MBA 532 – Section FJ
e-Business Strategies
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Gregory W. Ulferts
Professor, Decision and Information Sciences
E-mail address: ulfertgw@udmercy.edu
Campus Mail: Clerical Office – Commerce & Finance, 1st Floor
Office Hours: Before and after class as needed or by appointment
Text: Canzer, Brahm (2006), e-Business: Strategic Thinking and Practice, 2nd edition. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-51988-2
Course Prerequisites: MBA 526
Course Credit Hours: 3 credits
Course Description and Goal:
A comprehensive study of e-Business. The course presents concepts encompassing e-Marketing and
e-Operations, Electronic Payment Systems, Legal and Ethical Issues, e-Business Technology, Web
Development, Interoperability & Standards, and Security Issues. Future managers need to deeply
understand how to integrate new information technology with innovative forms of organizing to
develop effective e-business strategies. The course aims to prepare leaders in managing e-Business,
systems and technology to harness the power of new technologies to make better decisions and more
effectively manage organizations.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this class, students should have gained an understanding of how:
1. To create a framework to help students and practitioners understand E-business in general, and EBusiness Strategies, in particular.
2. To understand and appreciate the basic concepts, history, theory, techniques, processes, business
models, markets and customers of E-Business. Since in the world of E-business, practice is
ahead of theory, we follow a field-based and practitioner-based perspective in this course. That
is, concepts and ideas must be actionable and/ or practiced within firms.
3. To identify, access, assess, target, promote and satisfy E-business markets and customers,
especially, via individualization and interactivity. The course intends to provide the student with
the ability to formulate a solid strategic plan for leading an online company.
4. To analyze National and Global E-Business Cases, and learning from their successes and failures.
A successful E-Business company (e.g., Ariba.com, eBay, Dell) case study will be followed
throughout the course to demonstrate the concepts, theories and best practices of E-Business
strategies.
5. To evaluate the ethical and legal issues of E-Business.
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Course Requirements:
This course is taught by the case method using a team format. This requires that students assume
responsibility for the learning environment while the faculty member provides the needed framework
for learning. As such students need to




prepare for class: reading text and cases
attend and actively participate in all class sessions
work individually and in teams on assignments
complete all assignments by their due dates
Evaluation and Policies:
Group Work: 2 Written Assignments
1 Presentation
Individual:
1 Presentation
Individual class preparation and participation,
as well as knowledge attainment demonstrated
200
80
60
60
400
50%
20%
15%
15%
Total Points
All University of Detroit Mercy policies and procedures apply. Students are expected to complete
and submit all assignments within prescribed limits and on time. Failure to do so will result in an
automatic 25% deduction on the assignment involved. In an emergency, an excused absence will be
given provided there is immediate notification of the situation. No incompletes will be given.
Students are to review the Academic Integrity Policies of the Graduate Catalog.
Technology: Students are expected to be able to use the following software: word processing,
power point, spreadsheets, database, communication and research.
Course web site addresses: http://knowledge.udmercy.edu
http://business.college.hmco.com/students
Laptop usage in class is permitted for only classroom activities.
Grading Scale:
A
AB+
95% or more
90-94%
87-89%
B
BC+
83-86%
79-82%
74-78%
C
D
F
70-73%
61-69%
60% or below
Identity and Mission Statement
The College of Business Administration at the University of Detroit Mercy aims to instill in its
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students, through a personalized educational process with critical thinking, competence, compassion
and conscience, a sense of personal integrity, a high measure of intellectual curiosity and a deep
awareness of personal and social values in the world of today. That is, rooted in the Jesuit and Mercy
traditions, the College champions academic excellence and good character by encouraging
intellectual, spiritual, ethical and social growth.
Following this mission and identity, inappropriate student conduct such as not prepared for class,
boisterous behavior in class, using cell-phones in class, coming late or leaving early (unless
previously discussed with the teacher), cheating, plagiarism, disproportionately low participation in
group assignments, and the like will not be tolerated.
Date
Session
20/04
1
21/04
2
Major Course Topic and Subtopics
(A special thanks to Reverend O. Mascarenhas, S.J.)
