PROJECT FILE

OF
E-COMMERCE
ON
Commercialization of
E-Commerce

(SUBMITTED FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER’S

DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION)
(SESSION2009-2011)

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMIITED BY:

Miss. Shelly Khurana Bharat
(Asst. Proff. Mba) 09/Mba/07

SATPRIYA GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS,

MDU, ROHTAK
 Introduction
OF
E-COMMERCE
 ORIGIN OF E-COMMERCE

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or e-commerce, consists of the buying

and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other
computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with
widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing
on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online
transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and
automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide
Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range
of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices and telephones as well.A large percentage of
electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to
premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of
physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is
sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the
World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business

or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to
specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that is
conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-
consumer or B2C. This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by companies such as
Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where the buyer is directly
online to the seller's computer usually via the internet. There is no intermediary service. The sale
and purchase transaction is completed electronically and interactively in real-time such as
Amazon.com for new books. If an intermediary is present, then the sale and purchase transaction
is called electronic commerce such as eBay.com.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists
of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business
transactions.
 DEFINE E-COMMERCE

One only has to pick up virtually any newspaper or business-related magazine to see a story
about some facet of e-commerce. Businesses are incorporating e-commerce into strategic plans,
business schools are incorporating it into their curriculum, and consulting and software firms are
marketing electronic commerce “solutions”. So what exactly is electronic commerce? We define
E-Commerce as :-

“The use of electronic transmission mediums to engage in the exchange, including buying and
selling, of products and services requiring transportation, either physically or digitally, from
location to location”
Electronic commerce involves all sizes of transaction bases. As one would expect, electronic
commerce requires the digital transmission of transaction information. While transactions are
conducted via electronic devices, they may be transported using either traditional physical
shipping channels, such as a ground delivery service, or digital mechanisms, such as the
download of a product from the internet.
Those readers familiar with traditional electronic data interchange system (EDI) may be
questioning what makes electronic commerce different from the EDI systems that have been in
place for the past 20-30 years. EDI is a subset of electronic commerce. A primary difference
between the two is that electronic commerce encompasses a broader commerce environment than
EDI. Traditional EDI systems allow pre-established trading partners to electronically exchange
business data. The vast majority of traditional EDI systems are centered around the purchasing
function. These EDI systems are generally costly to implement. The high entry cost precluded
many small and mid-sized businesses from engaging in EDI. Electronic commerce allows a
marketplace to exist where buyers and sellers can “meet” and transact with one another.

The Internet and the WWW provide the enabling mechanisms to foster the growth of electronic
commerce. The actual and projected growth rates and uses of the Internet, discussed below,
indicate that electronic commerce is no passing fad, but rather a fundamental change in the way
in which businesses interact with one another and their consumers. One only needs to look at
Boeing and General Electric. Prior to its web-based site, only 10 percent of Boeing’s customers
used its EDI system to order replacement parts. In 1998, Boeing reported that it received $100
million in order of spare parts through its web site. General Electric Company’s 1997 Internet
activity clearly demonstrates that electronic commerce can provide substantial, tangible benefits
to a firm when implemented properly. In 1997, General Electric purchased approximately $1
billion worth of supplies using the Internet. Some benefits that General Electric has realized due
to its Internet procurement system are a 50 percent reduction in the purchasing cycle and a 30
percent reduction in processing costs.

Electronic Business

The term electronic commerce is restricting, however, and does not fully encompass the true
nature of the many types of information exchanges occurring via telecommunication devices.
The term electronic commerce also includes the exchange of information not directly related to
the actual buying and selling of goods. Increasingly, businesses are using electronic mechanisms
to distribute information and provide customer support. These activities are not “commerce”
activities; they are “business” activities. Thus, the term electronic business is broader and may
eventually replace the term electronic commerce. Although the term electronic commerce is used
throughout this text, many of the activities described are more accurately classified as electronic
business.
 History

Early development

Originally, electronic commerce was identified as the facilitation of commercial transactions

electronically, using technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds
Transfer (EFT). These were both introduced in the late 1970s, allowing businesses to send
commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically. The growth and
acceptance of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 1980s
were also forms of electronic commerce. Another form of e-commerce was the airline
reservation system typified by Sabre in the USA and Travicom in the UK.

