Meeting Agenda

Topic: Managing Retail Transaction Costs with IT

Abstract -- The talk will focus on how retailers can manage retail transaction costs and generate customer value using information technology, and discuss various IT-supported business models retailers can adopt. The talk will present a framework for transaction cost management, as well as examples from case studies and customer interviews to illustrate the framework.

Biography -- Dr. Alina Chircu is an Assistant Professor of Information, Risk and Operations Management at the McCombs School of Business, the University of Texas at Austin. She holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems. Dr. Chircu has been teaching in the MBA, MPA, undergraduate and PhD programs in the McCombs School of Business since 2001. She has previously taught MBA courses on e-commerce, e-business and decision support systems at the University of Minnesota and undergraduate information systems courses at the University of Iowa. Dr. Chircu has consulted for several private and public organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Since moving to Austin, she has been actively involved with local companies as a moderator for several annual AITP CIO Panels and through her participation in the Austin CIO Roundtable. Her current research interests focus on the business value of electronic and mobile information technologies for business and government. Her work has been published in Communications of the ACM, Journal of Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Electronic Markets, and Electronic Government, as well as presented at many conferences. In 2003, Dr. Chircu won the Best Paper Award at a prestigious information systems conference for her research on IT investments in the public sector. In her previous research she was part of an European-wide research team investigating the design of third generation (3G) wireless communication systems in Europe.

Please spread the word and mark your calendars for this event. All are welcome whether you are currently an IEEE member or not. For more information, contact Rajiv Garg of the Austin Computer Society <Rajiv.Garg@ni.com>

National Instruments, 11500 North MoPac, Building C, room 1S15, Austin, TX 78759; see map.

From MoPac, exit at Duval (one exit south of Parmer). If coming from south of Duval, take the U-turn at Duval. If coming from north of Duval just go through the light at Duval.

Stay to the right on the southbound MoPac feeder road, pass the apartment complex, and take the first National Instruments entrance at 11500 North MoPac. Follow the entrance road across the small bridge and take the first right to get to the Building C parking area.

You can park in the garage or visitor lot on your right.

Conference suite 1S15, which is on the first floor. Walk through the lobby and elevator area towards the back of the building. Please sign in when entering.