Staffing and management of e-commerce programs and projects

ABSTRACT

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) personnel are instrumental in developing and maintaining electronic commerce programs and projects within firms. In spite of the dot-com bust, the number of firms developing and using e-commerce for interactions with customers and suppliers is growing. Personnel competence as individuals and as a group can be a decisive force in determining the level of success of e-commerce projects. This paper used in-depth interviews toward creating a better understanding of broad concepts and values in this area. More specifically, it examines the management and staffing of e-commerce projects in terms of how work is organized, which organizational unit governs e-commerce programs and management, how staff are assigned to projects and what skills are critical, and how outcomes are measured. Significant variance was identified in each of these areas.

REFERENCES

• 1: Aladwani, A.M. "An Exploratory Investigation of Requisite Skills Needed by Developers of e-Commerce Systems," The International Conference on Informatics Education & Research, Barcelona, Spain, December 13-15, 2002.
• 2: Burke, D. and Morrison, A. Business @ the Speed of Stupid. Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 2001.
• 3: Edwards, J.R. "Person-Job Fit: A Conceptual Integration, Literature Review, and Methodological Critique," International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, (6) 1991, pp. 283--357.
• 4: Evaristo, R. and van Fenema, P.C. 1999. "A Typology of Project Management: Emergence and Evolution of New Forms," International Journal of Project Management 17:5, pp. 275--281.
• 5: Holzschlag, M.E. (2000), "Turning Chaos into Order: managing web projects", Web Techniques, Vol. 5 (1), pp. 16--19.
• 6: Denis M. S. Lee , Eileen M. Trauth , Douglas Farwell, Critical skills and knowledge requirements of IS professionals: a joint academic/industry investigation, MIS Quarterly, v.19 n.3, p.313-340, Sept. 1995 [doi>10.2307/249598]
• 7: McKee, J. "Skill Sets for the E-Commerce Professional," Skill Sets for the E-Commerce Professional Conference, SSECP 2001, June 2001, Melbourne, Australia. Full paper obtained directly from author.
• 8: Nelson, R.R. "Educational needs as assessed by IS and end-user personnel: A survey of knowledge and skill requirements." MIS Quarterly, 15, 4, (1991), 502--525.
• 9: NUA surveys, on-line source, referenced October, 9, 2002. http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/
• 10: Roy Rada, Sharing Standards: IT skills standards, Communications of the ACM, v.42 n.4, p.21-26, April 1999 [doi>10.1145/299157.299162]
• 11: Trauth, E., Farwell, D., and Lee, D., "The IS Expectations Gap: Industry Expectations versus Academic Preparation, MIS Quarterly, 17, 1993, pp. 293--307.
• 12: U.S. Department of Commerce News, Retail E-Commerce Sales In Second Quarter 2004 Were $15.7 Billion, Up 23.1 Percent From Second Quarter 2003, Census Bureau Reports, http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/current.html>, accessed October 08, 2004.
• 13: Wade, M.R. and Parent, M. "Relationship Between Job Skills and Performance: A Study of Webmasters," Journal of Management Information Systems, 18, 3, (Winter 2001-2002), 71--93.
• 14: Wenn, A. and Sellitto, C. "Emerging Technical Standards: Towards an Identification of Skillsets Needed by Website Developers." Skill Sets for the E-Commerce Professional Conference, SSECP 2001, June 2001, Melbourne, Australia. Full paper obtained directly from author.
• 15: Werbel, J.D. and Gilliland, S.W. "Person-Environment Fit in the Selection Process," Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, (17), 1999, pp. 209--243.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.7 THE COMPUTING PROFESSION
      K.7.1 Occupations

General Terms:
Economics, Management

Keywords:
IT governance, IT personnel, e-commerce, project management, project management metrics