From the 1990s onwards, electronic commerce would additionally include enterprise resource
planning systems (ERP), data mining and data warehousing.

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web browser and transformed an academic
telecommunication network into a worldwide everyman everyday communication system called
internet/www. Commercial enterprise on the Internet was strictly prohibited by NSF until 1995.
[1]
Although the Internet became popular worldwide around 1994 with the adoption of Mosaic
web browser, it took about five years to introduce security protocols and DSL allowing continual
connection to the Internet. By the end of 2000, many European and American business
companies offered their services through the World Wide Web. Since then people began to
associate a word "ecommerce" with the ability of purchasing various goods through the Internet
using secure protocols and electronic payment services.
 Timeline

• 1979: Michael Aldrich invented online shopping.

]
• 1981: Thomson Holidays, UK is first B2B online shopping.
• 1982: Minitel was introduced nationwide in France by France Telecom and used for
online ordering.
• 1984: Gateshead SIS/Tesco is first B2C online shopping and Mrs Snowball, 72, is the
first online home shopper
• 1985: Nissan UK sells cars and finance with credit checking to customers online from
dealers' lots.
• 1987: Serge begins to provide software and shareware authors means to sell their
products online through an electronic Merchant account.
• 1990: Tim Berners-Lee writes the first web browser, World Wide Web, using a NeXT
computer.
• 1994: Netscape releases the Navigator browser in October under the code name Mozilla.
Pizza Hut offers online ordering on its Web page. The first online bank opens. Attempts
to offer flower delivery and magazine subscriptions online. Adult materials also become
commercially available, as do cars and bikes. Netscape 1.0 is introduced in late 1994 SSL
encryption that made transactions secure.
• 1995: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com and the first commercial-free 24 hour, internet-
only radio stations, Radio HK and NetRadio start broadcasting. Dell and Cisco begin to
aggressively use Internet for commercial transactions. eBay is founded by computer
programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb.
• 1998: Electronic postal stamps can be purchased and downloaded for printing from the
Web.
• 1999: Business.com sold for US $7.5 million to e-companies, which was purchased in
1997 for US $149,000. The peer-to-peer filesharing software Napster launches. ATG
Stores launches to sell decorative items for the home online.
• 2000: The dot-com bust.
• 2002: eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion.Niche retail companies CSN Stores and
NetShops are founded with the concept of selling products through several targeted
domains, rather than a central portal.
• 2003: Amazon.com posts first yearly profit.
• 2007: Business.com acquired by R.H. Donnelley for $345 million.
• 2009: Zappos.com acquired by Amazon.com for $928 million. Retail Convergence,
operator of private sale website RueLaLa.com, acquired by GSI Commerce for $180
million, plus up to $170 million in earn-out payments based on performance through
2012.
• 2010: Groupon reportedly rejects a $6 billion offer from Google. Instead, the group
buying websites plans to go ahead with an IPO in mid-2011
• 2011: US eCommerce and Online Retail sales projected to reach $197 billion, an increase
of 12 percent over 2010. Quidsi.com, parent company of Diapers.com, acquired by
Amazon.com for $500 million in cash and plus $45 million in debt and other obligations.]
 Business applications

An example of an automated online assistant on a merchandising website.

Some common applications related to electronic commerce are the following:

• Document automation in supply chain and logistics

• Domestic and international payment systems
• Enterprise content management
• Group buying
• Automated online assistants
• Instant messaging
• Newsgroups
• Online shopping and order tracking
• Online banking
• Online office suites
• Shopping cart software
• Teleconferencing
• Electronic tickets
 E-commerce types

E-commerce types represent a range of various schemas of transactions which are distinguished
according to their participants.

• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
• Business-to-Employee (B2E)
• Business-to-Government (B2G) (also known as Business to Administration or B2A)
• Business-to-Machines (B2M)
• Business-to-Manager (B2M)
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
• Consumer-to-Consumer (С2C)
• Citizen-to-Government (also known as Consumer-to-Administration or C2A)
• Government-to-Business (G2B)
• Government-to-Citizen (G2C)
• Government-to-Employee (G2E)
• Government-to-Government (G2G)
• Manager-to-Consumer (M2C)
• Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
 OPEN SOURCE E-COMMERCE SOFTWARES

