The process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, or information via computer networks
EC is defined through these perspectives
- Communications: delivery of goods, services, information over networks
- Commercial (trading): buying and selling products or services
- Business process: completing business processes over electronic networks
- Service: improve quality of service and increase speed of service delivery
Learning
- Collaborative: inter- and intraorganization collaborative
- Community: provide places for community members
e-business
A broader definition of EC that includes not just the buying and selling of goods and services, but also servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organization
Pure Versus Partial EC
EC takes several forms depending on the degree of digitization (the transformation from physical to digital)
(1) the product (service) sold,
(2) the process,
(3) the delivery agent (or intermediary)
Picture 1.
The Dimensions of Electronic Commerce
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| The Dimensions of Electronic Commerce |
EC organizations
brick-and-mortar organizations
Old-economy organizations (corporations) that perform most of their business off-line, selling physical products by means of physical agents
virtual (pure-play) organizations
Organizations that conduct their business activities solely online
click-and-mortar (click-and-brick) organizations
Organizations that conduct some e-commerce activities, but do their primary business in the physical world
Where EC is conducted
electronic market (e-marketplace)
An online marketplace where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods, services, money, or information
interorganizational information systems (IOSs)
Communications system that allows routine transaction processing and information flow between two or more organizations
intraorganizational information systems
Communication systems that enable e-commerce activities to go on within individual organizations
An EC Framework—are supported by five policymaking support areas
People
- Public policy
- Marketing and advertisement
- Support services
- Business partnerships
picture 2.
A Framework for Electronic Commerce
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| A Framework for Electronic Commerce |
EC Classification
Classification by nature of the transactions or interactions
business-to-business (B2B)
E-commerce model in which all of the participants are businesses or other organizations
business-to-consumer (B2C)
E-commerce model in which businesses sell to individual shoppers
consumer-to-business (C2B)
E-commerce model in which individuals use the Internet to sell products or services to organizations or individuals seek sellers to bid on products or services they need
consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
E-commerce model in which consumers sell directly to other consumers
