebauer, J., Shaw, M. A Theory of Task/Technology Fit for Mobile Applications to Support Organizational Processes, Working Paper, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002.

9/18-23: Case study: Dell Online; also: Learn how to use the Internet to collect data and research

• Mendelson, Haim: Dell Direct, Graduate School Of Business, Stanford University, Case #: EC-17, November 2000 (**)
• Southwest Airlines (Computerworld, Zellner, Wendy. The Trick to Selling Airline Tickets Online? Minimalism. Business Week, n3699 (September 18, 2000), NIU Case Study)

DUE 9/23: Homework assignment #1 - Internet use

9/25: Impacts of the New Technologies, (Internet-) Business Models

• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 3 (**)
• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 4 (**)
• Applegate, Lynda: Emerging E-Business Models: Lessons from the Field, HBS Teaching Note, 2001 (**)
• Rappa, Michael: Business Models on the Web, Managing the Digital Enterprise (online course)

9/30: Case: eBay

• Bradley, Stephen P., Porter, Kelly A.: eBay, Inc., Case Study, Journal of Interactive Marketing, vol. 14, no. 4, Autumn 2000, 73-97 (**)
• Hof, Robert D.: The People's Company, BusinessWeek e.biz, 12/3/2001
• Helft, Miguel: What Makes eBay Unstoppable? The Industry Standard, Aug 06 2001

• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 5 (**)
• Amit, Raphael, Zott, Christoph: Value Creation in E-Business, Strategic Management Journal, 22 (2001) (**)

10/7: Starting an e-business (I) - Movie: Startup.com (part 1)

10/9: Starting an e-business (II) - Movie: Startup.com (part 2)

• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 8 (**)
• Applegate, Lynda, Saltrick, Susan: Developing an Elevator Pitch for a New Venture, HBS Excercise, 2002

• Morris, Gillian: Staples.com, Harvard Business School Case Study, 9-800-305, Dec 2000 (**)
• Afuah, Tucci: Ch.11 (**)

[dropped - 10/14: Value Configurations and the Internet - Internet-strategy as part of the overall strategy, value configuration

• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 7 (**)
• Stabell, Charles B, Fjeldstad, Oystein D.: Configuring Value for Competitive Advantage: On Chains, Shops, and Networks, Strategic Management Journal, 19 (1998) (**)

• Afuah, Tucci: Ch. 10 (**)
• Porter, Michael: Strategy and the Internet, HBR March 2001 (**)
• Tapscott, Don: Rethinking Strategy in a Networked World (or Why Michael Porter is Wrong about the Internet), strategy + business, August 2001
• McGahan, Anita M, Porter, Michael E.: How much does industry matter, really? Strategic Management Journal v18 (Summer 1997)]

10/21: Midterm (see previous exams)

• Applegate, Lynda: Emerging E-Business Models: Lessons from the Field, HBS Teaching Note, 2001 (**)
• Collura, Meredith, Applegate, Linda: Amazon.com, 2000, Harvard Business School Case Study, 9-801-194, May 2001 (**)
• Laseter, Timothy M. et al., Amazon Your Industry: Extracting Value From the Value Chain, Strategy & Business, Q1, 2000, pp. 94-105

• Gebauer, Judith, Ginsburg, Mark: The Vines They Are E-Changin’ – Or are They? The California Wine Industry Enters the Digital Age, Fisher Center Working Paper, 2001 (**)
• Online Grocery: How the Internet is Changing the Grocery Industry, University of Virginia, Draft (**)
• Helft, Miguel: Webvan's Cupboard is Bare, The Industry Standard, July 9, 2001

DUE: Brief updates on progress of projects

• Kemmler, Tilman et al.: E-Performance II, the good, the bad and the merely ugly, McKinsey Quarterly, 3/2001 (**)
• Schubert, Petra and Dettling, Walter: Extended Web Assessment (EWAM): Evaluation of e-Commerce Applications from the Customer's Viewpoint, HICSS 35, Jan 2002 (**)
• The Webby Awards, Evaluation Criteria
• Lessons from the Old Economy - Roundtable discussion, hosted by Fast Company in July, 2001 (has several videos)