• List of Open Source E-commerce Software

• E-business
• Brick and mortar business
• Bricks and clicks
• Dot-com company
• Electronic money
• Internet business
• Mobile commerce
• Paid content
• Social commerce
• Online shopping
• Online marketplace
• B2B e-Marketplace
• Comparison of shopping cart software
• Non-Store Retailing
• Internet Economy
• Digital economy
• Virtual economy
• Multichannel ecommerce
 Advantages of E-commerce
The key strengths of using Internet for businesses include the following:-
1. 24 * 7 operation
Round the clock operation is an expensive proposition in the ‘brick-and-mortar’ world,
while it is natural in the ‘click-and-conquer’ world.
2. Global Reach
The net being inherently global, reaching global customers is relatively easy on the net
compared to the world of bricks.
3. Cost of acquiring, serving and retaining customers
It is relatively cheaper to acquire new customers over the net; thanks to 24 * 7 operations
and its global reach. Through innovative tools of ‘push’ technology, it is also possible to
retain customers’ loyalty with minimal investments.
4. Disintermediation
Using the Internet, one can directly approach the customers and suppliers, cutting down
on the number of levels and in the process, cutting down the costs.
5. Improved customer service to your clients
It results in higher satisfaction and more sales.
6. A technology based customer interface
In a brick-and-mortar business, customers conduct transactions either face-to-face or over
the phone with the store clerks, account managers, or other individuals. In contrast, the
customer interface in the electronic environment is a ‘screen-to-face’ interaction. A well
designed ‘screen-to-customer’ interface has the potential to both increase sales and
decrease costs.
7. Power to provide the ‘best of both the worlds
It benefits the traditional business side-by-side with the Internet tools.
8. The customer controls the interaction
At most websites, the customer is in control during screen-to-face interaction, in that the
web largely employs a ‘self service’ model for managing commerce or community-based
interaction. The customer controls the search process, the time spent on various sites, the
degree of price/product comparison, the people with whom he or she comes in contact,
 and the decision to buy. In a face-to-face interchange, the control can rest with either the
buyer/seller or the community member.
9. Knowledge of customer behavior
While the customer controls the interaction, the firm has unprecedented access to observe
and track individual consumer behavior. Companies, through a third-party measurement
firm can track a host of behavior on websites visited, length of stays on a site, page views
on a site, contents of wish lists and shopping carts, purchases, dollar amounts of
purchases, repeat purchases behavior, conversion rates of visitors who have completed
transactions and other metrics. This level of customer behavior tracking, in contrast with
tracking consumer attitudes, knowledge or behavioral intentions, is not possible in the
brick-and-mortar world. Armed with this information, companies can provide one-to-one
customization of their offerings.
10. Network economics
In information intensive industries, a key competitive battleground centers on the
emergence of industry-standard products, services, components, and or architecture.
Network effects, as described by Metcalfe’s law, can best be expressed as the situation
where the value of a product or service rises as a function of the number of other users
who are using the product. A classic example is the fax machine of other people who
adopt the technology. A key characteristic of network’s economic is positive feedback,
that is, as the installed base grows, more and more users are likely to adopt the
technology because of the installed base. A key result of network effects and positive
feedback is ‘increasing return’ economies as compared to the traditional decreasing-
returns model often associated with the brick-and-mortar world.
11. An extended enterprises is easy to build
In today’s world every enterprises is part of the ‘connected economy’; as such, you need
to extend your enterprise all the way to your suppliers and business partners like
distributors, retailers and ultimately your end-customers. The Internet provides an
effective way to extend your enterprise beyond the narrow confines of your own
organization. Tools like ERP, SCM, and CRM, can easily be deployed over the Internet,
permitting amazing efficiency in time needed to market, customer loyalty, on-time
delivery and eventually profitability.
 Commercialization of E-Commerce

The internet is being increasingly utilized in the medical field as a source of information for both
healthcare professionals and lay people alike. It must, therefore, be seen as a key channel for
disseminating information about illnesses, such as colorectal cancer (CRC) amongst patients and
their relatives. Little research, however, has systematically examined factors, such as reading
difficulty, bioethics and, of prime importance, the accuracy and credibility of the information
about CRC [1]. The quantity, quality and relevance of information on the internet varies greatly,
primarily because the increasing volume of information about CRC is being subjected to
little or no quality control [1]. High quality CRC information on the internet must: 1 provide
accurate information regarding aetiology, management and prognosis; 2 include the risks and
benefits of all interventions; 3 ensure the use of plain language; 4 should be easily accessible to
the segment of the population at risk of CRC [2,3].The outcome in a majority of the websites on
CRC is variable on the literacy level of the target population. Moreover, the available
information pool is increasing at a dramatic rate, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for
healthcare consumers to retrieve accurate and concise information that is embedded amidst the
overwhelming available information. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the
internet as a source of information for CRC and the impact of commercialization on these
information.

