A fit-gap analysis of e-business curricula vs. industry need

• Main Authors: DAVIS, S., SIAU, Keng, DHENUVAKONDA, K.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2003
• Subjects: Databases and Information Systems; Digital Communications and Networking
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/9391; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/10391/viewcontent/953460.953497.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The alignment of e-business academic programs with the e-business market is examined using a fit-gap analysis. Two high-end business schools, ranked independently by US News and Business Week, were chosen as sample. A total of 391 different e-commerce courses were identified, which were classified into 24 categories. Out of these, there are two broad and distinct tracks in e-business curricula, with one track paving the way for an e-business career with a prevailing focus on the business aspect and the other track leading to a career focusing on technology and Web-based systems development. Industry demand for e-business professionals and the skill sets required for the jobs was assessed by conducting a content analysis of e-business job listings on major US Web job sites. A fit-gap analysis was accomplished to identify industry needs that are being met by the e-business curricula and those industry demands that are not covered.