INTRODUCTION : DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF E-BUSINESS
Explaining the Course Syllabus and Course Objectives
The commercial world of Online
The basic thrust of the Course
Introduction to the Internet
Major Concepts and Terms in E-Business :
Internet, WWW, Intranet, Extranet,
E-Commerce, E-Business
What is E-Marketing?
What is E-Commerce?
What is E-Business?
The Domain of E-Business and E-Business Strategies
Common myths associated with E-Business
The seven stages of E-Business
Critical Success factors for E-Business Executives
Overview of the course
1 (1-35)
HISTORY OF INTERNET AND E-BUSINESS
MBA 592 -02
History of the Internet
History and diffusion of personal computers
History and diffusion of high-speed computing
History and diffusion of high-speed memory storage and retrieval
Growth of the Web World
Growth of the Web Marketing
History of E-Business
Categories of E-Business :
Communication, Selling,
Providing Content,
Providing a Network Function
The future of E-Business
The future of Global E-Business
22/04
3A
Required
Readings:
(Handouts or
Textbook
Chapters)
MBA 592 -01
UNDERSTANDING THE DIGITAL WORLD
WebAppendix: 36
Assignment I
Reviewed
MBA 592 -03
Digital Technology: Benefits for Marketing
3
Moore’s Law: Processing, memory and Digital Costs
Gilder’s Law of bandwidth communication system efficiency
Metcalfe’s Law for community values of networks
Peter Drucker’s Postulate of Economy Shift
Digitization and the convergence of industries
Internet, Convergence, and the New Inflection Point
Digital Environments
Digital Convergence: Interactive Multimedia
Digitizing Market Processes
3B
E-BUSINESS MARKET OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS
MBA 592 – 04
Market opportunity analysis in the network economy
E-Business competition across industry boundaries
Competitive developments and responses at an unprecedented speed
Competition between alliances of companies
Ease of influencing Internet market consumer behavior
Market opportunity analysis framework:
Step 1: Investigate opportunity in an existing or new value system
Step 2: Identify unmet or underserved needs
Step 3: Determine customer segments
Step 4: Assess resource requirements to deliver market offerings
Step 5: Assess competitive, technological and financial strengths
Step 6: Conduct go versus no-go assessment
Applying the six steps to eBay.com
First mover advantage?
Is customer research useful?
Which is better: Online consumer tracking or holistic view?
Does market segmentation really matter in the digital world?
23/04
4
E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN GENERAL
Business-unit Strategy versus marketing strategy
What Separates Winner from Loser Strategies
Examples of good to great companies
Revitalization or Transformation
Transformation Implies Forgetting, Borrowing and Learning from the Past
Learning Strategic Intensity from Chess Competition
Transformational Leadership
Theories of Business Strategies
What is a Strategy?
Implications of a Transformation Strategy
Strategic Positioning
Blue Ocean Business Strategies
A Four Action Framework of Value Innovation
Discovering and Constructing Blue Oceans
Formulating Blue Ocean Marketing Strategies
Differential Strategy across Value Chain Stages
The Analogical Model in Framing Strategies
The Target Problem: the AIDS Pandemic
The Source Industries and Problems
Candidate Solution Types
The Target Solutions
Analogical Candidate Solution: Innovative Business Strategies
Reduction of Uncertainty, Risk and Ambiguity in Buyer Seller relations
The way Industries Evolve
Which trajectory are you on?
Concluding remarks
MBA 592 – 05
Presentations
Document 01
Document 02
Document 03
Document 04
4
e-Bay Business Strategies
24/04
5
ONLINE OR WEB-BASED BUSINESS MODELS
Pre-digital versus digital business and marketing models
Specialized features of e-business models:
Connectivity, interactivity and digitizability
Aggregation-dis-aggregation
Information processing
Cost-transparency and buyer activism
Relational equity
Digitized free-sampling and product perishability
One-on-one marketing
Disintermediation
Network effects and market tippiness
First mover advantage and supply side effects
Customer Online service models
Methods and criteria for Online retail success
Do good e-business models explain cyber success?