To do: Homework assignment #2 - Web site evaluation

DUE: Homework Assignment #2

• Lam, Calvin K.M. & Bernard C.Y. Tan: The Internet is Changing the Music Industry, Communications of the ACM, vol 44, no 8, August 2001, pp. 62-68 (**)
• Clemons, Eric K., Bin Gu, and Karl R. Lang: Newly Vulnerable Markets in an Age of Pure Information Products: An Analysis of Online Music and Online News. Proceedings of the 35th Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences (HICSS35), 2002. (**)
• Bricklin, Dan: A Taxonomy of Computer Systems and Different Topologies: Standalone to P2P, and Thoughts on Peer-to-Peer, 2000, 2001
• Clarke, Roger: File-Discovery and Technologies (aka Peer-to-Peer or P2P), 2000/2001
• Richtel, Matt: Agreement Is a First Step for Licensing Online Music, NY Times, October 10, 2001, see also: Music on the Internet, New York Times, collection of articles and links following the Napster/MP3 developments

• von Lohmann, Fred: Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and Copyright Law after Napster, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, 2001

• Creech, Kenneth: The Internet Goes To Court: A Napster Case Study, presented at the Broadcast Assoc. Ann. Convention, April 2001

• Burton, Jonathan: Make More Money, Cut the Noise, NY Times, Sept. 26, 2001, A video on Liquidnet

• Gebauer, Judith, Haacker, Dean, Shaw, Mike: Global Non-Production Procurement at Motorola: Experiences from the TIGERS Project, Case study, Dec 2001 (**)
• Gebauer, Judith, Segev, Arie: Emerging Technologies to Support Indirect Procurement: Two Case Studies from the Petroleum Industry, Journal of IT and Management, 2000
• Alaniz, Scott: E-Procurement - A Guide to Buy-Side Applications, Robin Roberts, Dec. 1999

• SAP and the Online Procurement Market, GSB Case Study, EC-5, Version B, Stanford, May 2000 (**)

• Austin, Robert: Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy, Harvard Business School, Case Study, 1999 (**) 
• Marti, Eric et al.: Disintermediation in the U.S. Autoindustry, GSB Case Study, Stanford, February 2000 (**)
• Davis, Jeffrey: Some Assembly Required, Business 2.0, Feb 2001
• GM-BuyPower, A/T case study, p. 266.

DUE (11/18): Homework assignment #3 - E-Business Opportunities in the Automotive Industry

• Bailey, Joseph P.; Bakos, Yannis: An Exploratory Study of the Emerging Role of Electronic Intermediaries, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 1, No. 3, Spring 1997, pp. 7-20 (**)
• E-Catalog 99: Business-to-Business Electronic Catalogs, Technology Report from Granada Research, 1999

11/25 and 11/27: No Class (Thanksgiving-break)

12/2: Student presentations

• Automotive
• Parking

12/4: Student presentations

• Ubid
• Soccer

12/9: Student presentations

• Real Networks
• Promissor

• Grover, Varun, Pradipkumar, Ramanlal: Six Myths of Information and Markets: Information Technology Networks, Electronic Commerce, and the Battle for Consumer Surplus, MIS Quarterly 23 (4), 1999

DUE: Final project reports (case studies and research studies)

Will give out Final Take-home exam

Online Resources

• E-Commerce Research Forum at MIT - Collection of recent Working Papers on Electronic Commerce, initiated by Erik Brynjolfsson and John Little
• Fisher Center for IT and Marketplace Transformation, University of California, Berkeley, USA (E-Procurement Project)
• McMaster E-Commerce Research Centre (MERC), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (EC-Links)
• Netmarketmakers - "The Hub for Growing Netmarkets" (Information, analyst reports and discussion groups on Electronic Markets)
• B2Business.net - "The Network for B2B Professionals" (Resources for the B2B-Community, including a comprehensive directory of netmarkets)
• Magazines and newspapers:
  • New York Times (registration required, but it's free)
  • Economist (subscription required)
  • BusinessWeek (subscription required)
  • Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
  • USA Today (daily newsletters)
• Business 2.0
• Informationweek
• Red Herring Magazine
• Marketing Research - lists print and electronic resources of general interest to marketing researchers, put together by UIUC's Commerce Library

• Sirkaa Jarvenpaa, E-Business Strategy & Policy, University of Texas, Austin
• Bill Nance, Electronic Commerce, San Jose State University
• Brian L. Dos Santos, Electronic Commerce, Louisville University
• Donna Hoffman, Internet Commerce Strategy, Vanderbilt University
• Chuck Ehrlich, E-Business Classes, University of San Francisco (USF)
• Leon Zhao,  B2B Electronic Commerce and Business Transformation, HKUST
• E-Commerce Courses, Institute for eCommerce, Carnegie Mellon University
• IS-World Net's Electronic Commerce Course page (collection of links)