E-BUSINESS @ SCHOOL
The Technology Adoption Advantage
Ratvinder Singh Grewal
Laurentian University, Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Canada
Keywords: eBusiness, Technology Adoption Advantage, SAP University Alliance, Honours Bachelor of Commerce
and Computer Science.
Abstract: eBusiness is an emerging interdisciplinary field combining commerce and computer science. Businesses
that successfully implement technology often have an advantage, in streamlined internal and external data
processing. The lack of graduates with eBusiness expertise able to successfully implement technology has
created the need for a specialized programme. This paper shares the successes and challenges of being one
of the first programmes in Canada to implement an eBusiness Science undergraduate programme.
1 INTRODUCTION
The term eBusiness was originally used by Lou
Gerstner to define software or hardware assisted
business used to automate information systems.
With the advancement in technology, companies
often face the choice of whether they should adopt
the new technology. Integration of the technology
early has played a vital role in the success of many
companies if properly integrated or it may result in
wasted resources and time if unsuccessfully
implemented.
In most cases, successful implementation of new
technology is dependant upon strong management
that possess both business acumen and technical
savvy. This blend of strong business sense and
technological knowledge are skills that are currently
in high demand. Businesses looking to fill these
positions are often left with applicants who are
either strong in only one aspect. The current
popularity and viability of eBusiness has caused the
need for academia to train students who are capable
of understanding and implementing the new
technology. Currently the lack of eBusiness
undergraduate programmes available is hampering
the growth of eBusiness. A search of universities
across Canada revealed only 2 out of 149
universities offer an eBusiness undergraduate
programme, with only 2 universities, Memorial
University and Wilfred Laurier offering co-op
options.
The Technology Adoption Advantage
programme at Laurentian University provides a
strong foundation in commerce and computer
science as well as providing valuable work
experience through a unique internship programme.
The trials and tribulations of pioneering a unique
eBusiness programme are detailed in the next
section.
2 EBUSINESS SCIENCE AT
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY
In September 2002, Laurentian University in
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada launched its eBusiness
Science undergraduate programme. This was a joint
venture between two highly regarded units: the
School of Commerce, and the Department of
Mathematics and Computer Science. Both units have
a long and successful history.
The eBusiness Science programme is a specialized
honours degree drawn from two core disciplines of
Commerce and Computer Science. Research by Liu
et al. found a change in skills required in the new
workforce, with a declining need for traditional
programming skills and a greater emphasis in
contemporary programming languages and web-
development skills (Liu et al., 2003).
250
Singh Grewal R. (2007).
E-BUSINESS @ SCHOOL - The Technology Adoption Advantage.
In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on e-Business, pages 250-255
DOI: 10.5220/0002109602500255
Copyright
c
 SciTePress

Table 1: Universities in Canada offering eBusiness or eCommerce degrees.
University Programme Type of Accreditation Term Options
Laurentian University
eBusiness Science
Programme
Honours Bachelors degree
in Commerce and Computer
Science
Full-time (4 years) with
additional 1year MBA
University of Phoenix,
Vancouver campus
Bachelor of Science in
Business/e-Business
Undergraduate Degree Program Full-time (4 years)
Memorial University of
Newfoundland
Bachelor of Commerce (Co-
operative) and Bachelor of
Science in Computer Science
Joint Degrees Full-time (5 years)
University of Ottawa
E-Business Honour Baccalaureate in e-
business
Full-time (4 years)
Wilfrid Laurier
University
Honours Business &
Computer Science
Double Degrees Full-time (5 years)
Athabasca University
eCommerce Major
Undergraduate Degree Program Full-time (4 years)
University Canada West
Bachelor of Commerce in
Technology Management
Bachelor Degree Full-time (4 years)
U of T at Mississauga
Digital Enterprise
Management (DEB)
Honours Degree Full-time (3 or 4 years)
The eBusiness Science programme at Laurentian
University addresses these changes in skills and
have geared courses towards the development of
contemporary programming skills while adding
commerce skills. The commerce component
provides a solid foundation in:
• marketing management;
• financial management;
• accounting;
• human resource management;
• operations;
• project management, and
• organizational strategy.
The computer science component provides the
essential foundations in:
• programming;
• data structures;
• databases;
• enterprise and web software application, and
• human-computer interaction.
Upon graduation students receive an Honours
Bachelor of Commerce and Computer Science
Degree.
