Raffi Amit, the director of the Wharton e-Business Initiative, has known for some time that business education is on the brink of reformation -- and after extensive work, his efforts have finally come to fruition. The Wharton School's e-Business Initiative has announced a partnership with Internet Capital Group, a leading business-to-business company. ICG, a holding company for B2B projects, works to acquire and build e-commerce companies. As the Director of the WeBI, Amit has seen the impact of the Internet on business and has worked diligently with Wharton to expand its knowledge of the e-business industry. "We have realized that in order to do rigorous research in any business, we can no longer sit alone in our offices and write textbooks," the Marketing Professor said. "We need to engage a leading partitioner in a meaningful way." The alliance, which became official on November 29, will accelerate WeBI's objectives, enable ICG to utilize Wharton resources and help develop and strengthen its partner network. "We sought a partnership with ICG because this business builder embodies the vision, leadership, talent and collective knowledge required for a serious dialogue about the future of business, particularly in the B2B marketplace," Wharton Dean Patrick Harker said in a statement. ICG has over 70 partner firms including Blackboard Inc. and VerticalNet Inc. Since 1996, ICG has worked with its partners to develop successful business strategies and operations. ICG is a Safeguard company like the Redleaf Group, another business with which Penn currently has a partnership. And ICG is run by the son of Robert Fox -- a prominent Penn Trustee. In the past several months, however, ICG has been rapidly losing money. But Wharton hopes to use the business expertise of ICG and research collaboratively with the company on e-business issues. Wharton approached ICG last summer and, after a few months of ongoing dialogue, announced formal ties to the B2B company. According to ICG spokeswoman Michelle Strykowski, the proposal for such a relationship opened the door for a "win-win situation." "[The partnership] married the best business school with the best B2B working experience," Strykowski said. ICG and WeBI will work together researching the B2B industry and tap each other for industry knowledge and experience. Wharton also received a $1.5 million gift for e-business research from the CEO of ICG, Walter Buckley. Amit declined to comment as to whether the school expected future contributions from the company. Amit stressed the mutual benefits of the alliance. "It's a unique partnership between academics and business," he said. "We envision a deep, ongoing relationship with ICG and its partner companies." And while Wharton has a host of corporate sponsors, Amit stressed that the school's relationship with ICG will be more of a working partnership. "The engagement goes beyond financial contributions," Amit said. "It involves interaction with executives from ICG for professors and students." For ICG, the significance of a relationship with Wharton extends beyond accelerating the WeBI program. "B2B is not a fad, it's changing the way business is run," Strykowski said. "The partnership with Wharton enables all businesses to realize the permanent benefits of the Internet." Noting the long-term potential of the B2B industry, Strykowski mused that "Wharton probably wouldn't jump on every bandwagon."
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