| Business colleges and universities have introduced electronic commerce (EC) programs at unprecedented rates. Concern has arisen regarding the content quality of such programs. This multimethod study attempted to explore the status of EC business education in the United States. Practitioner and academician preferences were identified and compared for two variables, program and curriculum content.;A Delphi panel of 30 "experts" was surveyed through a series of three questionnaires. The first generated a list of essential skill and knowledge elements that should be included in EC programs. The remaining rounds asked respondents to rate program and content variables on a five-point Likert-like scale. Group mean (level of importance/appropriateness) and standard deviation (level of group agreement) were determined for each item Items were then ranked per means. Graduate degree programs, specifically M.B.A. programs, were preferred in traditional business fields with concentrations in EC. Content preferences tended to focus on EC specific elements and tended to be information technology related.;Fifty-one EC business programs offered by a sample of 100 AACSB-accredited colleges and universities were studied through content analysis. Most were graduate degree programs specifically in EC. Most were M.B.A. programs. Content preferences, based on frequency counts, tended to be for non-EC specific elements. Required courses tended to focus on management related topics while elective courses tended to focus on information technology topics.;Descriptive analysis was used to compare and contrast practitioner and academician preferences. Both believed graduate degree programs, specifically M.B.A. programs, were most appropriate. There was disagreement regarding preferred program titles. Disagreement was most pronounced for the content variable. Of the skill and knowledge elements that practitioners rated "Important," only 15 percent were included in the EC business programs. M.B.A. programs were found to provide the greatest coverage of the "Important" elements, however, this depended on the elective courses selected. Overall, the differences outweigh the similarities, indicating that a perception gap exists between the two stakeholder groups. |
