GEST3032-1 : eBusiness and eCommerce

Study Programmes 2015-2016

GEST3032-1

eBusiness and eCommerce

Duration :

30h Th

Number of credits :

Master in management (120 ECTS)		5
Master in management (120 ECTS)		5
Master in business engineering (120 ECTS)		5
Master in business engineering (120 ECTS)		5

Lecturer :

Ashwin Ittoo

Coordinator :

Ashwin Ittoo

Language(s) of instruction :

English language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Course contents :

Broadly speaking, E-Commerce refers to transactions conducted online. It adopts an external perspective in the sense that it concerns processes involving customers, suppliers and other partners, such as marketing and sales. E-Business encompasses E-Commerce activities and also deals with processes that are internal to an organization, such as production and finance. E-commerce and E-Business have important ramifications both for the business organizations and for consumers alike. For example, consumers have at their disposal a wide plethora of online shopping malls, electronic catalogues, and are able to rely on online decision-aids, such as ratings and the experience of previous consumers in blogs, forums and review sites before deciding to make a purchase. For business organizations, the issue is not whether to adopt E-Business/E-Commerce, but rather how to better leverage upon these technologies to differentiate themselves from competitors and to discover novel business opportunities that were previously not possible, such as the ability to continuously monitor the Voice-of-the-Customer (VOC) on Web 2.0 channels (blogs, forums, social media). The aforementioned issues are some of the subjects that will be addressed in this course. The main aim is to provide students with a solid background in E-Commerce and E-Business. In particular, the course focuses on how E-Commerce and E-Business are related to core business processes and information systems, such as supply chain management, sales and marketing. The impact of novel technologies and trends, including Web 2.0 and Social Networks will also be covered. Furthermore, the couse also deals with the important topic of security and trust in online business transactions. In addition, this course also has a practical component. The aim here is to expose students to the technical/technological concepts that underlie E-Commerce systems. Furthermore, the practical component will equip students with a set of fundamental skills for developing E-Commerce applications.
Sample topics to be covered:. Introduction to E-Business and E-Commerce

E-Business and E-Commerce Concepts (e.g. B2B, B2C, B2C2B; pure-play, click-and-mortar...)

E-commerce

E-commerce drivers
Customer shopping mechanisms (e.g. storefronts, portals)
Merchants' solutions (e.g. e-catalogues)
Classical revenue models vs. E-Commerce models
E-Auctions
E-Bartering

Retailing in E-Commerce: E-tailing

Infrastructure (e.g. ERP backbone, B2B Supply Chains, B2C Sales/Marketing)
Business models (e.g. direct marketing, pure-play)
Example Applications: e-Banking
On-Demand Delivery (products/services)
Product/Service Ratings and Decision-Aids (e.g. Google Commerce Search, Ratings)

Trends in E-Commerce: E-Commerce 2.0 and Technologies

Web 2.0 (e.g. blogs, microblogs-Twitter, wikis, tags, mashups, ,...)
Social Networks
Cloud Computing

Marketing in E-Commerce: E-Business Activity (1)

Online consumer behavior
Consumer decision making
Customer satisfaction and trust
Market research techniques and Voice of the Customer (VOC) (e.g. opinion mining, surveys)
Marketing models (e.g. mass, one-to-one)
Personalization, customization and recommender systems

Advertising in E-Commerce: E-Business Activity (2)

Key concepts (e.g. click-through-rates, hit)
Advertising channels and methods (e.g. Google Adsense/adwords, banners)
Strategies (e.g. "opt-in/voluntary", spamming)

E-Supply Chain Management: E-Business Activity (3)

E-SCM: Overview
E-Procurement
E-Logistics
Supply webs
Collaborative Design and Product Development

Security aspects of E-Commerce/E-Business

Key concepts (e.g. keystroke logging, phishing)
Information Assurance
Security techniques (e.g. encryption)

Learning outcomes of the course :

Appreciate the differences between E-Commerce and E-Business
Understand the E-Business is wider than and encompasses and supports E-Commerce (e.g. Marketing in E-Commerce)
Understand the key concepts in E-Business and E-Commerce
Describe the drivers of E-Commerce growth
Describe the components and roles in an E-Commerce ecosystem
Distinguish between different types of customer shopping mechanisms and merchant's solutions
Appreciate the differences between E-Commerce revenue models and classical models
Understand the different types of E-Auctioning and E-Bartering
Understand the notion of E-tailing
Describe different E-tailing business models
Describe different decision-aids and recognize their value
Describe (relevant) novel computing platforms/technologies
Appreciate the disruptive nature of these platforms/technologies
Describe their potential for E-Commerce
Appreciate the link between E-Business and E-Commerce in E-Commerce Marketing
Describe the general behavior of consumers' online
Describe the factors influencing consumers' purchasing behavior
Understand the formation of trust and loyalty
Appreciate the link between E-Business and E-Commerce in E-Commerce Advertising
Understand and describe the key concepts in E-Commerce Advertising and the different advertising channels and methods
Appreciate E-Supply Chain Management (E-SCM) as another E-Business activity
Describe various E-SCM applications, including E-Logistics, E-Procurement, Collaborative Design and Product Development and Supply Web
Appreciate the security issues and threats in E-Commerce/E-Business
Understand the key concepts, attack methods
Describe preventive security measures and the information assurance process
(For the practical part) Design, develop and implement an E-Commerce system using PhP or a language of your choice. Details to be given during the lectures.

This course contributes to the following Intended Learning Outcomes :

ILO-1 : To strengthen knowledge and understanding of management disciplines and its legal, policy and social context.

ILO-2 : Gaining the knowledge and understanding of one of the proposed fields of concentration or to gain deep knowledge in the field of the management being already specialized thru a first University Master Degree.

ILO-3 : To understand, in management situations, the transversal tools of quantitative reasoning, information systems and project management.

ILO-4 : To acquire the capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem.

ILO-5 : Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose, either individually or as part of a team, original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems, whether real or simulated, taking into account, when necessary, the human, social and legal context.

ILO-6 : Ability to speak 2 foreign languages: C1 in English and B2 in one other language.

ILO-7 : Being capable of professional team work.

ILO-9 : Developing a critical sense (arguing).

ILO-10 : Developing a transversal, global vision.

ILO-11 : Creative conception of solutions.

ILO-13 : Professional capacity for written communication.

ILO-14 : Faced with a management problem, suggesting solutions that are ethical and socially responsible and that respect the principles of good governance.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills :

We assume a basic knowledge on Internet (similar to the one obtained after attending the courses in bachelor at HEC-ULg). For the project, a basic knowledge of HTML and PhP is an asset.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

This year, the students will have to create a small E-Commerce Website

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

Lectures and readings
Case studies
Demonstrations and exercices on computer
Real cases presented by firms (to be determined)