Group Project:

Sectoral Strategies in Electronic Commerce

 

 

Each group will prepare a project that describes, analyzes, and interprets the Electronic Commerce strategies currently being tested in a particular industrial or business sector. In this exercise we will emphasize business-to-consumer electronic commerce and Web-based e-commerce technologies because they are relatively easy to observe on the WWW. We will define "sector" loosely enough to accommodate specialized segments of broader sector – for example, the golfing industry within the outdoor sports industry. You should select a sector that interests your group, and define its parameters so that your work is manageable.

 

Each group will select a different sector (see the list below). Please send the Instructor an e-mail message with your list of three preferences in descending order - first come, first served.

 

List of Sectors

 

·   sports (e.g., golf, soccer, basketball, baseball, skiing, diving)

·   music (retail)

·   investing

·   automobiles

·   travel/tourism

·   professional services: management consulting

·   insurance

·   electronic games

·   dining

·   banking

·   entertainment (movies)

·   grocery

·   software

·   electrical utilities

·   advertising and marketing

·   alcoholic beverages

·   news publishing (newspapers and news services)

·   telecommunications

·   higher education

·   collectibles (stamps, coins, art, or antiques)

·   real estate

·   gambling

·   logistics/transportation

 

 

I will consider others - make a suggestion.

 

The Group Project is worth 30% of the overall mark in the course.

 

 

The steps in this project are:

 

1.      Select a sector or sub-sector and notify the instructor (via email) of the members of your group and your choice by January 27th.  Please indicate your first sector choice and two alternatives.  This will be on a first come first-serve basis.  I would like to have all sectors covered, i.e. no duplicates.  So the sooner you get your group and group choices in the more likely you are to get your first or second choice.

2.      Prepare a concept paper to be passed in to instructor and posted on site by Session 10 (May 31)

 

Each group should prepare one concept paper of approximately 3 pages.  The concept paper should:

·          identify 10 leading firms in the sector. These firms should be direct or close competitors of each other.

·          provide the Web address (URL) of each firm’s site.

·          quickly describe:

·          the range of information provided by these sites

·          the range of transactions that the sites can process

·          the ways that the sites involve the client

·          The concept paper should be submitted as an HTML file with hyperlinks to the various sites that are discussed in it, and posted to group web-site.

 

3.       Prepare a progress report by Session 18 (June 28)

 

·          The progress report should: amplify the analysis of the sites that you identified in the concept paper. Describe, for example, the ways that the firms use their websites for customer service, product distribution, recruitment, investor relationship maintenance, and development of a "virtual community" of users, customers, and visitors. 

·          Find the on-line trade literature for your industry and identify the discussion about how electronic commerce is changing business practices. What are the issues and what are the trends? 

·          Try to find the "portal site" for the industry segment and describe this site, especially its traffic-development strategy. 

·          Identify the three most technologically advanced features that you can observe, and quickly describe the underlying technologies. These may be, for example, electronic payment systems, streaming video, interactive maps, etc. 

·          Identify apparent barriers to further use of e-commerce in your industry.

·          Please note that the progress report should update and amplify the concept paper.

 

4.      Prepare a presentation for Session 21/22 (week of July 10)).

 

·          each group should prepare a 10-minute presentation with visuals. Each team member should speak during the presentation.

·          The presentation should be designed as a briefing for persons who are not familiar with the industry in question, but who know something about electronic commerce in other industries.

·          The briefing should cover: 

·          main electronic commerce features in the firms' websites 

·          a discussion of the similarities and differences in the industry's use of web-based electronic commerce 

·          a judgment about what seems to be "best practice" and what seems to work in the industry in question regarding electronic commerce. You can use any evidence and any criteria you wish, as long as you have a good reason. 

·          a forecast of how electronic commerce will develop within the industry over the next year or two. Once again, you can use any reasonable evidence. 

·          a summary of the factors that are promoting and impeding the use of e-commerce in the sector you are examining.