Overview #

The contents of the course are presented in this document in the form of videos, texts and pictures. In addition, there are the following (mandatory) on-site session, which cover related topics and Q&A at the following dates:

For further questions, I am available via email.

Contents #

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.

Learning outcomes #

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

Assessments #

Grading is based on the following components: A topic elaboration, practical and theoretical assignment. All parts can be done from home.

Business model challenge: Finding 🦄 and determining their breed #

1. Read the publication “Delimiting disruption: Why Uber is disruptive, but Airbnb is not” by Eitan Muller.
2. Each person should select a unicorn 🦄 and argue whether it is disruptive or not based on the article. Document your argumentation and submit it to Learn@WU (max. 250 words)
3. Put your group colleagues' reasoning to the test. For each of your team mates, write down whether you share the same opinion or not? Submit your argumentation in form of a texutal report (max. 300 words in total) via Learn@WU.

Presentation of a scientific journal article #

Each group should select, read and present one article.

• The same article should not be selected twice.
• Work together in groups of 5 students

Work on the following task a) individually, and b) as a group: How can the insights generated by the article inform current business practice?

• Process: Prepare two slides individually. One slide summarizing the article’s core finding. One slide connecting the findings with a practical case. Bring these slides to the group meeting, discuss & refine your group idea.
• Presentation: max. 5 minutes per group. Highlight the key insights of the article and discuss your favorite application idea.
• Appendix of presentation: the two slides of each individual group member (add name and student ID on each slide)
• Please submit your slides on the day before the presentation via Learn@WU

Articles:

• Akpinar, Ezgi, and Jonah Berger. “Valuable virality.” Journal of Marketing Research 54.2 (2017): 318-330.
• Fong, Nathan, et al. “Targeted promotions on an e-book platform: Crowding out, heterogeneity, and opportunity costs.” Journal of Marketing Research 56.2 (2019): 310-323.
• John, Leslie K., et al. “Does “liking” lead to loving? The impact of joining a brand’s social network on marketing outcomes.” Journal of marketing research 54.1 (2017): 144-155.
• Lambrecht, Anja, and Catherine Tucker. “When does retargeting work? Information specificity in online advertising.” Journal of Marketing research 50.5 (2013): 561-576.
• Valsesia, Francesca, Davide Proserpio, and Joseph C. Nunes. “The positive effect of not following others on social media.” Journal of marketing research 57.6 (2020): 1152-1168.

Data analysis challenge: Disruption disrupted by Disruption? #

Innovative startups are often negatively impacted by shocks. For example, the Covid pandemic had a negative impact on AirBnB, Uber, and many other Unicorns.

1. Find an event that disrupted the growth of a (ideally disruptive) startup.
2. Load the google seach trends for the startup such that the event is covered.
3. Analyse the data and caluclate the change in google searches before and after the event.

Possible example (may no longer be elected):

• Uber and the pandemic
• Yandex and the ukraine war

Please note that:

• Examples covered in the lecture should not be selected
• Document your selection, descripte the company, and the event. Moreover, calculate the mean increase/drop in search activity after the event. Submit your report (max. 200 words) on Learn@WU

Grading #

These grading components will be added to calculate the final grade, which is based on the following grading scheme: