Electronic Commerce and the Internet
Study Guide - Exam 1
Fall 2009
Take Home Question (30 points)
Michael Porter in his article Strategy and the Internet claims that internet entrepreneurs often formulate business models without giving proper emphasis to profitability. Using examples from “Top Ten Dot.com Flops” http://www.cnet.com/4520-11136_1-6278387-1.html and other research on the web (excluding Webvan which we will be discussing in a case), discuss in a 4-5 page paper:
o what went wrong and why did the firm you chose fail;
o what strategic precepts enunciated by Porter (and others) did the firm violate;
o whether the business could have
been salvaged by more enlightened managers (why or why not)
Topics to Cover (Multiple Choice/True False 30 points)
Business model / Business Processes / Types of commerce – e.g., B2B, B2C, etc
EDI / Value Chains / Network effects / Revenue models / Supply management
SWOT analysis / Transaction costs / Virtual community / Vertical integration
Chapter 2
Bandwidth / Client – server architecture / Domain name / HTML / XML
ISP / Packet-switching / Router / Software agents / TCP/IP / Web browser
Chapter 3
Account aggregation / Attributes of good web site design / Cannibalization
Various revenue models discussed in book (advertising, fee, etc) / Channel conflict
Channel cooperation / Customer centric / Cybermediaries / Disintermediation
Stickiness / Usability model / Web portal
Chapter 4
Acquisition cost / Affiliate marketing / Banner ad / Blog / Brand / Cause marketing
Clickstream / Conversion cost / Crawler / Data mining / Domain name parking
Various ways of segmenting customers / Marketing mix / Opt-in & opt-out
Pay-per-click model / Rational branding / Rich media ad / Search engine optimization
Essay Questions will be Taken From These Articles (40 Points)
o Strategy and the Internet (Porter) -- In Course Pack
o No Man Is an Island: The Promise of Cloud Computing
o Bill Joy Video
o What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software
o Price Smarter on the Net (Baker et.al.)– In Course Pack
o Google vs. Evil
o Why Business Models Matter (Magretta) - In Course Pack
o The Long Tail