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EBUS301 – DIGITAL BUSINESS

ASSIGNMENT 1 (50% of overall module mark)

DEADLINE: Friday 17^th November at 2pm

TITLE: Developing a digital business strategy for [insert chosen company name]

Summary

You are tasked with writing a 2500-word report that formulates a digital business strategy for a company (or institution) of your choice, using the Jelassi et al. (2020) digital business strategy framework as a primary guide. You must use the same company throughout.

The brief

Digital business strategies must be agile in the face of external changes. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation across various sectors. Other global uncertainties such as climate change, political uncertainty, economic crises like the cost-of-living crisis, and emerging Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g., blockchain and AI etc.) pose both opportunities and threats. These can influence a firm's competitive standing within its industry.

Organisations are actively seeking digital business solutions to refine their operations. This could involve innovating products and/or services to appeal to a new customer segment or implementing digital tools for enhanced internal or supply chain management.

Your task is to develop a digital business strategy for your chosen company, using the Jelassi et al. (2020) digital business strategy framework (see week 1 lecture). Your report should employ strategic frameworks (e.g. TOWS matrix) and theories discussed in the module, aimed at supporting senior decision-making at the company.

Report structure

Your assignment should be structured as follows (please note the marks available in each section – there are 100 marks available in total):

Executive Summary (300 words) – 10 marks: A brief outline of the entire report (you do not need to include references in this section).

1.Introduction and Rationale (200 words) – 10 marks: Briefly introduce your selected company, the industry in which they compete, and why you chose it.

2. Digital Business Analysis and Strategy Development (1000 words) – 42 marks (12 marks for TOWS framework and 30 Marks for supporting discussion): This section aligns with Steps 1-2 of the Jelassi et al. (2020) framework. You should include a TOWS analysis in the main body of the text to present your proposed strategies (this is not included in word count, max 600 words). The supporting discussion should expand upon your analysis and some of the strategy ideas proposed in the framework.

3. Digital Business Strategy Implementation (800 words) – 32 marks: This section aligns with Steps 2-3 of the Jelassi et al. (2020) framework and should focus on the practical considerations of strategy adoption. Choose one or more of your strategic ideas proposed in part 2. You should discuss any risks or ethical concerns and you should draw on relevant theories to support your points (e.g. Diffusion of Innovations theory).

4.Conclusion (200 words) – 6 marks: Summarise key insights and recommend courses of action based on your analysis that would help support executive decision making.

Please note any other frameworks/tables you use WILL be included in the word count.

Additional notes:

You are responsible for ensuring that you select a company which can provide you with enough relevant data to execute the brief fully.

It is essential that you do wider reading/research to develop your thinking on these topics. You should reference high quality, source material throughout. The sources that you reference should include a good amount of academic journal papers. Remember to score highly you must demonstrate evidence that you have read beyond the basic texts (core textbooks). You should also make use of relevant business databases that you can access through the UoL library (e.g. Mintel Marketing reports, FAME financial database, Scopus for academic literature).

Word count and page numbers: Your overall assignment must be below 2500 words (excluding reference list and headings and TOWS framework). This includes all other tables, chart labels etc. Staying within the word count will push you to demonstrate the succinct (compact) writing skills that are required in writing executive summaries in industry. The report should have page numbers inserted and the main body of text should ideally be formatted justified (See Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Justified text format button

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Whilst you are encouraged to discuss assignments with staff and peers, the final write-up must be your own work.

Use of Generative AI - Please see UoL guidance notes: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/centre-for-innovation-in-education/digital-education/generative-ai-teach-learn-assess/acceptable-unacceptable-use-gai-guidance-staff-students.pdf

Lateness Penalty: Five percentage points shall be deducted from the assessment mark for each working day after the due date up to a maximum of five working days; however, the mark will not be reduced below the pass mark for the assessment (40%). Work assessed at below 40% will not be penalised for late submission of up to five working days. Work received more than five working days after the submission deadline will receive a mark of zero.

Other Penalties

• Up to -10% of total marks for poor academic practice (e.g. poor referencing). This is expected to be in the Harvard style. Please see the university’s full Academic Integrity Policy (AIP) student guidance for more info. https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment/appendix_L_cop_assess_annex1.pdf

• -3% of total marks for every 100 words over the word count.

• -5% of the overall mark available for the piece of work will be deducted if a report is presented in a form that makes it difficult to read e.g. if not word-processed, in a font of less than 12 pts.

• The above can be found in the ULMS Student Handbook.

Submission of Assignment: Your work must be submitted via the Turnitin box on the Canvas site under the assessment folder (this will be set up well in advance of the deadline by the student support office). There is no hardcopy submission for this assignment.

MARKING CRITERIA