INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Objectives: – What electronic commerce is and how it is experiencing a second wave of growth with a new focus on profitability? – Why companies now concentrate on revenue models and the analysis of business processes instead of business models when they undertake electronic commerce initiatives? -How economic forces have created… Continue reading WEEK 1

TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE: THE INTERNET & THE WORLD WIDE WEB The Internet & The World Wide Web *Computer network – Any technology that allows people to connect computers to each other *The Internet – A large system of interconnected computer networks spanning the globe *World Wide Web – A subset of computers on the Internet Packet-Switched… Continue reading WEEK 2

SELLING ON THE WEB: REVENUE MODELS & BUILDING A WEB PRESENCE Revenue Models Web business revenue generating models: – Web catalog – Digital content – Advertising-supported – Advertising-subscription mixed – Fee-based Can work for both sale types: – Business-to-consumer (B2C) – Business-to-business (B2B) *Can work with one Web site, separate sites, or separate pages Web… Continue reading WEEK 3

SPECIAL TOPICS OF E-COMMERCE What is E-Commerce? Utilize telecommunications technology and networks for: – Conducting business transactions – Sharing business information – Maintaining business relationships – Developing business strategies A Framework to Identify E-Commerce Applications Two main dimensions for characterizing e-commerce (Riggins & Rhee, 1998): 1. Location of application user relative to system firewall a.… Continue reading WEEK 4

MARKETING ON THE WEB Objectives – When to use product-based and customer-based marketing strategies – Communicating with different market segments – Customer relationship intensity and the customer relationship life cycle – Using advertising on the Web – E-mail marketing – Technology-enabled customer relationship management – Creating and maintaining brands on the Web – Search engine… Continue reading WEEK 5

ONLINE AUCTIONS, VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES, & WEB PORTALS Auction Overview *In an auction, a seller offers an item for sale, but does not establish a price *Bidders – Potential buyers *Bids – Prices bidders are willing to pay for an item *Shill bidders – Can artificially inflate the price of an item English Auctions *In English… Continue reading WEEK 6

STRATEGY FORMULATION: CUSTOMER INTERFACE Introduction *Customer interface – Is the virtual representation of a firm’s chosen value proposition Seven design elements of the customer interface (7Cs): 1. Context 2. Content 3. Community 4. Customization 5. Communication 6. Connection 7. Commerce The 7Cs of Customer Interface Fit & Reinforcement of the 7Cs Context: The Determinant the… Continue reading WEEK 7

MARKET COMMUNICATIONS & BRANDING Integrating Communications & Branding *Branding – Is about consumer’s perception of the offering *Market communications – Represent customers’ interaction with the brand and, more generally, mass-marketing approaches *In the offline world, market communications tend to be one-way, from the firm to the customer *In the online world, market communications become much… Continue reading WEEK 8

IMPLEMENTATION Framework for Implementation Why Does Implementation Matter? *Inappropriate strategy can be partially offset by proper implementation. *However, poor implementation will usually result in a company performing poorly in the marketplace.   Implementation Challenges for Online Firms Six implementation challenges of online firms: 1. Higher visibility to errors – Internet firms are closely monitored by… Continue reading WEEK 10

METRICS   Metric Questions answers: • Why should senior managers be concerned about metrics? • How can the health of online firms be assessed? • What are the steps to implement the Performance Dashboard? • What external sources of metrics information can firms use to chart their progress? Why Senior Managers Should be Concerned About… Continue reading WEEK 11