LEARNINGOBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

1.1 Understand why it is important to study e-commerce.

1.2 Define e-commerce, understand how e-commerce differs from e-business,
identify the primary technological building blocks underlying e-commerce,
and recognize major current themes in e-commerce.
1.3 Identify and describe the unique features of e-commerce technology and
discuss their business significance.
1.4 Describe the major types of e-commerce.
1.5 Understand the evolution of e-commerce from its early years to today
1.6 Describe the major themes underlying the study of e-commerce
CreatorsandtheCreatorEconomy
THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES: WHY YOU SHOULD STUDY E-COMMERCE
INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE
WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN E-COMMERCE AND E-BUSINESS
 TECHNOLOGICAL BUILDING BLOCKS UNDERLYING E-COMMERCE: THE
INTERNET, THE WEB, AND THE MOBILE PLATFORM

Internet worldwide network of computer networks built on common standards

The World Wide Web (the Web) is an information system that runs on the Internet
infrastructure
TECHNOLOGICAL BUILDING BLOCKS UNDERLYING E-COMMERCE: THE
INTERNET, THE WEB, AND THE MOBILE PLATFORM

Mobile platform provides the ability to access

the Internet from a variety of mobile devices
such as smartphones, tablets, and ultra
lightweight laptop computers
TECHNOLOGICAL BUILDING BLOCKS UNDERLYING E-COMMERCE: THE
INTERNET, THE WEB, AND THE MOBILE PLATFORM
Information asymmetry
any disparity in relevant UNIQUE FEATURES OF E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY richness
market information among the complexity and
parties in a transaction content of a message
Marketplace physical space you visit interactivity
in order to transact technology that allows for
ubiquity two-way communication
available just about between merchant
everywhere and at all times and consumer and
marketspace among consumers
marketplace extended reach
beyond traditional the total number of
boundaries and removed users or customers
from a temporal and that an e-commerce
geographic location business can obtain
information density
universal standards the total amount and
standards that are quality of information
shared by all nations available to all market
around the world participants
Personalization: the targeting of marketing customization
messages to specific individuals by adjusting changing the delivered product or service
the message to a person’s name, interests, based on a user’s preferences or prior behavior
and past purchases
UNIQUE FEATURES OF E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

Business-to-consumer
(B2C) e-commerce online
businesses selling to
individual consumers
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

Business-to-business
(B2B) e-commerce online
businesses selling to other
businesses
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

business-to-business
(B2B) e-commerce
online businesses selling
to other businesses

Consumer-to consumer (C2C)

e-commerce consumers selling to
other consumers with the help of
an online market make

Mobile e-commerce
(m-commerce) use of mobile
devices to enable online
transactions

Social e-commerce
e-commerce enabled by
social networks and online
social relationships
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

Local e-commerce
e-commerce that is focused
on engaging consumers based
on their current geographic
location
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

Local e-commerce
e-commerce that is focused on
engaging consumers based on their
current geographic location
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

Local e-commerce
e-commerce that is focused
on engaging consumers
based on their current
geographic location
TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

E-COMMERCE: A BRIEF HISTORY

In the late 1970s, a pharmaceutical firm named
Baxter Healthcare initiated a primitive form of B2B e-
commerce by using a telephone-based modem that
permitted hospitals to reorder supplies from Baxter
by the mid-1980s, more than 3 million had been
deployed, with more than 13,000 different services
available, including
ticket agencies, travel services, retail products, and
online banking
E-COMMERCE 1995–2000: INVENTION
we will say e-commerce begins in 1995, following the
appearance of the first banner advertisements
placed by AT&T, Volvo, Sprint, and others on
Hotwired.com, the first commercial online magazine
in late October 1994 and the first sales of banner ad
space by Netscape and Infoseek in early 1995
E-COMMERCE 2001–2006: CONSOLIDATION
E-COMMERCE 2007–PRESENT: REINVENTION
Web 2.0 set of applications and technologies that
enable user-generated content
 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE

E-COMMERCE: A BRIEF HISTORY

E-COMMERCE 1995–2000: INVENTION
E-COMMERCE 2001–2006: CONSOLIDATION
E-COMMERCE 2007–PRESENT: REINVENTION
Web 2.0 set of applications and technologies that
enable user-generated content

ASSESSING E-COMMERCE: SUCCESSES, SURPRISES, AND FAILURES

 UNDERSTANDING E-COMMERCE: ORGANIZING THEMES

CAREERS IN E-COMMERCE
TECHNOLOGY: INFRASTRUCTURE
BUSINESS: BASIC CONCEPTS
SOCIETY: TAMING THE JUGGERNAUT

POSITION: CATEGORY SPECIALIST IN THE E-COMMERCE RETAIL PROGRAM

You will manage the performance of your category of products across the firm’s websites and apps. More specifically,
you will:
• Manage and monitor the introduction of new products and establish processes to ensure they are available at
stores and online.
• Improve the online user experiences of browsing and searching for products.
• Manage item and category pages including graphics, customer reviews, and content. Find new ways in which our
customers can discover products online.
• Optimize the pricing of our products, and benchmark competitors’ prices.
• Analyze product performance, identify key trends, and suggest how the firm can improve its revenues, customer
service, and margins.
• Work with cross-functional teams in marketing, customer relationship management, and supply chain management
to execute initiatives to optimize category performance.
 UNDERSTANDING E-COMMERCE: ORGANIZING THEMES

CAREERS IN E-COMMERCE

TECHNOLOGY: INFRASTRUCTURE
BUSINESS: BASIC CONCEPTS
SOCIETY: TAMING THE JUGGERNAUT
QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree with a strong academic background

• An entrepreneurial attitude
• Strong attention to detail
• Strong communication and teamwork skills
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, face challenges, and solve problems