Second Post

E-Commerce: The legacy for MBAs

The late 1990s witnessed a boom in business conducted electronically - both business to customer and business to business. The rapid expansion of the Internet’s capabilities and availability led to an avalanche of new companies labelled dot-coms, keen to exploit new opportunities provided by e-commerce. Students abandoned their graduate courses in droves to be part of the dot-com boom. With very low overheads all that people needed to start up a venture was a decent computer, a little knowledge and a good idea.

The rise in e-business changed the face of the world economy, which inevitably led to a shift in focus for many business schools. A huge demand for electives in the new topics provided something of a challenge for business school; whilst it was a necessity to provide some teaching in ‘the new economy’ – and cash in on the phenomenon – there was not enough faculty to meet the demand. It also led to a rise in the interest in entrepreneurship electives as MBA students dreamed of founding the next Amazon.

The bubble burst in 2000 and dot-com fever has been forced to cool. What this practically meant was a return to an old economy approach based on the principle of the bottom line and an increasingly pragmatic approach to the start of new e-businesses. However, this is not without e-commerce leaving an indelible mark on MBAs.

Most business schools now offer electives on various aspects of e-commerce. Furthermore, elements have been integrated into traditional MBA programmes such as Operations Management, Strategy, Finance and Marketing. Most established companies have diversified into e-commerce to some degree – whether it be selling plane tickets or internet banking services – so this was a logical step for business schools to take. It might mean that MBA students get the best of both worlds – a solid grounding in business and enough e-commerce to be able to speak the language of the new economy to those who do the technology work.

Before embarking on an MBA that might be e-commerce focused it is important to consider career goals, and surmise if you really require expertise in any given field of e-commerce. The Financial Times provides a 'school by course' ranking table which acts as a good reference point for those who wish to investigate further. In the UK Manchester, LBS, Cranfield, Strathclyde and Durham are all strong in this area.