2.1 Career Prospects
An eBusiness Science graduate would have the skills
to pursue a career in commerce, computer science,
or eBusiness. Here are some examples of eBusiness
careers and starting salaries
1
:
The eBusiness Science programme currently
boasts a 100% employment rate among graduates.
Some graduates have reported multiple job offerings
shortly after graduation. Others have started their
own business.
1
Salaries are in Canadian dollars. Positions retrieved from
http://www.monster.ca and http://www.workopolis.ca.
•
eBusiness Implementation
Specialist
$35,000 to $60,000
• eBusiness Development
Specialist
$32,000 to $57,000
• Project Manager $35,000 to $70,000
• Application Architect $35,000 to $52,000
• System Analysts $28,000 to $57,000
• Account Director $30,000 to $55,000
• Web Developer /
Programmer
$30,000 to $55,000
• Security Architect $28,000 to $45,000
• Product Support Specialist $28,000 to $45,000
• Corporate Account
Managers
$45,000 to $65,000
E-BUSINESS @ SCHOOL - The Technology Adoption Advantage
251

2.2 Technology Adoption Advantage
The integration of technology and business has been
vital to the success of companies. Properly
implementing technology allows a company to
streamline the internal and external data processing,
resulting in increased productivity while reducing
overhead costs. The technology adopted by a
company will be unique, dependent upon the type of
business conducted (Wu et al., 2003). Before the
new technology can be implemented, the company
must decide whether the solution will be hardware
based, software based or a combination of the two.
The cost associated with overhauling the system
currently in place must also yield a favourable return
on investment. A poorly implemented system may
negatively affect business performance (Bolstorff,
2002). The end goal of technology implementation
is increased customer satisfaction and increased
productivity. Low adoption rates or adopting the
technology late may negatively impact the success
of a company. In order to successfully adopt the
technology, an IT team familiar with technology is
required (Martin, 2006). Entrepreneurs with
increased technical knowledge and qualifications
will have a greater range of techniques available to
them as well as an increased adoption of the
technology (Lal, 1996). In building the IT
infrastructure, companies must decide whether they
will implement a customized system or purchase a
standardized system. Research by de Jong illustrated
that customized implementations yielded increased
customer satisfaction scores (de Jong et al. 2003).
The Technology Adoption Advantage programme
exposes the students to both implementations. A
successful eBusiness integrates both intra- and inter-
organization aspects of the business. Understanding
the technical and social factors and the interaction
between the two is required in order to create an
organizational learning and knowledge management
strategy (Lin & Lee, 2005). The Technology
Adoption (TA) Advantage is the newest addition to
the eBusiness Science programme. The TA
advantage is a unique programme pairing students
with an industry partner in an interactive exchange
throughout their four-year honours degree
programme. The students undertake a project
commencing in their first year, leading into an
internship during the summer of their third year. The
project allows for an interactive exchange between
the industry partner and the student. The model for
project and internship deployment is based on Six
Sigma’s ideology of Define, Measure, Analyse,
Improve, and Control (DMAIC) (Gitlow & Levine,
2005). Students work towards making
recommendations on how to use technology to make
business process improvements. During the
internship with the industry partners, the students
receive 6 class credits as well as paid work
experience. Industry partners through their
cooperation receive an overview of their existing
technology and an understanding of how current
technology fits into their business processes.
Industry partners are also advised on new
technologies and how the adoption of these
technologies can lead to improvements and greater
efficiencies which can ultimately improve their
bottom line (O’Keefe et al., 1998). The students act
like consultants exchanging information over four
reports. Some of the programmes industry
supporters include:
• Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service
Association (SAMSSA)
• Bestech
• Carriere Industrial Supply
• Fuller Industrial Rubber
• G1 Global
• FedNor
• Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM Sudbury)
• Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce
Studies have shown that allowing students to work
in an environment with real problems instead of
contrived problems benefit both the industry partner
and the student. Students are able to apply the
techniques and theories taught in the classroom
setting while the industry partners involved are able
to identify students who they may target for future
employment (Kock et al., 2003). The theoretical,
applied technology, and business process experience
gained with a particular industry partner together
with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce and
Computer Science Degree gives graduates from this
programme an excellent advantage for potential full-
time employment with the partner. In recognition of
the collaborative work with the eBusiness Science
programme industry partners make available
scholarships to students participating in the TA
Advantage. These scholarships are awarded to the
top-performing students in second and upper years.
This year, the first year the TA Advantage was
offered, two second year students received
scholarship awards of $500 each from SAMSSA for
producing excellent pieces of work stating how
student participation in the Technology Adoption
Advantage can assist and benefit the Sudbury
mining supply and service industry and enhance the
student's learning environment.