A general taxonomy of e-business models
Many-to-many consumer and marketing activities
Revenue-generating versus revenues-supporting e-business models
E-business models selling information
E-business models selling products and services
E-business via intermediaries: Brokers
E-business via intermediaries: Agents
Agent models representing buyers
Agent models representing sellers and buyers
E-business via intermediaries: E-Tailers
Some basic business model dyads in E-marketing
27/04
6A
DEFINING, FORMULATING AND RESOLVING
E-BUSINESS PROBLEMS
Problem-Centered Case Presentation Paradigm
Step One: Problem Definition and Identification
Step Two: Problem Formulation
Step Three: Problem Specification
Knowledge, Certainty, Risk, Uncertainty and Ambiguity
Step Four: Problem Resolution
Critical Thinking and Problem Formulation
What is Critical Thinking?
Various Approaches to Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking as Making Better Sense of the World Around Us
Critical Thinking as Thinking Critically
Critical Thinking as Thinking that Challenges
Critical Thinking as Positive and Normative Science
Critical Thinking as Spiritual Intelligence
MBA 592 – 06
Presentations
Document 05
Document 06
Document 07
Document 08
MBA 592 - 07
Assignment 1
Submitted
Presentations
Document 09
Document 10
Document 11
Document 12
Hierarchy in Critical Thinking
Resolving Problems is to Choose the Right Means for the Right Actions
Step Five: Problem Resolution Assessment
Concluding Remarks: The Basic Tenets of Critical Thinking
6B
DEFINING, IDENTIFYING, FORMUALTING, RESOLVING
AND ASSESSING E-BUSINES PROBLEMS:
MBA 592 - 07
5
STUDENT CASE PRESENTATIONS
CASE 1:
CASE 2:
CASE 3:
CASE 4:
28/04
7A
ACER E-BUSINESS MODEL
ARIBA.COM E-BUSINESS MODEL
DELL E-BUSINESS MODEL
U-Swap.com E-BUSINESS MODEL
CUSTOMIZING E-BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Standardization versus Customization
Factors Slowing Global Standardization
Standardization Versus Adaptation
Of International E-Business Strategy
New Marketing Customizing Imperatives for the Millennium
The Four Faces of Customization
1. Collaborative Customization:
2. Adaptive Customization:
3. Cosmetic customization:
4. Transparent Customization:
Mass Customization at Hewlett-Packard:
Customizing Customization
The logic of aggregation:
The logic of individualization:
E-customization
E-customization approaches
A model for Customizing E-mails:
Determinants of Customer Responses to Customized Offers
Evaluation of Customized Offers Under Preference Uncertainty
Moderators of the Perceived Attractiveness of Customized Offers
Long Term Relationships and Customized Offers
7B
COMPARING INTERNET MARKETING,
RETAIL MARKETING AND DIRECT MARKETING
MBA 592 -14
Textbook:
pp.319-330
MBA 592 - 08
Presentations
Document 13
Document 14
Document 15
Document 16
MBA 592 -09
MBA 592 -10
Online versus Brick-and-Mortar marketing
Internet versus Interactive Home Shopping
Internet versus Mail Catalog Marketing
Internet versus Telemarketing
Internet versus Door-to-door Marketing
Internet versus Brick-and-mortar marketing
Can E-Business Replace Retail Outlet Marketing?
29/04
8A
DEFINING, IDENTIFYING, FORMUALTING, RESOLVING
AND ASSESSING E-BUSINES PROBLEMS:
STUDENT CASE PRESENTATIONS
CASE 5:
CASE 6:
CASE 7:
CASE 8:
AMAZON.COM E-BUSINESS MODEL
HOME DEPOT.COM E-BUSINESS MODEL
OFFICE DEPOT.COM E-BUSINESS MODEL
GOOGLE.COM E-BUSINESS MODEL
MBA 592 - 07
Presentations
Document 17
Document 18
Group 1
8B
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND E-BUSINESS MODELS
MBA 592 - 11
Some basic definitions of supply chain management
6
Supply Chain Categories:
Some Supply Chain Governance Principles:
Old and New Supply Chain Management
Problems with Existing Supply Chains
The story of Cisco
Lucent Technologies
Supply Chains that Succeeded
Proactive Problem-Solutions with Existing Supply Chains
The Story of Zara
The Story of Whirlpool
Qualities that Optimize Supply Chain Management
Aligning Incentive in Supply Chains
Supply Chains and Offshore Outsourcing
E-BUSINESS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Extranets and Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain Management As an Integral Part of E-Business
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FOR THE INTERNET
Supply Chain Management: Its Components
SCM Strategies on the Internet:
CRM-SCM Integration
CRM-SCM Integration Efficiency Measures:
SCM Metrics
Building Online Communities
Ariba.com: the Electronic Supply Chain Management
Structure and Modes of Governance in Buyer-Seller relationships
LINUX, UNIX, TPS and other Useful IT System for SCM
30/04
9A
CYBERETHICS, CYBERLAW AND CYBERFRAUD
MBA 592 -12
The Problem Situation:
The Relation Between Ethics, Law and Social Values
What Is Privacy?
