A Teaching Case Study on E-Customer Chain

This paper aims at developing a teaching case of electronic-customer (e-customer). The U.S. commercial airline is used as an example to show how to develop e-customer chain model and apply it to the real industry in a classroom setting; and therefore, enhance the teaching of customer chain in a classroom. Specifically, first, an e-customer chain model in the commercial airline industry is developed to show how to integrate Information Technology (IT) into customer chain. Secondly, the e-business solution items are decomposed and derived based on the developed e-customer chain model. Thirdly, analysis of these e-business items is further conducted for the top ten dominant airline companies in the U.S. airline industry. The finding shows that the average and maximum levels of e-business implementation for these ten companies are 60.6 and 68. This teaching case study can be an educational tool of ecustomer chain to use in an e-commerce or an MIS course.