ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Fall 2003
SYLLABUS & COURSE OUTLINE
Lecturer: Dr. She-I Chang
Office Address: Room 405 - College of Management
Lecture Hours: 16:15 - 17:30 Tue. (Room 006 – College of Management)
Lecture Hours: 16:15 - 17:30 Thur. (Room 215 – Computer Center)
Office Hours: 13:00-15:00 (Tue), 14:00 – 16:00 (Wed), 12:00 – 14:00 (Thur)
Phone: 05-2720411 ext. 34510
Fax: 05-2721197
E-mail: actsic@ccu.edu.tw
COURSE DESCRIPTION
As we enter the third millennium we experience one of the most important changes to our
daily lives – the move to an Internet-based society. The U.S. Department of Commerce
reported that in January 2002 more than 55 percent of all Americans (141 million) surfed the
Internet. More interesting is the fact that over 90 percent of people 5 to 17 years old surf the
Internet on a regular basis. It is clear that this percentage will continue to increase. Similar
trends exist in most other countries. As a result, much has changed at home, school, work, and
in the government – and even in our leisure activities. Some changes are already here and are
spreading around the globe. Others are just beginning. One of the most significant changes is
in how we conduct business, especially in how we manage marketplaces and trading.
Electronic commerce (EC), also known as e-business, describes the manner in which
transactions take place over networks, mostly the Internet. It is the process of electronically
buying and selling goods, services, and information. Certain EC applications, such as buying
and selling stocks or books on the Internet, are growing very rapidly. In Korea, for example,
70 percent of all stock trading is already conducted on the Internet. Electronic commerce will
impact a significant portion of the world, affecting businesses, professions, and, of course,
people. Electronic commerce is not just about buying and selling, it is also about
electronically communicating, collaborating, and discovering information. It is about elearning, e-government, and much more.
The purpose of this course is to describe the essentials of EC – how it is being conducted and
managed as well as assessing its major opportunities, limitations, issues, and risks. As
electronic commerce is an interdisciplinary topic, it should be of interest to managers and
professional people in any functional area of the business world. People in government,
education, health services, and other areas will benefit from learning about EC.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are to develop a better understanding of:
1. Terminology. The student will be able to explain the meaning of terms used to describe
common techniques and concepts in EC.
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Department of Accounting, NCCU
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2. Business Models. The student will be able analyze successful and failed business models
on the Web.
3. Advanced EC concepts. The student will be able to explain technological, economic, and
legal concepts in EC.
4. International issues. The student will be able to discuss the technological, cultural, and
legal challenges in implementation of commercial Web sites, and suggest solutions.
5. Social and ethical issues. The student will be able to explain the major social and ethical
issues involved in online commercial activities.
PREREQUISITES
None
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS


Turban, E and King, D. INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE, Prentice-Hall International,
2003, ISBN: 0-13-009405-6
Packet of Research Links, Study Hall, Ask Your Tutor, Add Book, My Bookshelf, View
Favorites, Add Notes, View Notes, Help, Chapter Materials: Study Guide (Multiple
Choices, True or False, Essay Questions, Internet Exercises), Student Resources
(PowerPoint Slides), Tutorials are available on the Prentice Hall Online My Companion
Website http://myphlip.pearsoncmg.com/ (Students need to register/enroll on the website
by using the Class Password: student).
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an
educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic
dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of
another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with
the academic work of other students. At the beginning of each course it is the responsibility of
the instructor to provide a statement clarifying the application of the academic integrity to
that course. (Policies and Rules: A Handbook for Students)
GRADING
Your grade will be determined as follows:
Assignment
Class Participations
EC Application Case Study
Presentations
Team Projects
Final Exam
Weight
20% (5x4)
10%
Due Date
Each Class
Week 8 and 15
40%
30%
Week 16 and 17
Week 18
Class Participation
The Management Division requires regular attendance by students in each course. Class
attendance is useful to the student as a means of acquiring knowledge and clarification, and is
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a prerequisite for class participation. Class participation is the active engagement in questions
and answers, taking part in analyses of business situations, and contributing comments in class
sessions. The participation grade will be based on the quality of comments made during the
class discussions and discussions of “Pause/Break Section Review Questions”, “EC
Application Case Questions“, “Discussion Questions” and “Internet Exercises”, but not
the quantity of comments.
EC Application Case Study Presentations
During the Week 8 and 17, each student will prepare written description and presentation of
one of 45 EC Application cases from the textbook. The written description should focus
analyzing the materials in the case, evaluating the strategy employed by the company, and
making appropriate recommendations for the Questions. Summarize the material in the case.
Use the material in the case only or others to support your evaluations, and conclusions. In
some case, there might be several alternative recommendations for the Questions. In these
situations, evaluate the pros and cons of the alternatives and use these evaluations to form
your recommended approach.
The written case description should be limited to 2,000 words plus exhibits and tables. The
exhibits and tables should be related to the analysis, referred to in the text, and should not
simple graph data in the case. The presentation will also be limited within 10 minutes.