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the internet as a source of
information for colorectal cancer (CRC).

Method

Six of the most common search engines (Yahoo, Google, MSN search, Alta Vista, Excite and
Lycos) were used for the search of the generic term ‘CRC’. First 300 links were analysed and
classified by information type, provider, readership and commercial orientation.

Results

The average time delay was 1.70 s before matches were located. A total of 3.2827 million
matches on CRC were found using the six search engines ranging from 700 (Excite) to 1 417 000
(Lycos) websites. Approximately 50% of the links were based on information from textbooks or
governmental websites. Commercial companies giving information about private hospitals and
products provided over 50% of the websites on CRC. The distribution of target readers was
uneven,although a majority of websites were delivering CRC information to public and patients.
Readability of information was difficult to comprehend by the public.
Conclusion

The internet is becoming an essential tool for disseminating information about CRC to
consumers.Half of the links on CRC are commercially oriented,containing information on goods
or private healthservices. Less than 1% information is being provided by professional societies.
To provide relevant CRC information,key consensus criteria for evaluating healthcarerelated
websites have to be established. There is an urgent
need for CRC information on the internet to be regulated through the establishment of
governmentfunded organizations (e.g. NHS) or professional societies (e.g. ACPGBI).

Type

This includes textbook or the internet course, reference,article or abstract, index, congress or
convention and others. Sites that were intended to educate users about CRC were classified as
‘textbook’ or an ‘interactive internet course’. References to colorectal terminology were
classified as ‘references’. Internet publications with scientific content were classified an ‘articles’
or ‘abstract’.Links to index servers on specific CRC topics were classified as ‘index’. All
information sites relating to medical congress or conventions were classified as such. The
remaining links were put into the category of ‘others’.

Provider

This was classified into institutions, universities, NHS trusts, companies, journals, hospitals and
healthcare providers. We classified all governmental organizations and professional societies as
an ‘institutions’.

Target readers

Based on the information provided, web pages were either classified as intended for doctors and
healthcare workers or intended for patients and the public.

Commercial orientation

Links containing specific information on goods and services of companies or commercial

homepages were classified as commercially oriented. The quality control criteria, including
authorship, attribution and currency were developed and explained in Table 1. These criteria
can be used to mark the value of link on CRC to disseminate information in healthcare
consumers. We devised a wide range of inclusion criteria based on the general principles of a
web link construction and its reliability, and analysed the first 10 websites from each search
engine according to this criterion.

A total of 3.2827 million matches on CRC were found in six search engines, ranging from 571
000 sites from Yahoo [6], 379 000 sites from Google [7], 576 000 sites from Alta Vista [8], 339
447 sites from MSN [9] search and 1 417 000 sites from Lycos [10] but only 700 web links from
Excite [11]. The Lycos was the site providing the maximum links (43% of the total) on CRC,
while Excite search gave only 0.02% of the total links. Out of these websites, only 1800 (first
300 links from each search engine) were analysed and included in this review. After entering the
key word, the average time delay was 1.26 s for Yahoo, 0.06 s for Google (the fastest), 1.01 s
for Alta Vista, 3 s for MSN search, 2 s for Lycos and 3.12 s for Excite. The first page of each
search engine was set to show 10 web links on CRC, and five of these links were shared by all of
them (Table 2). Approximately 50% Table 1 Publications quality criteria. Content Reliability,
accuracy, scope and depth Authorship Authors, contributors, affiliation, credentials Source
Credibility, trustworthiness Attribution References and source for contents Readership Doctors,
nurses, healthcare workers, public Ease of use Usability, navigability, functionality Design
Layout, presentation, colour schemes, appeal Age of study Dates on which paper posted and
updated Access Easy access, registered access, free access Disclosure Website ownership,
conflict of interest,
sponsorship
their services for the management of CRC. Most of the websites were updating information for
CRC regularly.There were still, however, more than 27% websites
(http://www.cancerfightingstrategies.com) delivering 15-year-old information or information
even older than this. A majority of the websites were easily accessible, especially commercially
oriented links, like http://www.bupa.com and http://www.mayoclinic.com. Despite publishing
less reliable, complicated and commercially oriented information on CRC, all the websites
declared their ownership, conflict of interest and sponsorship
very precisely.