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2.3 SAP North American University
Alliance
In 2003 Laurentian University became a member of
the SAP University Alliance. The SAP University
Alliance programme assists university faculty
members by giving them the tools and resources
necessary to teach students the integration of
business process and strategic thinking. The skills
learned by the students add immediate value to the
marketplace (SAP, 2007). The eBusiness Science
programme encompasses the mySAP Business Suite
family of solutions, such as mySAP ERP, to allow
students to apply theories learned in the classroom to
practical use through demonstrations, exercises, and
problem-solving. Insight is gained on how
technology can empower a business to optimize key
processes such as accounting and controlling, human
capital management, project planning, plant and
materials management, and sales and distribution.
Students also get to explore SAP’s transactional
processing as well as set up modules to configure
new enterprises. The popularity of the programme’s
Enterprise Application Software course with a focus
on SAP, has led to an influx of students from other
programmes. The success of the course has drawn
the interest of leading companies such as Deloitte
and Accenture who have visited, interviewed, and
offered positions to students from this course before
graduating.
2.4 MBA in One Year
During their undergraduate studies eBusiness
Science students take the core commerce courses
that make up the first year of the MBA programme.
Upon graduation these student have the option to
complete the MBA in one additional year at
Laurentian University; a process that takes non-
eBusiness/commerce students two years full-time.
2.5 The New eBusiness Science
Curriculum with Technology
Adoption Advantage
The new eBusiness Science curriculum requires
students to gain 120 credits consisting of 60
commerce credits, 45 computer science credits, 3
statistics credits, 6 economics credits, and 6 social
science or humanities credits.
COURSE CREDITS
First Year 30
Introduction to Economics 6
Foundations in Mgmt of Organizations 6
Understanding Financial Information 3
Introduction to Computer Science I 3
Introduction to Computer Science II 3
Discrete Math 3
∗
Introduction to E-Commerce 3
Social Sciences or Humanities Elective 3
Second Year 30
Business Statistics 3
∗
Management Science 3
Management Accounting and Control 6
Financial Management 6
Data Structures I 3
Data Structures II 3
Database Programming 3
Internet Tools 3
Third Year 30
Marketing Management 6
Organizational Behaviour 6
+
Operations Management 6
∗
Project Management 3
Enterprise Application Software 3
Systems Analysis 3
+
Object Oriented C++ 3
∗
Internship 6
Fourth Year 30
Strategic Management and Policy 1 3
∗
eBusiness Strategy Implementation 3
Applied Networks 3
Data Management Systems 3
+
Human-Computer Interaction 3
Social Science or Humanities Elective 3
Commerce 4000-level Elective 3
Computer Science 4000-level Elective: 3
Artificial Intelligence 3
Computer Assisted Systems 3
Web Data Management 3
Expert Systems 3
Software Engineering 3
∗
Signature course covers phase of Six Sigma.
+
New addition provides operations focus.
E-BUSINESS @ SCHOOL - The Technology Adoption Advantage
253

2.6 Set-up and Operation Costs
The eBusiness Science programme is unique, in its
minimalist set up and running costs. The majority of
courses provided in the curriculum draw upon
courses that already exist in either the commerce or
computer science disciplines. Set up entailed only
the development of the curriculum and the addition
of five new courses. The new courses are inter-
disciplinary to “gel” commerce and computer
science and target the essence of eBusiness. Courses
are taught by faculty from either commerce or
computer science. Two of the five new courses are
charged to commerce and computer science, while
the remaining to eBusiness science. Coordination of
the programme is the responsibility of the eBusiness
Science Programme Coordinator. Duties include:
• Performing the necessary tasks for the daily
operation of the eBusiness Science programme;
• Liaising between the Department of Computer
Science and the School of Commerce;
• Providing academic advising to eBusiness
science students;
• Refining the eBusiness science curriculum;
• Providing direction to staff hired to promote and
market the programme, and
• Managing the eBusiness science budget.
The eBusiness Science Programme Coordinator is
given a 3-credit course reduction to compensate the
extra workload (Krovi & Vijayaraman, 2001).
During the internship portion of the eBusiness
programme, students have several options that they
may undertake for the project. The ideal choice
would be for the student to find their own internship
with the industry partner of their choice. In the event
that they are unable to locate an industry partner to
work with, the Computer Science Co-op coordinator
will help find a placement for the student. If there
are no placements available, the third alternative
would be for the student to conduct a case
study/project with a faculty member.