Team Project
e-Business Plan or Research Plan. To be further advised.
Final Exam
The final examination will be open book, open notes. It will consist of true or false questions,
multiple-choice questions and answer questions addressing concepts and applications
discussed in the textbook and lectures.
REQUIREMENTS
Class Meetings
You are required to attend all class meetings. If you miss a meeting, it is your responsibility to
obtain notes from a fellow student. Office hours are not meant for individual lectures.
Readings
You should read the chapters and/or articles and cases listed in the schedule before the class in
which they will be discussed.
Web Sites
Whenever you have to read a chapter, you must also log on to the site of the organization that
is the subject of the chapter, and update your knowledge about the organization’s activities as
part of preparing for class discussion. It is your responsibility to look the site up on the Web.
OUTSIDE CLASS COMMUNICATION
You are encouraged to exercise your right to own a College user ID and use it for electronic
mail. (Note that students are also entitled to maintain their own Web site, up to 50MB in size.)
Please feel free to communicate with me by phone, e-mail, fax, and my mailbox on campus.
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Use my office hours whenever you feel you need to. If you wish to meet with me outside my
office hours, contact me and I will make every effort to work out a time to fit your schedule.
PROHIBITION ON SOFTWARE COPYING
Students in this course will use the College’s Microcomputer Laboratory and software
designed to run on personal computers. Much of this software is of a proprietary nature, and
its duplication is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized copying is prohibited by the University, and
may violate the University’s software licensing agreements and various government laws. Any
student who engages in unauthorized software copying will be subject to harsh penalties.
CELLUAR PHONES, BEEPERS, AND OTHER ANNOYNACES
Cellular phones and beepers must be turned off before entering the classroom. If your device
emits any sound during class session, you will be invited to leave the classroom and not
return.
COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK
TOPIC
1
COURSE INTRODUCTION
PART 1
INTRODUCTION TO EC
Topic:
Overview
of
Electronic
Commerce
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Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Define electronic commerce (EC) and describe its various categories.
- Describe and discuss the content and framework of EC.
- Describe the major types of EC transactions.
- Describe some EC business models.
- Describe the benefits of EC to organizations, consumers, and society.
- Describe the limitations of EC.
- Describe the role of the digital revolution in EC and the economic impact
of EC.
- Describe the contribution of EC in helping organizations respond to
environmental pressures.
- Discuss some major managerial issues regarding EC.
Topic: E-Commerce Market Mechanisms
Objectives:
- Define e-marketplaces and list their components.
- List the major types of electronic markets and describe their features.
- Define supply chains and value chains and understand their roles.
- Describe the role of intermediaries in EC.
- Discuss competition, quality, and liquidity issues in e-marketplaces.
- Describe electronic catalogs, shopping carts, and search engines.
- Describe the various types of auctions and list their characteristics.
- Discuss the benefits, limitations and impacts of auctions.
- Describe bartering and negotiating online.
- Describe the impact of e-marketplaces on organizations.
- Define m-commerce and explain its role as a market mechanism.
PART 2
INTERNET RETAILING
Topic: Retailing in E-Commerce: Products and Services
3
READING
ASSIGNMENT
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Objectives: Define and describe the primary business models of electronic
retailing (e-tailing)
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- Define and describe the primary business models of electronic retailing
("e-tailing").
- Discuss various e-tail markets, such as those for books, music and cars.
- Identify the principles of "click-and-mortar" strategies for traditional
retailers.
- Describe how online travel and tourism operate.
- Describe the online employment market, including its drivers and benefits.
- Describe online real estate, insurance and stock trading.
- Describe cyberbanking and online personal finance.
- Describe on-demand delivery by e-grocers.
- Describe the delivery of digital products and online entertainment.
- Discuss various e-tail consumer aids, including comparison-shopping aids.
- Identify the critical success factors for direct marketing and e-tailing.
- Describe reintermediation, channel conflicts and personalization in etailing.
Topic: Consumer Behavior, Customer Service, and Advertising
Objectives:
- Describe the factors that influence consumer behavior online.
- Understand the decision-making process of consumer purchasing online.
- Describe how companies are building one-to-one relationships with
customers.
- Discuss the issues of e-loyalty and e-trust in EC.
- Explain how personalization is accomplished online.
- Describe consumer market research in EC.
- Explain the implementation of customer service online and describe its
tools.
- Describe the objectives of Web advertising and its characteristics.
- Describe the major advertising methods used on the Web.
- Describe various online promotions.
- Describe the issues involved in measuring the success of Web
advertisements as it relates to different pricing methods.
- Understand the role of intelligent agents in consumer issues and
advertising applications.
PART 3
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS E-COMMERCE
Topic:
Company-Centric
B2B and Collaborative Commerce
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6
Objectives:
- Describe the B2B field.
- Describe the major types of B2B models.
- Describe the characteristics of the sell-side marketplace.
- Describe the sell-side intermediary models.
- Describe the characteristics of the buy-side marketplace and eprocurement.
- Explain how forward and backward auctions work in B2B.
