UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Robert H. Smith School of Business

 

 

BMGT 808D                                                               Spring 2001

 

Research Seminar on E-Commerce

and Supply Chain Management

 

 

 

General Information

 

 

Course Instructors:          Joseph Bailey

                                          Office:  3419 Van Munching Hall

                                          Phone:  301-405-2174

                                          Email: jbailey@rhsmith.umd.edu

 

                                          Samer Faraj

                                          Office:  4321 Van Munching Hall

                                          Phone:  301-405-7053

                                          Email: sfaraj@rhsmith.umd.edu

                                         

 

Time and Location:          Wednesday 9:30AM-12:15 PM.

                                          Rouse Room (alternate space: UCT 217)

 

Office Hours:                   By appointment

 

 

Readings:                         Packages of course material will be available for photocopying from the instructors.  These contain all the readings to be discussed in class.  Supplemental handouts may be distributed during the semester.

 

Grading:                           Grades will be assigned on the following scheme:

                                                Class participation                                            25%

                                                Discussion leadership                                        15%

                                                Reaction papers (2)                                          10%

                                                Journal article review                                        10%

                                                Research paper & presentation                         40%

 

 COURSE OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION

 

Information technology is rapidly transforming the nature of work and reshaping organizations.  Organizational processes and inter-organizational linkages are being transformed by the emergence of IT solutions in general and Internet based applications in particular.  These technologies are facilitating market exchanges, access to consumers, and collaboration.  They also affect transaction economics and enabling new business relationships within the supply chain.  This course is a doctoral seminar that examines the assumptions, theories, and methodologies used in the study of the impact of information technology on organizations and organizing.  The course involves extensive reading and discussion of the research literature.  The goal of the course is to provide doctoral students with exposure to diverse theoretical approaches, methods, levels of analysis, and viewpoints that underlie research on IT’s impact on organizations and on markets.

 

The course is intended primarily for doctoral students who seek an in-depth understanding of the current research literature.  This is a seminar not a lecture course, which means that active class interaction is essential.  Students are expected to come to class fully prepared to discuss all the readings on a particular topic. Class participation grades will be allocated on the basis of both the quality and the quantity of contribution.

 

 

REQUIREMENTS

 

1)           Leading class discussion and developing summaries/evaluations. 

Students are required to lead one class discussion during the course of the semester. Leading a discussion involves work before, during, and after the class session.  The discussion leader should become familiar with all the readings and prepare themes and questions for class discussion.  The student should meet with the instructors a few days before the class session to discuss the relevance of particular issues and themes.  A handout for class distribution needs to be prepared.  During class, the student will provide an introductory (10 - 15 minutes) overview of the important themes and issues raised by the readings.  He/she will then facilitate the class discussion for the remainder of the session, including reaching closure to the session in the end of the class (last 10 - 15 minutes).  Grades for leading a discussion will depend on the level of preparation, framing of questions, and quality of discussion facilitation.

 

The student will also be expected to develop summaries/evaluations for the session they are leading.  This entails developing a 1 page summary and critique of each of the assigned papers.  The reviews are to serve as quick review notes at comps time.  The goal is not to simply summarize the readings but to frame the topic, provide a thoughtful evaluation of the material read, raise some theoretical or empirical questions, compare and contrast methodologies, approaches or findings across the readings.

 

 

 

 

2)         Preparing reaction papers and reviews.

Students will prepare two reaction papers. These are reactions to the research proposed by your classmates.  You will aim to be constructive and help fellow students with the development of their full research paper. You will receive the proposals on March 7th and will submit your reaction papers on March 14th.

 

 

3)         Journal Article Review

Students will also prepare a formal review of an empirical study.  This review will be of a paper that has actually been submitted to a top research journal.  The reviews are to follow the typical journal review format.  If the paper goes through a cycle of revise and resubmit, the students will have to prepare additional reviews based on the revised paper.  Editor and reviewer comments will be distributed in class following the discussion of the papers in order to provide a benchmark for student reviews and to explore the review process in its entirety.  During the first week of class, the instructor will distribute detailed instructions about how to structure paper reviews.