Discussion
Colorectal cancer is an important health issue in UK, as it is a major cause of cancer-related
mortality in the UK after lung and breast cancers [12]. The need to inform those at risk and those
who are diagnosed already has never been so important. The World Wide Web (www) is now
considered to be a key source of health information, both for the public and healthcare
rofessionals. The quality and utility of this information are being challenged because of many
factors, such as the structure of links, hyperlinks, content, authorship and linguistic
barriers. Information technology continues to advance rapidly as in accordance with Moore’s law
(Moore’s law is an empirical observation made in 1965 that the number of transistors on an
integrated circuit for minimum components cost doubles every 24 months. He is a cofounder of
Intel plc) [13]. This law predicts the doubling power of computer processing every 24 months.
The search engines are becoming increasingly useful with the introduction of advanced search
functions based on the principles of the Boolean logic [13]. An increasingly important
consideration is the lack of control over the quantity and the quality of available information on
CRC. General search engines do not rate the quality of the information stored at the referred ite.
This will continue to be a problem of quality control, as information searches will continue to
yield overwhelming amounts of information, which will be too much for both the medical
professional and the lay person to evaluate.Quality control criteria should be very strict, and
should be utilized to establish international standards for medical citation on the internet. This
will ensure that the CRC information published on the internet is accurate, evidence based and of
high quality. Based on our study, an interesting point has emerged pertaining to the increasing
commercialization of medical information on the internet. About half of the links are partially or
completely oriented commercially containing information on goods and services in addition to
information on CRC. Information on these websites is usually aimed towards patients, and
contains explicit advertisements for medical services and private clinics. Conversely, there is a
lack of representation of professional societies (e.g. Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and
Ireland and Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland) on the internet. Less
than 1% information about CRC is being provided by these organizations, and this is something
that must be remedied without delay. The quality and accuracy of information about CRC were
under scrutiny in previous studies [14]. The overall quality of the documentation on the CRC
sites was poor and very little improvement was seen over the last few years. For example, a
majority of cancer risk sites (including CRC) do not give reliable risk estimates of cancer [14].
Another important issue we picked up was the readability of CRC information on the internet.
Many websites providing CRC information used complex medical jargon that may be too
difficult for the average British/American adult and too difficult for adults with limited literacy
[1]. The unique features of the internet that could support learning should be utilized. The
internet could be used as a powerful tool for educating individuals about CRC, but the barriers of
difficult content must be addressed alongwith access and accuracy. Information technology can
play a vital role in helping patients to engage in selfcare behaviour [15]. Therefore, all healthcare
personneland public must be knowledgeable about the readability, usefulness and cultural
sensitivity of information on CRC websites, so that they can make the best use of the appropriate
internet resources. A vast majority of the websites, which we evaluated, were in the English
language. It would be of further interest to investigate the non-English healthcare sites. This
would be an important consideration, because for patients from minorities or non-English
speaking countries, information in their own language would be beneficial.

Conclusion
The internet provides a wealth of information on CRC, but it can be difficult for both healthcare
professionals and lay people to distinguish between sites that provide high quality information
because of the vast number of sites of varying quality, returned by search engines. It is the
responsibility of healthcare providers to be aware of these limitations of internet-based
information and be able to guide patients and the public to quality links to avoid confusion and
misinformation. Professional societies, such as the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain
and Ireland as also the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, also have a
responsibility to ensure they are providing such information on their websites.
Specialized reference servers such as Pub Med, Medline and NeLH continue to be the best
resources of locating peer-reviewed articles. The www is increasingly becoming a medium for
commerce and advertisement for pharmaceutical companies. To provide the most up to date,
accurate and relevant CRC information for all varieties of consumers, key consensus
criteria for evaluating healthcare-related websites haveto be established. There is an urgent need
for medical information on the internet to be regulated through the establishment of national
government-funded (e.g. NHS) organizations or professional societies (e.g. ACPGBI).
 Advantage of Commercialization

Commercialization of innovative technologies is key to the creation of high-

quality jobs, new wealth, and economic prosperity. It is also the key to the future
at the EERC. Many university-based research groups engage in research and
development (R&D). The EERC is different. Not only does it operate as a business
within a university, but the EERC is committed to the demonstration and
commercialization of its technologies. Since the late 1980s, the EERC has aggressively
marketed its technologies, borne out of its ten Centers of Excellence.