- Describe B2B aggregation and group purchasing models.
- Describe collaborative e-commerce and interorganizational systems.
- Describe infrastructure and standards requirements for B2B.
Topic: Public B2B Exchanges
Objectives: Describe the B2B field.
- Define e-marketplaces and exchanges.
- List various types of e-marketplaces.
- Describe B2B portals.
- Describe third-party exchanges.
- Distinguish between e-procurement and e-selling consortia.
- Describe the various ownership and revenue models of exchanges.
- Describe the support mechanisms offerred by exchanges, including
auctions.
- Describe networks of exchanges and exchange management.
- Describe the critical success factors of exchanges.
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Department of Accounting, NCCU
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
5
- Discuss implementation and development issues of e-marketplaces and
exchanges.
- Describe the major support services of B2B.
- Describe the extranet and its role in supporting marketplaces and
exchanges.
PART 4
SUPPORTING EC APPLICATIONS
Topic: Intrabusiness, E-Government, C2C, E-Learning, and More
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MID-TERM EXAM WEEK
PART 5
SUPPORTING EC APPLICATIONS
Topic: Mobile Commerce
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Chapter 7
Objectives:
- Define intrabusiness e-commerce and describe its major activities.
- Describe the intranet and its use in organizations.
- Understand the relationship between corporate portals and intranets.
- Describe e-government to citizens (G2C) and to business (G2B).
- Describe various e-government initiatives.
- Understand how peer-to-peer technology works in intrabusiness, in B2B,
and in C2C e-commerce.
- Describe online publishing and e-books.
- Describe e-learning and virtual universities.
- Describe knowledge management and dissemination.
Topic: EC Application Case study Presentations
Objectives: Understand how the E-Commerce/E-Business are applied in real
world.
Objectives:
- Describe the characteristics and attributes of m-commerce.
- Describe the drivers of m-commerce.
- Understand the technologies that support m-commerce.
- Describe the wireless standards and transmission networks.
- Describe m-commerce applications in finance, marketing, and customer
service.
- Describe the applications of m-commerce within organizations.
- Describe B2B and supply chain applications of m-commerce.
- Describe consumer and personal applications of m-commerce.
- Describe some non-Internet m-commerce applications.
- Describe location-based commerce (l-commerce).
- Describe the major limitations and implementation issues of m-commerce.
- Describe some m-commerce implementation issues.
Topic: Law, Ethics, and Cyber Crime
Objectives:
- Describe the differences between legal and ethical issues in EC.
- Understand the difficulties of protecting privacy in EC.
- Discuss issues of intellectual property rights in EC.
- Understand the conflict between free speech and censorship on the
Internet.
- Document the rapid rise in computer and network security attacks.
- Understand the factors contributing to the rise of EC security breaches.
- Describe the key security issues facing EC sites.
- Discuss some of the major types of cyber attacks against EC sites.
- Describe some of the technologies used to secure EC sites.
PART 6
STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Topic: Payments and Order Fulfillment
12
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Objectives:
- Understand the crucial factors that determine the success of e-payment
methods.
- Describe the key elements in securing e-payments.
- Discuss the players and processes involved in using credit cards online.
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- Describe the uses and benefits of purchase cards.
- Discuss the different categories and potential uses of smart cards.
- Discuss various online alternatives to credit card payments and identify
under what circumstances they are best used.
- Describe the processes and parties involved in e-checking.
- Describe the role of order fulfillment and back-office operations in EC.
- Describe the EC order fulfillment process.
- Describe the major problems of EC order fulfillment.
- Describe various solutions to EC order fulfillment problems.
Topic: E-Strategy, Internet Communities, and Global EC
Objectives:
- Describe the importance and essentials of EC strategies.
- Describe the strategy planning and formulation process for EC.
- Understand how EC applications are discovered, justified, and prioritized.
- Describe strategy implementation and assessment, including the use of
metrics.
- Understand EC failures and lessons for success.
- Describe the role and impact of virtual communities on EC.
- Evaluate the issues involved in global EC.
- Analyze the impact of EC on small businesses.
- Describe the relationship between EC and BPR, knowledge management,
and
- virtual corporations.
- Describe the future of EC.
Topic: Building E-Commerce Application and Infrastructure
Objectives:
- Discuss the major steps in developing an EC application.
- Describe the major EC applications and list their major functionalities.
- List the major EC application development options along with their
benefits and limitations.
- Describe various E application outsourcing options.
- Discuss the major components of an electronic catalog and EC application
suite.
- Describe various methods for connecting an EC application to back-end
systems and
- databases.
- Describe the criteria used in selecting an outsourcing vendor and package.
- Understand the value and uses of EC application log files.
- Discuss the importance and difficulties of EC application maintenance.
Topic: EC Application Case study Presentations
Objectives: Understand how the E-Commerce/E-Business are applied in real
world.
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
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Team Project Presentation
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Team Project Presentation
18
FINAL EXAM WEEK
Note: This schedule is subject to change.
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Department of Accounting, NCCU
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