RIT Expert Examines What’s Next for E-Commerce Survivors

Not long ago, the e-commerce revolution seemed to represent the future for all types of businesses. The outcome of that revolution proved to be much different than many expected, so what will be its long-term impact on the business scene?

Eugene Fram, the J. Warren McClure Research Professor of Marketing at Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Business, will address that issue during the sixth biennial J. Warren McClure Lecture. His presentation, E-Commerce Survivors: Finding Value Amid Broken Dreams, will be 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science auditorium on RIT’s Henrietta campus.

Fram recalls how, at the time of the last McClure lecture two years ago, e-commerce devotees were urging business buyers to use e-commerce venues, and consumers were being urged to move out of the stores and onto the Internet.

"Neither group responded in sufficient numbers," he says. "An e-commerce boom, supported by venture capital, quickly turned into an e-commerce bust, leaving broken dreams for thousands of risk takers."

How will e-commerce evolve in the next five years? What types of firms will rise above the legion of companies with broken dreams? Based on his recent research and analysis, Fram will address these questions and offer six predictions that will have wide management implications.

Robert Boehner, formerly vice president of worldwide channel development at Xerox and RIT distinguished lecturer in management, and Scott Fox, vice president of marketing at Logisoft, will offer brief responses to the lecture. A question-and-answer session and reception will follow.

To attend the J.Warren McClure Lecture and receive parking information, call Donna Slavin at RIT’s College of Business at 475-2199, or e-mail dlsbbu@rit.edu.