2.7 “Teething Troubles”
Development of the eBusiness Science programme
continues to challenge those determined to improve
it. After successfully gaining approval to launch the
programme, the next hurdle was recruiting students
to a new and “untested” programme. Since the
programme was in the initial stages of inception, no
success stories could be shared with potential
students. The focus of the marketing campaign
centered on the diverse knowledge students would
gain from the programme. Local schools within the
Greater Sudbury vicinity were visited, ads placed in
newspapers and an interview with Macleans
magazine was arranged. The marketing campaign
was a resounding success, leading to 75 applicants
showing interest in the programme during the first
year. Only 20 of the original 75 interested people
enrolled in the programme however, while only 7
students remained in the programme and graduated
in 2006. This trend was seen over the next couple of
years. The programme was successful in garnering
interest from prospective students, but failed in
generating a commitment. Furthermore, an
exceedingly high drop-out rate from the programme
was observed. When students were canvassed, they
had replied that they were unable to meet the
requirements of the programme. The students who
had enrolled in the programme and transferred had
replied that they chose to switch programmes since
some courses were very difficult and transferring to
another programme was relatively easy. The initial
ideology of curriculum design was to incorporate the
foundational courses in both commerce and
computer science in order to make the programme
more attractive. The inclusion of both core
components would enable students to transfer to
commerce or computer science with the completion
of some additional courses offered during the
summer term. This arrangement came as a
convenience to the non-technical students who had
found the computer science courses too challenging,
allowing them to transfer and graduate from
commerce within a 4 year time frame. The
marketing strategy had clearly backfired, leading to
the removal of the option from all marketing
material. Students in the newly revised TA
Advantage curriculum are still able to transfer, but
would require the investment of an extra term.
Studies by Gasco et al. in 1994 had shown that
increased training effectiveness could be obtained by
increasing the interaction between trainers and
students (Gasco et al., 1994). In an effort to promote
retention, a mentorship programme and frequent
social events were introduced. Kock et al. had found
that informal social events would often lead to
insightful discussions and exchange of information
not normally seen in formal situations (Kock et al.,
2003). The initiatives of the social interactions are
supported by the programme but run by upper-year
students. The additional efforts and the new TA
Advantage curriculum have seen a positive impact
on student retention. The eBusiness Science
programme initially targeted the elite student and
required an average score of 80% or more as well as
having a limited-enrolment for high-school
applicants. The score was unachievable by most
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254

students and explained the high levels of interest but
low numbers in registration. The admission
requirements have been revised and lowered to be in
par with commerce and computer science degree
requirements of 70%. The effect of this alteration
will be noticed next year. Another common problem
seen amongst the students of the programme were
timetable clashes. During the first week of each
term, students spent their time trying to resolve time
conflicts between commerce and computer science
courses. Some others were displeased with the
discontinuity of courses in the programme. The new
TA Advantage curriculum was designed with these
issues in mind. Follow-up courses are now
scheduled during the same academic year or the
proceeding academic term. Prior to the start of each
academic year the Registrar’s office are notified in
which section eBusiness students should be placed.
The TA Advantage curriculum includes new courses
to enrich the technology and operations focus, four
“signature courses”, and an internship. These entail
the implementation of initial and successive phases
of Six Sigma’s DMAIC model for an industry
partner.
3 CONCLUSION
Being one of the first in Canada to develop a
curriculum to address the current and future
requirements of the eBusiness industry is rife with
stories of success and failures. Early development of
a curriculum can create a great advantage for the
students entering the programme. The lack of other
universities creating an undergraduate programme
also means that there is no blueprint to follow. Each
school must learn from their own errors, as opposed
to learning from those who had successfully
implemented the programme earlier. With
technology continually evolving, students entering
the job market must be creative and able to adapt to
the ever changing industry. The Technology
Adoption Advantage curriculum gives students the
hands on experience required to successfully keep
abreast of both the business and technical aspects of
the industry. The early adoption of new technology
can lead to long-term company success, if the
properly trained management are in place. The
eBusiness Science programme at Laurentian
University successfully merges commerce and
computer science into a cohesive programme where
students gain expertise in both commerce and
computer science. This report delineates the growing
pains of implementing a new curriculum combining
two specialized programmes already present in most
universities. The evolution of this inter-disciplinary
phenomenon requires academia to keep abreast of
current needs and requirements in hopes of
delivering graduates who have the knowledge and
insight to implement advancing technology.
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