What is Consumer Privacy?
Consumer Privacy as a Right
Legal Developments on Consumer Privacy
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS ON CONSUMER INFORMATION DISCLOSURE Presentations
E-Business and Internet Marketing: Current Legislation
Current Protections against Internet Fraud
Group 2
Digital Property Laws
Group 3
Trademark Law and the Internet:
Anti-Cyber squatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999:
Patent Law and the Internet
Licenses and the Internet;
Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)
Data Ownership and Internet Law:
Towards an Ethic of Consumer Privacy
Teleological Considerations
Deontological Considerations
DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE CONSIDERATIONS
Appendix 12.1: A Glossary of Technical Internet-Related Information Technology Terms:
Appendix 12.2: Proactive and Preventive Actions of some Database Companies
APPENDIX 12.3: ESTIMATING SOCIAL COSTS OF DATABASE
MARKETING PRACTICES
Appendix 12.4: Historical Development of the Notion of Privacy
9B
INTERNET PRIVACY: ETHICAL ISSUES
MBA 592 – 12
Online Marketing and the Law
7
Strategic Online Legal Issues for Marketers
Avoiding Legal Pitfalls
COPPA: Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (passed in April 2000)
Mandatory compliance of COPPA
Gray areas in COPPA legislation
Co-managing online privacy – a case for joint ownership
Generating unwholesome demand on the Internet
Casino gaming on the Internet
Child pornography on the Internet
Merchant Fraud on the Internet
Customer Fraud on the Internet
Hacker Fraud on the Internet
CASE 9: Microsoft’s Carpoint.Com
CASE 10: MP3.Com and Patent Infringement
01/05
10A
PART V: PRICING ON THE INTERNET
The economics of pricing
Basic pricing strategies
Everyday low pricing (EDLP) and cyclical (Hi-Lo) pricing
Cost plus as a pricing strategy
Will the Internet commoditize prices?
Pricing in a dynamic market: dynamic pricing strategies
Brand pricing
Promotions pricing
Fairness in pricing
Auction pricing: English auctions, Dutch auctions
First-price sealed-bid auctions
Reverse-price auctions, reverse first-price sealed-bid auctions
Advanced pricing strategies:
Price discrimination
Volume discount pricing
Two-part pricing
Price bundling, product bundling strategies
Competitive pricing strategies
Pricing strategies at eBay.
Ethical issues in Internet Pricing
10B
MBA 592 – 13
Presentations
Group 4
Group 5
Case 11: Amazon.Com and the Consumer Privacy Debate
Case 12: E-Business : Merchant and Customer Fraud Control
Reference Resources:
Books
1.
Awad, Elias M. (2007), Electronic Commerce: From Vision to Fulfillment, 3/E, Prentice Hall.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Bidgoli, Hossein (2002), Electronic Commerce: Principles and Practice, San Diego, CA: The Academic Press.
Deitel, H. M., Deitel, P. J., and K. Steinbuhler (2001), E-Business and E-Commerce for Managers, Prentice-Hall.
Nicholas D. Evans (2002), Business Agility: Strategies for Gaining Competitive Advantage through Mobile Business
Solutions, FT Press
Huff, Sid L., Michael Wade, Michael Parent, Scott Schneberger, and Peter Newson (2000), Cases in
Electronic Commerce. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. [Cases from Ivey League Business Schools].
Honda, Gail and Kipp Martin (2002), The Essential Guide to Internet Business Technology, Prentice Hall.