 

 

4)         Research paper

Each student is required to develop an empirically-based paper by the end of the semester. This paper should develop a theoretical approach to a specific social issue associated with technology and organizations.  Specifically, the paper must cover: a) a research question/motivation, b) a discussion of the importance of the issue and a review of the relevant literature, c) a research model/framework, and d) an appropriate methodology and research design for examining it empirically.  An initial 5 page proposal detailing the topic, research issues and relevant literatures, proposed data source, and analysis approach is due on March 7th.  The full paper (not to exceed 30 pages) is due on Monday May 14th, and should expand the proposal by refining the literature review and theoretical model, report data analysis results, and discuss the importance of the findings.   Students will present their papers in class on May 2nd and May 9th.

 

 

Useful Web Sites

 

As you do research for the different class sessions and develop your research paper, you may want to consult with the following web sites.

 

www.jstor.org  This web site contains a large number of articles published in top-ranked economics journals (pre 1996).

www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ces/ University of Maryland’s Center for E-Service.

ebusiness.mit.edu A research group at MIT that contains a fair number of ecommerce links and publications.

www.stanford.edu/group/scforum/ The Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum

http://www.misrc.umn.edu/ The University of Minnesota MIS Research Center

 

 

Week-by-week schedule and list of readings

 

  1. Introduction and Context (January 31)

 

Introductions

Discussion of seminar goals

Expectations

 

Shaw, M. J. (1999). “Electronic commerce: review of critical research issues.” Information Systems Frontiers  1:1.

 

Benbasat, I. And Weber, R. (1996).  “Research commentary: rethinking ‘diversity’ in information systems research.”  Information Systems Research. 7:4.

 

Robey, D. (1996).  “Research commentary: diversity in information systems research: threat, promise, and responsibility.”  Information Systems Research. 7:4.

 

Smith, M., Bailey, J., and Brynjolfsson, E. (2000).  “Understanding digital markets: review and assessment.” In Erick Brynjolfsson and Brian Kahin (eds). Understanding the digital economy.  MIT Press.

 

 

  1. Transaction cost economics and information economics (February 7)

 

 

Williamson, O. (1979) “Transaction Cost Economics: the governance of contractual relations,” Journal of Law and Economics vol. 22

 

Wigand, R. and Benjamin, R. (1997). “Electronic commerce: effects on electronic markets.”  Journal of Computer-Mediated Communications, 1:3.

 

Anand, K. S. and Mendelson, H. “Information and Organization for Horizontal Multimarket Coordination, Management Science, 1997 v. 43, n. 12, pp. 1609-1627.

 

Hitt, Lorin (1999). “Information technology and firm boundaries: evidence from panel data.” Information Systems Research, 10:2.

 

Kauffman, R. and Walden, E. (2000). “Economics and electronic commerce: a framework and survey for an emerging literature.”  Working paper under review at the International Journal of Electronic Commerce.

 

  1. Information, bundling, and market structure (February 14)

 

Bakos, Y (1997) “Reducing buyer search costs: Implications for electronic marketplaces,” Management Science Dec.

 

Bakos, Y and Brynjolfsson, E. (1999) “Bundling information goods: pricing, profits and efficiency,” Management Science Dec.

 

Varian, H. (2000).  “Market structure in the network age.” In Erick Brynjolfsson and Brian Kahin (eds). Understanding the digital economy.  MIT Press.

 

Kauffman, R. and Wood, C. (2000).  “Analyzing competition and collusion strategies in electronic marketplaces with information asymmetry.”  Working Paper.

 

Dewan, S., Michael, S., and Min, C-K. (1998). “ Firm characteristics and investments in information technology: scale and scope effects.” Information Systems Research. 9:3.

 

  1. Pricing and Competition  (February 21)

 

 

Kauffman, R. and Wood, C. (2000). “Follow the leader? Strategic pricing in e-commerce.”  Updated working paper, appeared earlier in the ICIS proceedings.

