Developments in information and communication technology are radically changing the ways in which businesses operate and compete in today's global marketplace. This course provides an overview over e-business from a managerial perspective and introduces students to the relevant concepts, models, and strategic issues that are important for businesses that operate in the online environment.

Course contents:
1. The electronic marketplace
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Business models

2. How digitization affects the marketplace
2.1. Big data
2.2. Consumer search costs
2.3. Marginal costs
2.4. Network effects
2.5. Social media
2.6. Long tail
2.7. Recommendation and customization

3. Marketing-mix instruments in the online marketplace
3.1. Product management
3.2. Price management
3.3. Promotion management
3.4. Distribution management
 

The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the impacts that e-business is having on markets, business models, and a firm's marketing activities.

The objectives of the course are:

• To provide you with an understanding of the core concepts, technologies, and business models in the electronic marketplace
• To sensitize you to changes in consumer behavior in the online environment
• To enable you to critically evaluate different ways for firms to adapt their marketing strategies in an increasingly digitized world
• To deepen your knowledge of empirical research methods and train your ability to analyze consumer behavior empirically
• To provide you with the foundations to design an online business and motivate you to think “digitally”
• To improve your communication, presentation and team working skills

Attendance of the weekly session at the indicated times is compulsory. If the situation permits, it will be in the classroom. The students are allowed to miss only one (1) session. Otherwise, teaching will be online via Zoom. In case of technical difficulties, students can make up for a missed lesson by sending proof of the technical issue (e.g. screenshots) and preparing a written elaboration on the material discussed, including an applied example. 

The course is taught using a combination of interactive lectures, class discussions, case analyses, computer exercises, and student presentations. 

The course comprises asynchronous materials (e.g., pre-recorded videos) as well as synchronous teaching elements (e.g., web streaming, chats, Q&A sessions). Students are required to familiarize themselves with some of the content by going through the asynchronous materials on their own. The synchronous teaching elements, such as live-streaming sessions, provide ample opportunities to ask questions and clarify points that require further discussion.

The group projects in this semester will focus on different aspects related to e-commerce.

• Business model challenge: you will be provided with a case study of a start-up and your task is to design and evaluate a business model  
• Data analysis challenge: you will be provided with a data set and your task is to analyse this data set using regression analysis techniques to derive strategic marketing implications. For the data analysis, you may use a statistical software of your choice (e.g., SPSS, R). 
• Presentation of a research article: you will choose an article from a reading list and your task is to synthesize the findings presented in this article and transfer them to a new business setting 

Grading is based on the following components:

• Business model challenge (group work) (25%)
• Data analysis challenge (group work) (25%)
• Presentation of a scientific journal article from the reading list (group work) (15%)
• Final exam (25%)
• Class participation (individual; quantity & quality of contributions during the sessions) (10%)

These grading components will be weighted with the respective weights to arrive at the final grade percentage. To successfully pass this course, your weighted final grade needs to exceed 60%.

Please note that to ensure an equal contribution of group members for the group assignment, a peer assessment will be conducted among group members, which enters into the computation of the individual grades for the project. This means that the members of a group are required to assess other students regarding their relative contribution.

I am happy to answer your questions, so feel free to send me a short email. I will also try to be available before and after each session or during the breaks of each session.