Two market forces (energy and environment) shape the business model,
expertise, and technologies of the EERC. The energy industry is focused on the
growing demand for more efficient and economical techniques for a variety of fuels; the
environmental field is challenged with the growing demand for the cleanup and control
of pollutants and other environmental hazards. Opportunities in the energy and
environmental arenas are dynamic, and the EERC anticipates tremendous growth over
the next 20 years. The aim is to secure sufficient energy; clean air and water; and
fertile, productive soils for the future.

The key to the successful EERC business model is innovation based on

partnerships and best business practices. The EERC enables its entrepreneurial
partners to cost-effectively translate breakthrough inventions into marketable products.
The success of these innovative products in the marketplace results in significant
economic, environmental, and societal benefits worldwide.

The EERC has mastered the art of leveraging research dollars by developing true
working partnerships with government, the research community, and private sector
clients from all over the globe. The majority of EERC contracts are funded by nonfederal
entities. The EERC has been perfecting this approach of leveraging federal money with
nonfederal money for more than 20 years. It is instilled in the very culture of the
organization, and it is a cornerstone of success in commercializing technologies. This
philosophy sets the EERC apart and makes it a unique professional partner.

The EERC develops intellectual property for its partners' competitive

advantage.The successful commercialization of energy and environmental technologies
requires, first and foremost, talented and passionate people, capital, effective
partnerships, market knowledge, practical experience, state-of-the-art technical
facilities, strong organizational support, and a tolerance for risk. The EERC has all of
these key components to convert intellectual property into commercial reality. The
EERC's intellectual property is the impetus for commercial partners to excel in the
competitive market.

Technology commercialization activities are facilitated through the EERC

Foundation, a nonprofit corporation formed in 1992, which provides the EERC with a
dedicated infrastructure to support its commercialization activities. The EERC
Foundation is led by an independent Board of Directors and does not report to the EERC
or UND. The Foundation's role is to house the licensing rights to EERC-developed
technologies, promote business relationships with strategic commercial partners, and
facilitate the formation of spin-off companies that will commercialize EERC-developed
technologies. The EERC and the EERC Foundation are both committed to maintaining
the confidentiality of production processes and technologies, protecting trademarks
from infringement, and obtaining worldwide patent protection for technologies.

Invention vs. Innovation

EERC Director Dr. Gerald Groenewold commonly quotes Thomas Edison who said,
"Don't invent something that nobody wants." Popular history usually gives credit to
Thomas Edison for inventing the lightbulb, Alexander Graham Bell for inventing the
telephone, and Guglielmo Marconi for inventing the radio. But the truth is they invented
none of these things. Their recognition and association with these successful
technologies are largely due to their inspired business practices. Their success and
fame resulted from their ability to cost-effectively translate inventions into marketable
products or, in other words, to be innovative. The same innovative spirit is at the heart
of the EERC. The invention of the lightbulb by Heinrich Goebel led to the innovation of
the Edison Electric Grid (a marketable product). The invention of the telephone by
Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci led to the innovation of the Bell Public Switched
Telephone Network, and the invention of radio transmission by Nikola Tesla led to the
innovation of wireless telegraphy and the opening of the world's first "wireless" factory
by Marconi.
 Limitations of Commercialization

• Inability to touch & feel the product:

Main problem in e-commerce is that consumer can not touch the product.

• Less awareness of e-commerce among people:

In village it is not so much popular because people are not aware of it.

• Less security in terms of information:

E-commerce is not that much reliable because can be easily accessible.

• Safety problem in case of E-payment:

In this, all transactions are not safe because anyone can easily derive out the credit
card number and can use it for personal use.

• Cost of technology change is high:

In this the technologies that are used are very costly and change time to time.

• Wrong information can lead to false buying:

Some time it does not provide the proper knowledge of product.

• Lack of proper commercial & legal system:

For e-commerce proper rules and regulations are not there.