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Wharton's
New e-Business
Initiative
The Internet is revolutionizing
business, driving a boom
in online entrepreneurship
and transforming bricks-and-mortar
companies around
the world. While the risks
and opportunities are undeniable,
experts say the winners
in this new economy
will be companies whose
leaders can embrace and
create change.
For business
schools, the new economy
brings its own set of challenges:
technologies that
question traditional teaching
models, forcing faculty to
examine what they teach,
how they teach and whom
they teach.
To tackle these issues,
Wharton recently launched
the Wharton e-Business Initiative
(WeBI), a partnership
of business leaders, faculty
and students designed to
generate and disseminate
knowledge about e-business
through research, academic
programs and a range of
corporate programs. WeBI
harnesses the school's faculty
expertise and strengthens
existing e-business initiatives,
including the e-Fellows
Program and the Forum on
Electronic Commerce, by
combining them into one
umbrella organization.
Through WeBI, Wharton
will conduct research in partnership
with a varied group
of companies, from Global
2000 firms to dot-coms.
Lessons learned and best
practices identified will be
integrated into Wharton's
curriculum and used to
develop new executive education
programs.
Raphael Amit, Robert
B. Goergen Professor of Entrepreneurship,
and former
dean Thomas P. Gerrity, director
of the Wharton Forum
on Electronic Commerce
and professor of operations
and information management,
are directing WeBI.
"Business leaders today
must be prepared to manage
the many challenges of the
e-business marketplace, an
environment that is increasingly
competitive and evolving
at Internet speed," says
Amit. "No one has all the
answers right now, but by
bringing together academics,
industry leaders, government
officials and policymakers in
various forums, Wharton is
able to identify and address
the critical e-business issues
virtually as they emerge, allowing
our partners to maximize
their potential in
e-business."
WeBI recently formed a
research alliance with Gartner
Group, Inc. to expand its
coverage of consumer online
buying behavior. In addition
to covering the worldwide
B2C market, Gartner and
WeBI are expanding into the
B2B market.
WeBI also co-sponsored
several conferences recently,
including the "Competitive
Strategy in the New Economy:
What Changes?" with
the Management Department,
"Winners and Losers
in the e-Commerce Shake-out"
with the Mack Center
for Technological Innovation,
and "Business-to-Business
e-Commerce and the
Supply Chain" with the
Fishman-Davidson Center
for Service and Operations
Management.
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