Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

PGSEM Elective Course

3rd Quarter (2016-2017) Credits: 3

Digital Business Models and Strategies

S Raghunath
Professor, Corporate Strategy and Policy

The focus of the course is on what determines firm performance and the central role
that business models play in e-commerce. The course offers tools and concepts that
students of management need to analyze and synthesize digital business models.

The framework developed in the course allows students to make more informed
concept-theory-grounded arguments about digital business startups, brick-and-mortar
firms that must face challengers, the relative merits of formulating and implementing
digital business models and strategies, and how much startups might be worth.

Course Summary and Objectives

This course provides a broad overview of the strategies used in digital business from
the early days of the commercial Internet through to the present. Specifically, the
course will address:

The internet properties that facilitate commerce and competitive

advantage, role in business, incremental and disruptive technologies, value
configurations, benefits, limitations and online and off-line similarities and
differences.
Business models How companies leverage the Internet through the
different business models of the new economy, evaluation of the strengths and
weaknesses of dynamic business models and critiquing the business models of a
variety of actual businesses.
The macro-environment Investigation of competitive and macro
environments as determinants of profitability and as influencers of business
models, as well as how the Internet and e-business have affected the macro
environments in which they operate.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to identify a firms business
model, scope and revenue streams and be able to evaluate its strategy based upon its
position in a competitive space and the macro environment factors that influence it.
With this understanding of the concepts behind digital business strategy as well as
their real-world environmental issues and develop alternatives with which to counter
them.

Intended Student Audience

The course should be of particular interest to those who are interested in managing a
business with a digital business component. It is designed for those who want to:

Pursue ventures in digital business, manage such ventures, compete with

such ventures, or interact with them.
Students who plan to work for:
o Venture capital firms that must understand the viability of the business
models they are financing, digital business start-ups, bricks-and-mortar firms
that must adopt the internet to fend off challengers or reinforce an existing
competitive advantage
o Consulting firms that must undertake digital business related
assignments for clients
o Investment bankers who must value digital businesses.

Pedagogy

The course will be based on case discussions and lectures on both pure play as well as
bricks-and-mortar firms that must formulate and execute successful business models
and strategies in order to gain, defend or reinforce a competitive advantage in the face
of the internet.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated by your participation in class discussions and projects:

20% - class participation

50% - Digital Business Model Evaluation (written) each student will
evaluate an e-business model of his/her choice (with approval). Use course
reading, lectures and reading/learning you have found on your own (such as news,
periodicals, etc.)

15% - Team Business Plan (written) In groups of three to four students, each team
will propose a new e-business clearly outlining the business model, competitive
landscape, value configuration, and macro-environment.

15% - Team Business Plan (oral) With all members of the group
participating, the team will present their business plan to the class and answer
questions about its validity and strength.
Course Material

There is no required text for this course. The following books are recommended.
Course readings and cases will be circulated.

Alexander Rauser, Digital Strategy: A Guide To Business Transformation,2016

George Westerman, Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business

Transformation, 2014

Parag Kulkarni, Sunita Jahirbadkar and Pradip Chande, E-Business, 2013.

Dave Chaffey, E-Business and E-Commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation

and Practice, 2011

Faculty Profile

S Raghunath is a Professor of Corporate Strategy and Policy and was Chairperson,

Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning where he was engaged in
setting up the NSR-Global Internet Ventures Incubation Centre. He specializes in
Strategic Alliances and Strategic Leadership. He has researched these topics, taught
them to Post Graduate and Doctoral students and executives, and consulted with
major Indian companies and multinational corporations.

He has been a consultant on Digital Business Strategies and Models. His current
research spans various realms of Digital Business, its impact on Business strategy
and Processes on Organizational Structure, corporate networks and value based
management of digital business transformation.

He was a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

(1990-1991) where he engaged in research in strategy making in IT companies. He
was also a Visiting Professor at INSEAD, France, the University of Buckingham, UK;
RMIT School of Business; Melbourne, Australia; Toulouse Business School, France.
He has published several papers, case studies and book chapter and has been quoted
in publications such as Outlook Business, Economic Times, Business Line and the
Computer Today. He has written extensively in the areas of international alliances for
practitioner and academic communities.

He was also engaged in the study of strategy making in high-tech companies in USA
such as Cypress Semiconductors Inc., Harris Semiconductors, Intel, Motorola, MIPS.
He has conducted studies on Business Process Initiatives in American Express
Insurance and Investment Division, San Rafael, California.

Dr. Raghunath is the India Chapter Chair of the Academy of International Business,
and is on the boards of hi tech companies and the National Venture Capital Fund. He
is a Registered Consultant with the Office of Project Services, UNDP, New York.