Management Skill Requirements for Electronic Commerce: A “Business-Centric” Approach

This report examines the requirements for management skills in Electronic Commerce. It includes a summary of definitions of Electronic Commerce, sample e-commerce business models, and a comprehensive worldwide analysis of university courses and programs in Electronic Commerce. It also includes a selective analysis of Electronic Commerce management training initiatives outside the university sphere. The problem of generating business value from investments in Information Technology has a long history. The question of management skills for Electronic Commerce is a recent manifestation of a fundamental management challenge for many firms: the challenge of managing technology-related business innovation. Firms need managers who can work in crossover business and technology environments. From a job design and work organization perspective, firms need to find individual managers with hybrid business/technology skills, and they need to establish and properly use multiskilled, rapid-learner teams. Workers and entry-level management personnel also require specific learning opportunities to function effectively in Electronic Commerce environments. Universities provide a variety of learning opportunities in Electronic Commerce. The report describes the varieties of programs and the contents of the core Electronic Commerce syllabus as it is emerging in faculties of business around the world. The section that examines three components of Electronic Commerce (ecommerce uptake by SMEs, business process reengineering/workflow skills, and the transformation of the Purchasing function) provides an overview of the management training needs in these areas, and suggests the range of curricula and delivery mechanisms required to promote management skill development. The report describes view..