 

Bailey, J., Faraj, S., and Yao, Y. (2001) “Price dispersion among internet retailers.”  Under review at Information Systems Review.

Morton, F., Zettelmeyer, F. and Risso, J. (2000). “Internet car retailing” Working paper.

 

Shankar, V., Rangaswamy, A., and Pusateri, M. (1999). “The online medium and customer price sensitivity.”  Working paper.

Brynjolfsson, E. and Smith, M. (2000). “Frictionless Commerce? A Comparison of internet and conventional retailers.”  Management Science April.

 

  1. Network externalities and strategic impact (February28)

 

Farrell, J. and Saloner, G. (1987). “Competition, compatibility, and standards: the economics of horses, penguins and lemmings.”  In Product standardization and competitive strategy.  Elsevier Publishers.

 

Parthasarathy, M. and Bhattacherjee, A. (1998).  “Understanding post-adoption behavior in the context of online services.”  Information Systems Research. 9:4.

 

Brynjolfsson, E. and Kemerer, C. (1996).  “Network externalities in microcomputer software: an econometric analysis of the spreadsheet market.” Management Science Dec.

 

Bharadwaj, A. Bharadwaj, S. and Konnsynski, B. (1999). “Information technology effects on firm performance as measured by Tobin’s q” Management Science June.

 

Kauffman, R., McAndrews, J., and Wang, Y-M. (2000). “Opening the black box of network externalities in network adoption.” Information Systems Research. 11:1.

 

 

  1. EDI and B2B (March 7)

 

Dai, Q. and R. J. Kauffman (2000) “Business models for internet-based e-procurement systems and B2B electronic markets:  an exploratory assessment,” 34th Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science, January.

 

Bakos, J. Y. and E. Brynjolfsson, “From Vendors to Partners:  Information technology and incomplete contracts in buyer-supplier relationships,” in Journal of Organizational Computing,

 

Steinfield, C., Kraut, R., and Plummer, A. (1998). “The impact of interorganizational networks on buyer-seller relationships.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 1:3.

 

Barua, A. and Lee, B. (1997). “An economic analysis of the introduction of an electronic data interchange system.” Information Systems Research. 8:4.

 

Subramani, M. and Walden, E. (2000). “Economic returns to forms from business to business electronic commerce initiatives: an empirical examination.”  ICIS proceedings.

 

Lee, H., Clark, T., and Tam, K. (1999). “Research report: can EDI benefit adopters?” Information Systems Research. 10:2.

 

  1. Supply chain coordination and impact (March 14)

 

Mukhopadhyay, T., Rajiv, S. and Srinivasan, K. (1997). “Information technology impact on process output and quality.” Management Science December.

 

Alles, M., Amin, A., Datar, S., and Sarkar, R. (2000). “Information and Incentives of inventory in JIT production.” Management Science, 46:12.

 

Baskerville, R., Paswlowski, S., and McLean E. (2000). “Enterprise resource planning and organizational knowledge: patterns of convergence and divergence. ICIS proceedings.

 

Lee, Hau L., V. Padmanabhan and Seungjin Whang, “Information Distortion in a Supply Chain:  The Bullwhip Effect,” Management Science, V. 43, n. 4, 1997, pp. 546-558.

 

Cachon, G. P. and M. Fisher, (1999) “Supply chain inventory management and the value of shared information,” Fuqua School of Business working paper.

 

 

  1. Electronic marketing, disintermediation and channel conflict (March 28)

 

 

Joseph Alba; John Lynch; Barton Weitz; Chris Janiszewski (1997); “Interactive home shopping: Consumer, retailer, and manufacturer incentives to participate in electronic marketplaces;” Journal of Marketing; July; Vol. 61, No. 3, pp. 38-53

 

Chen, P-Y., Hitt, L. (2000). “Switching cost and brand loyalty in electronic markets: evidence from on-line retail brokers.”  ICIS proceedings.

 

Ganda, N. (2000). “The dynamics of competition in the internet search engine market.” TPRC Proceedings.

