Abstract

As eCommerce grows in importance, the use of information technologies, such as web sites and corporate extranets is increasingly customer facing. As a result, an increased integration between IT and business-marketing strategic functions is necessary in businesses. An important consequence of this integration is that students, employees, and managers must be trained to operate in this cross-disciplinary business world. We review the historical role of technology in businesses, arguing that the role of technology in organizations has evolved from a paradigm in which technology served primarily as a support function to being a critical business function that cannot be properly executed without an understanding of consumer behavior and marketing strategy. We suggest that business schools need to redefine disciplinary boundaries, allow cross-disciplinary student "majors," and rethink their missions. New research streams and courses must be developed, and time-to-publication windows need to be shorter for research findings to be relevant to the "New Economy."

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