CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
WEATHERHEAD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
PLCY 473
E-Business Strategy
To Be Renamed As 'Competitive Strategies in a Networked World'
Fall, 2002
Instructor: Sayan Chatterjee
Telephone: 368-5373
e-mail: sxc14@po.cwru.edu
Assistant: Teresa Kabat
Telephone: 368-2076
e-mail: tmk4@po.cwru.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course objectives
The Internet is now ubiquitous. Yet, the Internet is no longer the mecca for all the get rich
schemes that one can think of. Further, pure play Internet strategies are few and far
between. However, the Internet allows firms the opportunity to integrate its internal
activities as well as external partners in order to create new competitive market spaces.
The basic thrust of this course will be to study how successful companies have carved out
such market spaces. Investigation of the competitive strategies of these companies will
allow us to work towards a conceptual framework by which to understand the economic
viability of various business models that can take advantage of the Internet and the
underlying IT infrastructure.
Course pedagogy and preparing for class
Most of the learning in this course will be through in-class discussions of cases, readings
and current articles. The class discussion will be complimented by instructor’s lectures,
guest-speakers, targeted assignments and semester long projects. Because this course is
continuously evolving, the relevant material is not succinctly presented in a textbook or
even cases and will appear disjointed at times. This means that there will be considerable
reading material for each session, sometimes approaching 50 pages. I will try to divide
the responsibility for leading the discussion of different parts of the reading material to
different people. However, everyone is expected to have thoroughly read all the material.
It is our collective responsibility to synthesize the readings to a few takeaways that can
help us in our collective careers.
Assignments:
There are no individual assignments that will be graded; all graded assignments will be
group work. You need to form groups of three to four students depending on the class
size.
I expect students to come fully prepared with all the assigned course material. Further,
all students will have to hand in a one-page summary of specific questions indicated in
bold font in the syllabus. These summaries will not be graded but will be returned with a
check or a check plus. The guest speakers may give you some pre-work to do, of which
you will be notified later.
Description of assignment and related course objective
Due Date
Semester Project
November 19, 2002
Involves the analysis of a firm’s E-Business strategy,
comparing and contrasting a group of firms in the same
industry or an industry analysis. You need to write a case
that describes the situation and a theory note analyzing the
situation. An example can be found in blackboard.
Draft paper to be handed in
October 29, 2002
Student Presentations
Comprehensive findings from your project. All students
are expected to have read the project reports prior to
coming to class. Most of the class time will be devoted to
questions and answers on the project.
November 26 and
December 3, 2002
Attendance
Only one unexcused absence is allowed for the semester. Students must bring their name
tent to class in order to receive class participation points.
Course Materials
A course packet is available at the University bookstore. Supplemental material may be
posted in Blackboard from time to time. Most of the supplemental material will be
available free of cost over the net, however, you may have to register at some sites such
as the New York Times or the McKinsey quarterly. Some documents are only available
through BusinessWeek Online, which is free for the print subscribers of BusinessWeek. I
shall distribute a sign up sheet for BusinessWeek on the first day of class. My assistant
will have the sign up sheet if you are inclined to sign up before class starts.
We will use a fair amount material from the following text.
1. Information Rules. 1998. Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian, HBS Press.
2. Highlighted readings are available on Blackboard.
Grading
Semester long group project: 60 percent.
members’ contribution.
Class participation: 40 percent
complement my own evaluations.
I will have you evaluate your peer group
I will seek peer evaluations from the class to
Detailed Class Schedule
Please note Sessions 11 –14 are subject to change depending on number of student projects
Session Dates, Topic and Course
Assignments/Preparation Questions
Material
1. Review core strategy frameworks
Session 1: August 27
2. What is the difference between competencies
Topic: Overview of the course,
and capabilities?
formation of groups, discussion
3. From Value-Maps to Value-Nets
of presentation topics
Required Readings:
1. PowerPoint Overheads: Introduction
to PLCY 473 in Blackboard
2. Information Rules Chapter 1
Session 2: September 3
Topic: Overview of E-Business
What is E-Business?
 E-Commerce
 E-Commerce enabler
1. What is the difference between e-Business and
e-Commerce?
2. What are the different components of eBusiness per the PC Mag article?
a. Which are the critical components?
3. Comment on the ten rules of e-Business per the
PC Mag article.
Required Readings:
1. PowerPoint Overheads in
Blackboard
2. E-Business Essentials -- PC
Magazine PC Labs
3. What it takes to integrate e-Biz
Session 3: September 10
Questions will be posted later.