 

Zettelmeyer, F. (2000). “Expanding to the Internet: pricing and communications strategies when firms compete on multiple channels.”  Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 37, No. 3.

 

Adamic, L. and Huberman, B. (1999).  “The nature of markets in the World Wide Web.” Working paper Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

 

Robinson, W. N. and G. Elofson (2000) “Electronic broker impacts on the value of postponement,” Georgia State University working paper.

 

 

  1. Agents and auctions (April 4)

 

Lee, Ho (1998).  “Do electronic marketplaces lower the price of goods?” Communications of the ACM, 41:1.

 

Brynjolfsson, E. and Smith, M. (2000). “The great equalizer? Consumer choice behavior at internet shopbots.”  Working paper.

 

Goh, K-Y, Teo, H-H., Wu, H. Kwok-Kee, W. (2000). “Computer-supported negotiations: an experimental study of bargaining in electronic commerce.”  ICIS Proceeding.

 

Guttman, R., Moukas, A. and Maes, P. (1998). “Agent-mediated electronic commerce: a survey.” In Knowledge Engineering Review.

 

Vakrat, Y. and A. Seidmann (2000) “Implications of the bidders’ arrival process on the design of online auctions,” 33rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

 

Kauffman, R. J. and C. Wood, (2000) “Running up the bid:  modeling seller opportunism in internet auctions,” MISRC Working Paper.

 

  1. Productivity paradox (April 11)

 

Dewan, S. and Kraemer, K. (2000). “Information technology and productivity: evidence from country-level data.” Management Science April.

 

Dewan, S. and Min, C-K. (1997). “The substitution of information technology for other factors of production: a firm level analysis” Management Science December.

 

Brynjolfsson, E. and Hitt, L. (1996). “Paradox Lost?  Firm-Level Evidence on the returns to information systems spending.”  Management Science April.

 

Brynjolfsson, E., L. M. Hitt and S. Yang (2000) “Intangible assets:  how the interaction of computer and organizational structure affects stock market valuations,” MIT Sloan School of Management working paper.

 

Bresnahan, T. F., E. Brynjolfsson, and L. Hitt (forthcoming) “Information technology, workplace organization, and the demand for skilled labor:  firm-level evidence,” Quarterly Journal of Economics.

 

 

  1. Open Source Software and Electronic Communities (April 18)

 

Constant, D, L. Sproull, and S. Kiesler (1996) “The kindness of strangers:  the usefulness of electronic weak ties for technical advice,” Organizational Science, 7:2.

 

Lakhani, K. and E. von Hippel (2000) “How Open Source software works:  ‘Free’ user-to-user assistance,” MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper #4117, May.

 

Van Alstyne, M. and E. Brynjolfsson (1996) “Electronic communities:  global villages or cyberbalkanization?” International Conference on Information Systems.

 

Moon, J. Y and L. Sproull (2000) “Essence of Distributed Work:  The Case of the Linux Kernel,” First Monday.

 

Lerner, J. and J. Tirole (2000) “The Simple Economics of Open Source,” Harvard Business School working paper.

 

  1. Virtual organizing and online community (April 25)

 

 

Jarvenpaa, S. and Leidner, D. (1998).  “Communication and trust in global virtual teams.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 3:4.  Joint issue with Organization  Science.

 

Ahuja, M. and Carley, K. (1998). “Network structure in virtual organizations.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 3:4.  Joint issue with Organization  Science.

 

Stewart, K. (2000). “Trust transfer on the World Wide Web.” Under review at Organization Science.

 

Kraut, R., Steinfield, C., Chan, A., Butler, B., and Hoag, A. (1998). “Coordination and virtualization: the role of electronic networks and personal relationships.”  Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 3:4.

 

Faraj, S. and Wasko, M. (2001) “The web of knowledge: an investigation of self-organizing communities of practice on the net.”  Working Paper, under second review at the Academy of Management Journal.  To be distributed during the semester.

 

 

  1. Term paper Presentations (May 2)

 

 

  1. Term paper Presentations (May 9)