Hoque, Faisal (2000), E-Enterprise: Business Models, Architecture, and Components. Cambridge University Press.
Huff, Sid L. (2002), Cases in Electronic Commerce, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill.
Laudon, K. C. and C. G. Traver (2008), E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society, 4/E Prentice Hall.
May, Paul (2000), The Business of E-Commerce: From Corporate Strategy to Technology. The Cambridge
University Press.
Mohammed, Rafi A., Robert J. Fisher, Bernard J. Jaworski and Gordon J. Paddison (2004), Internet Marketing:
Building Advantage in the Network Economy, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill.
Jeffrey F. Rayport, Jeffrey F. (2004), Introduction to e-Commerce, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill
Turban, Efraim, Jae Lee, David King, and Michael H. Chung (2000), Electronic Commerce: A Managerial
Perspective, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Watson, Richard T., Berthon, Pierre, Pitt, Leyland F., and George M. Zinkhan (2000), Electronic Commerce: The
Strategic Perspective. The Dryden Press.
Periodicals
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6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Boder, A. (2006), “Collective Intelligence: A Keystone in Knowledge Management” Journal of Knowledge
Management, 10(1):81–93.
Bremser, W. and Chung, Q. (2004), “A Framework for Performance Measurement in the e-Business
Environment,” Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 4:395–412.
Dellarocas, C. (2003), “The Digitization of Word of Mouth: Promise and Challenges of Online Feedback
Mechanisms,” Management Science, 49(10):1407–1424.
Gordijn, J. and Akkermans, H. (2001), “Designing and Evaluating e-Business Models,” IEEE Intelligent
Systems, 16:11–17.
Kambill, A. (30), “Doing Business in the Wired World,” IEEE Computer, 5(56-61).
Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (2000), “Having Trouble with Your Strategy? Then Map It,” Harvard Business
Review, 78(5):167–76.
Kim, C. and Mauborgne, R. (2002), “Charting Your Company’s Future,” Harvard Business Review, 80(6):5
Markus, L., Manville, B., and Agnes, C. (2000), “What Makes a Virtual Organization Work?,” Sloan
Management Review, 42:13–26.
Miller, K. and Waller, G. (2003), “Scenarios, Real Options and Integrated Risk Management,” Long Range
Planning, pages 93–107.
Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2005), “Clarifying Business Models: Origins, Present and Future of the
Concept,” Comm. Association for Information Systems, 15:751–775.
Pinker, E., Seidmann, A., and Vakrat, Y. (2003), “Managing Online Auctions: Current Business and Research
Issues,” Management Science, 49(11):1457–1484.
Stabell, C. and Fjeldstad, O. (1998), “Configuring Value for Competitive Advantage: On Chains, Shops, and
Networks,” Strategic Management Journal, 19:413–437.
Swaminathan, J. and Tayur, S. (2003), “Models for Supply Chains in e-Business,” Management Science,
49(10):1387–1406.
Weill, P., Sibramani, M., and Broadbent, M. (2002), “Building IT Infrastructure for Strategic Agility,” Sloan
Management Review, 44(1):57–65.
Weill, P. and Vitale, M. (2002), “What IT Infrastructure Capabilities are Needed to Implement e-Business
Models?” MIS Quarterly Executive, 1(1):17–34.
e-Business News and Commentary
DAILY/WEEKLY NEWS SERVICES
1. E-Commerce Times
2.
3.
4.
C|NET E-Commerce News
Yahoo!
Industry Standard E-Commerce News
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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Wired News
Informit
InternetNews EC News
InternetWorld News
ZDNet's News
Cybertimes E-Commerce Report, NYT
(registration)
11. WebWatch, Washington Post
(registration)
12. Watching the Web, WSJ ($)
13. Electronic Commerce Guide (from
internet.com)
PERIODICALS
1. Business 2.0
2. The Industry Standard
3. Wired Magazine
4. BusinessWeek eBiz
5. CIO's WebBusiness
6. Fortune's Technology
7. NewsWeek's Cyberscope
8. ComputerWorld's E-Commerce
9. Salon Technology
10. HotWired
11. ZDNet's Inter@ctiveWeek
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