24723 Business to Business e-Marketing

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

The rapid emergence and deployment of business-to-business electronic business infrastructure poses significant challenges for marketers. This subject provides an awareness of developments and issues associated with the rollout of business-to-business electronic business systems, with frameworks to critically analyse them in relation to business-to-business marketing issues such as specialised communication modes, negotiation, sales management, relationship marketing and relationship management.

Subject objectives/outcomes

Upon completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. Show an understanding of the basic concepts, theories and practices that guide the conduct of business between organisations in a digital environment and be able to clearly differentiate these from those used in consumer marketing.
2. Develop some of the communication skills used in building and developing business-to-business relationships including sales and negotiation skills, report writing and research skills.
3. Develop further information gathering and dissemination skills relevant to describing and analysing business marketing practice.
4. Critically determine whether the changes in business-to-business marketing due to the applications of digital technology seen to date are evolutionary or revolutionary in nature and to understand the implications of both evolution and revolution.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject builds upon electronic business and marketing principles to focus on the rapidly emerging Business-To-Business Electronic Business environments.

The fundamentals of business marketing are introduced and linkages are developed between fundamental business-to-business activities such relationship building and network development, to the planning and establishment of new business to business Electronic Business systems.

Competencies that students will expected to gain in this subject will include analysis of market and customer behaviour in electronic business to business environments; interactive technologies for supporting customer supplier and partner relationships; and critical thinking and innovation in evolving electronic business to business environments. Students will be encouraged to analyse the human, organisational, social, political, technological and physical environmental implications of emerging business to business electronic business environments.

Teaching and learning strategies

The lecture/ seminars will incorporate a range of teaching and experiential learning strategies including face-to-face and electronically-based lectures, participant-observation exercises, Internet discussion groups, web-based exercises, cases and projects.

Content

• Introduction: Review
• Business Relationships and Marketing Based On Network Theory
• Alternative Frameworks For Business-To-Business Activity
• Business-To-Business Marketing Information Management
• Web Services For Business-To-Business Activities
• Emerging E-Business Technologies For Business-To-Business.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Case-Based Project (Group and Individual)

Assessment item 2: Final Examination (Individual)

Assessment item 3: In-Class Assignments (Individual)