This document appears to be a review questionnaire for a university course on internet business strategy. It contains questions about two books on digital business strategies, asking the student to identify key concepts, companies that exemplify the strategies, and rank speakers and textbooks from the course. The questions cover topics like the 7 breakthrough strategies for surviving in the cutthroat web economy, motives for online consumer behavior, and paths to creating sustainable online business value.

1. Spring 20 0 - Internet Business Strategy CIS-686-KY
Name: _+- (please print your name)
~
eview of:
igital Darwinism: 7 Breakthrough Business Strategies for
Surviving in the Cutthroat Web Economy (by Evan Schwartz)
and
~ow or Never: How Companies Must Change Today to Win the
~attle for Internet Consumers (by Mary Modahl)
Each section (question group) is worth ten points. Some questions ask you to select
tie best answer, others ask you to select the appropriate answer. Good luck!
For Questions 1-7, and in no particular order, please name the 7 breakthrough strategies discussed by Schwartz in his book,
one per line (I have provided "hints" along the way). For each one, please point to a Web brand or company that typifies the
strategic aProach
STRATEGT 1
1. "Build a Brand that Stands for ------ "
1a. According to Schwartz, this online portal site "seems to reinvent its brand every 90 days. The site may have started
as a Web site directory, but it quickly moved to add a keyword search engine, then a personalized news service,
then a virtual community with bulletin boards and chat, then a free e-rnail service, then a series of city guides for
major U.S., European, and Asian destinations, then a travel guide, then a personal fmance center, then a complete
e-shopping guide sponsored by Visa ... as it keeps shifting its market, it has managed to maintain the single largest
da1Y audience of any website, attract the largest share of advertising and sponsorship revenue, while incidentally
tUl(ng a respectable profit at a time when profitable e-comrnerce companies were scarce."
What online brand is Schwartz describing? _
2.
STRATEGY 2
"Allow Your to Fluctuate Freely with ------- &
2a. Schwartz describes an example of this Strategy at work by describing a Web brand that was created in "spring of
19
f8, when it began offering airline tickets over the Web. Travelers log onto the site and start using it the same
way they would any online reservation system, entering their destination, their departure and return dates, and the
nwpber of people in their party. But then this company asks for something unusual: how much the customer is
willing to pay for each round-trip ticket."
What online brand is Schwartz describing? _
STRATEG I 3
3. "lAffiliate Partners Do You, for You."
----------

2. ACfording to Schwartz, this online retailer "was the first company to offer an Associates Program, in 1996, and
offered commissions of 5% to 15%. At the time, the original goals of the program were threefold: acquire new,
10 I customers through these referrals, enable others to participate in online selling without having to fill product
themselves, and extend this brand's editorial expertise into unique areas or spheres of influence that would be
impossible for the affiliate to develop on its own."
Jat online brand is Schwartz describing? _
SmATE+
4. "C eate Valuable Bundles of and "
4a.
3a.
SCl,wartz describes the economic effects of bundling information-based products and services. He cites Dr. Erik
Brynjolfsson ofMIT, who has a main thesis that selling bundles of information goods in large aggregates at a
sinkle price will earn higher profits than selling those items separately at separate prices. As one example to
illustrate this theory, Schwartz points out a very prominent and well-known company (in the news a great deal over
thelpast 4 months) that has achieved a "winner-take-all bundling" success in combining different products that
WOrkbetter together than apart.
Wliat very prominent company is Schwartz describing? _
STRATEGY 5
5. "Sell Custom-Made Products Online, Then Manufacture Them."
Schwartz illustrates this concept by citing the example of an extremely successful and well-known technology
company that:
o Developed an easy-to-use ordering system that lets customers build their own unique products online
o Doesn't let expensive inventory sit around and depreciate in value
o Decided early on what it could do best, and made sure no one else performed their core competencies
better than them
o Parceled out the remaining functions over a network to factories all over the world that specialize in
assembling specific components or some other task
o Maintains the extensive data that customers send in for future reference
o Today, does more than $33 million a day in online e-commerce
o This company is based in Texas
Wliat very prominent company is Schwartz describing? _
6.
STRATEGY 6
"Add New Value to Transactions Between and _
STRATEGY 7
7. "Integrate Digital Commerce With _
7a. Briefly describe Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution (you may only use one sentence; hint: the word "survival"
should be used; in other words, how might you also hear the Theory of Evolution explained?):

3. QUESTION 8:
This questi n deals with Mary Modahl's theory on why consumers buy online.
Name 2 of e 3 main motives why consumer go online in the first-place:
{hint: these re one-word answers that group persons as to why they try the Internet:
&
QUESTI019:
Mary Mod;tl states in her book: "The early Internet is overrun with nearly identical companies. Exactly what is the
difference 1)Ietweennew superstores like Buy.com and ValueAmerica.com? Most consumers couldn't say ... the goal, then,
for a compapy that intends to win in the long run is to head in a direction that may seem counterintuitive but that really
allows it to build a uniqueness that is hard to copy. There are three paths to creating sustainable value in electronic
commerce: I
A. Develop a _
B. Control physical distribution
C. Leverage _
QUESTIO 110:
Please rank the following:
Textbooks:
Now orNe er
Digital Da inism
(1-10)
The E-Bus' ess (R)evolution (by Amor)
MORE ....

4. Speakers:
Tim Harris'lcEO - TeeTimes.com
Declan Boland, IBM
Troy Renshlw, Intel
(1-10) Didn't attend
Ned Elliott, EquiCo Capital Markets
Michael Greenberg, Usite.net
Bryon Thot"'. Lucent
Steve KUnkr" AT&T
Dan Head, Sportsline.com
Liz samch1k. Sta,Med;a Networks
Yupi.com presenter
Tonight's guest speakers
Tom Eggleston, AutoNation.com
Please rank and comment on the eGroups.com site
Have you downloaded files from the site? __ (yes/no)
Will you stay as a member after fmishing the course? __ (yes/no)
THANKS - Please provide a mailing address for me to mail this graded exam and
your finkl paper to you (J will also include a personalized letter of recommendation.
Contact me by phone ifyou need it immediately).
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