853: Electronic Commerce Syllabus

Professor Mary J. Cronin

Office: Fulton Hall, 350A Office Hours: Thursday, 4:15PM, Saturdays after class, and by appointment

Phone: 617 552-4031 Fax: 617 552-0433 E-mail: cronin@bc.edu

Fall 2007 Course Overview
This course will meet on four Saturdays (October 13 and 27, and November 10 and 17) from 8:30AM – 5:00PM in Fulton 453. The intensive meeting format provides a framework for students to analyze the longer term, strategic impact of the Internet and e-commerce and to engage in discussion with each other and with invited guest speakers..  We will take an in-depth look at three major areas of e-commerce impact.  The first is the customer-facing side of online business, including web presence, marketing, CRM and online strategy; the second is business-to-business relationships, e-marketplaces and supply chain management, and the third is the Internet's transformation of business and society along with strategies for web analytics, knowledge management, social networking and e-learning.   We will analyze the impact of e-commerce on specific companies and key industry verticals and discuss some lessons from the front lines via cases and guest speakers. 

Readings and Resources
The readings for this course and specific class assignments will be linked to the MI853 web site or handed out in class.  There is no assigned textbook. Students will prepare for each class meeting through readings and assigned projects. Small groups will also do “real time” research and analysis during working lunch breaks.

Assignments and Due Dates

Short cases will be assigned for written analysis and in-class discussion. All case materials will be posted on the web site or distributed in class. Written case analyses should be between 3-5 pages in length (single/double space and other format decisions are your choice); in-class case discussions may be individual input or in small groups.

Individuals will select two example companies--one that you see as an e-commerce leader and one that you see as a laggard in your assigned industry sector. Prepare a brief (one page per company) write up of each of your company selections with the reasons for your leader/laggard characterizations due on November 10; be prepared to discuss in class.

The major individual written assignment will be a final research paper with an analysis of the e-commerce strategy, strengths, weakness, recommendations for improvement and the opportunities for competitive advantage of a particular company (to be selected by each student). This analysis will result in a written 12-15 page research paper due on or before December 10 (no later than 11:00PM) via e-mail to cronin@bc.edu. On November 17, students will submit and be prepared to discuss in class a 1 page overview of the company that they have selected for their final paper, including URL and brief description, industry sector, and a brief comment its competitive status in use of e-commerce within its industry.

The course includes a group project that will focus on an assigned industry. The group project deliverables include an 8-10 page written analysis of the overall impact of e-commerce in the assigned industry. This paper will also provide representative best practice examples from industry-leading companiesand an overview of the industry competitive landscape. Each group will summarize its findings in a well-organized, 30 minute in-class presentation. Both paper and presentation are due in class on November 17. More information about the individual research paper and the group project will be distributed at the first class.

Active participation in class discussions, including discussion of assigned readings and evidence of preparation for interaction with guest speakers, will be part of the participation grade for the course. Attendance at all class sessions is required.

Course Evaluation Criteria

Assignments and participation will be weighted as follows in assigning a final grade for the course:

Class attendance and participation, including short papers and cases analyses written or presented in class	35%
Individual company research project and paper	35%
Group project- Industry paper and class presentation	30%