Topic: In-Company Integration for
Value-Maps - ERP
Required Readings:
1. Putting the enterprise into the
enterprise system, DavenportHBR
2. Case: Cisco ERP Implementation
HBS 699-022
3. The essence of ERP
Session 4: September 17
Topic: Using Value Nets for e-Biz
competitive leadership
Questions will be posted later
Required Readings:
1. Case: Charles Schwab
2. Schwab Version 4.0
Session 5: September 24
Topic: Competitive Strategy Framework
for E-Business
Required Readings:
1. Power Point Overheads: A strategic
Framework for E-Business in
Blackboard
2. The Net won’t change everything –
Michael Porter.
3. Strategy and the Internet, Michael
Porter HBR March 2001
4. Information Rules Chapter 1
1. How is, or is, the information economy
different from the traditional economy?
2. What are the characteristics of a hybrid, virtual
and digital strategies?
3. Which industries are least likely to be affected
by the internet?
4. Which of the four basic business models do you
feel can succeed in the long run?
5. Do you think Cisco and Schwab’s investment
in IT will pay off was were they simply a
beneficiary of the internet bubble??
Related Readings:
1.
Mercury Debuts Production Testing
System
2. UPS Offers Simplified Web-Based
Returns Service
Session 6: October 1
1. Research a web site not mentioned in the
readings and analyze their pricing strategy. Ex:
Topic: Maximizing Digital Revenues
Required Readings:
1. Information Rules Chapters 2-3
and 7
2. Let the Buyer Compare. Business
Week September 3, 2001
3. Check out the business models of
Free Market and e-Bay by visiting
their web site
Background on Dynamic pricing
4. Working the Web Bazaar (focus
on the different dynamic pricing
models not necessarily the
companies since some has since
gone bankrupt)
Morningstar.com, AAA.com.
2. What kind of competencies and/or capabilities
do you need to successfully exploit a versioning
strategy?
3. What is the impact of increasing price
transparency?
4. How would you apply Shapiro and Varian to
dynamic pricing models such as e-Bay and Free
Market
Session 7: October 8
No class. The PBL building is closed.
Session 8: October 15
Questions will be posted later
Topic: Virtual Strategies
Topic: e-Business enablers
Required Readings:
1. Case: Cisco System
2. Information Rules Chapters 8
Session 9: October 22
Guest Speaker:. Dave Pavlich, Director
of e-Commerce, Roadway Corp.
Session 10: October 29
Topic: Creating Standards and Lock-Ins
1. Case: Tellme networks HBS 801319
2. Information Rules Chapters 9
1. Would you invest in Tellme's D round? (As
even you are a high risk institutional investor
having a 5 to 7 year horizon)
2. Should Tellme power Web portals speech
services?
3. How aggressively should Tellme invest in
growth on the directory side?
First Draft of Project Due
Session 11: November 5
Questions will be posted later
Guest Speaker:.Mike Fenger
Session 12: November 12
Questions will be posted later.
Topic: Industry Transformation
Case: Insurance Island (to be distributed)
Related Readings: To be announced
Guest Speaker:. Madhavan
Chakravarty, President
2M Technologies
Session 13: November 19
Topic: Hybrid Strategies
1. What is Staple' s competitive advantage in the
online market space?
2. Do you agree with Staples.com's growth
strategy and timing?
Case: Staples.Com HBS 800-305
Case: Office Depot.Com
3. Do you think that Staples.com should expand
into the SOHO services market? If so, should it
ally with external service providers or create
services internally?
4. What should Staples.com's pricing strategy be,
relative to the competition? Relative to Staple' s
catalog and retail stores?
5. Do you agree with the high-level of
organizational an operational integration
between Staples.com and Staples Inc.?
6. Do you think that Jeanne Lewis will be
successful in creating a vibrant “.com” culture
in Staples.com? why or why not? If you were
Kelly Mahoney, would you take this job? How
would you value the .com tracking stock?
Office Depot
Session 14: November 26
Topic: Student Presentations
Session 15: December 3
Topic: Student Presentations
1. What should Office Depot do?
2. What were the possible competitive moves and
the probability of each move occurring?
3. What would be the potential financial impact of
the alternative strategies?
a. Overall strategy?
b. Pricing strategy?
c. Product line strategy?
d. Promotion strategy?
Note: We may need to add an additional day
depending on the class size.