Lesson 1 Foundations of Electronic Commerce Papamichail George

Lesson 1 Foundations of Electronic Commerce Papamichail George, 2000 1

Learning Objectives z Define electronic commerce and describe its various categories z Distinguish between electronic markets and interorganizational systems z Describe the benefits of electronic commerce to organizations, consumers, and society z Describe the limitations of electronic commerce z Understand the forces that drive the widespread use of electronic commerce z Describe and discuss the changes that will be caused by electronic commerce z Discuss some major managerial issues regarding electronic commerce Papamichail George, 2000 2

Opening Vignettes: Intel Corp. and Happy Puppy z. Intel Corporation y. Business-to-business (B 2 B) products selling y. Customer service y. Purchasing from and dealing with suppliers z. Happy Puppy y. Retailing company’s games y. Marketing others’ games y. Business-to-consumers (B 2 C) Papamichail George, 2000 3

Definitions and Content of Field z. Electronic Commerce (EC) is where business transactions take place via telecommunications networks, especially the Internet. y. Electronic commerce describes the buying and selling of products, services, and information via computer networks including the Internet. y. The infrastructure for EC is a networked computing environment in business, home, and government. y. E-Business describes the broadest definition of EC. It includes customer service and intrabusiness tasks. It is frequently used interchangeably with EC. Papamichail George, 2000 4

Definitions and Content of Field (cont. ) y. A global networked environment is known as the Internet y. A counterpart within organizations, is called an intranet y. An extranet extends intranets so that they can be accessed by business partners. Papamichail George, 2000 5

Pure Vs. Partial Electronic Commerce y. Three dimensions xthe product (service) sold [physical / digital]; xthe process [physical / digital] xthe delivery agent (or intermediary) [physical / digital] y. Traditional commerce xall dimensions are physical y. Pure EC xall dimensions are digital y. Partial EC xall other possibilities include a mix of digital and physical dimensions Papamichail George, 2000 6

Virtual product The Dimensions of Electronic Commerce Electronic commerce areas The core of electronic commerce Digital Product Virtual process Digital process Physical Product Traditional commerce Physical agent Digital agent Papamichail George, 2000 Virtual delivery agent 7

The Electronic Commerce Field y. Figure 1. 2 shows that the EC applications are supported by infrastructures, and their implementation is dependent on four major areas (shown as supporting pillars) people, public policy, technical standards and protocols, and other organizations. y. The EC management coordinates the applications, infrastructures, and pillars. It also includes Internet marketing and advertisement. Papamichail George, 2000 8

Electronic Commerce Applications • Stocks Jobs • On-line banking • Procurement and purchasing • Malls • On-line marketing and advertising • Home shopping • Auctions • Travel • On-line publishing People: Buyers, sellers, intermediaries, services, IS people, and management Public policy, legal, and privacy issues Technical standards for documents, security, and network protocols payment Organizations: Partners, competitors, associations, government services Infrastructure (1) Common business services infrastructure (security smart cards/authentication electronic payment, directories/catalogs) (2) Messaging and information distribution infrastructure (EDI, e-mail, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) (3) (4) Multimedia content Network infrastructure and network (Telecom, cable TV publishing infrastructure wireless, Internet) (HTML, JAVA, World (VAN, WAN, LAN, Wide Web, VRML) Intranet, Extranet) (5) Interfacing infrastructure (The databases, customers, and applications) Management © Prentice Hall, 2000 A Framework for Electronic Commerce 9 9

Electronic Markets y. A market is a network of interactions and relationships where information, products, services, and payments are exchanged. y. The market handles all the necessary transactions. y. An electronic market is a place where shoppers and sellers meet electronically. y. In electronic markets, sellers and buyers negotiate, submit bids, agree on an order, and finish the execution on- or off-line. Papamichail George, 2000 10

Shopper/Purchaser Seller/Supplier Electronic commerce network (Infrastructure) Product/service information request Purchase request Payment or payment advice Response to information request Purchase acknowledgment Shipping notice Purchase/service delivery (if online) Payment acknowledgment Electronic Market (Transaction Hander) Response to fulfillment request Shipping notice Payment remittance notice Electronic transfer of funds Payment approval Electronic transfer of funds Shopper/Purchaser’s Bank Purchase fulfillment request Purchase change request Electronic transfer of funds Transaction Handler’s Bank (Automated Clearing House) Seller/Supplier’s Bank Electronic Markets © Prentice Hall, 2000 11 11

Interorganization Information Systems y. An interorganizational information system (IOS) involves information flow among two or more organizations. y. Its major objective is efficient routine transaction processing, such as transmitting orders, bills, and payments using EDI or extranets. y. Scope: An IOS is a unified system encompassing two or several business partners. y. A typical IOS includes a company and its suppliers and/or customers. Papamichail George, 2000 12

Types of Interorganizational Systems y. Electronic data interchange (EDI) y. Extranets y. Electronic funds transfer (EFT) y. Integrated messaging systems y. Shared databases y. Electronically-supported supply chain management Papamichail George, 2000 13

Classification of EC by the Nature of the Transactions y. Business-to-business y. Business-to-customer y. Intra business transactions y. Others © Prentice Hall, 2000 Classification of Electronic Commerce Papamichail George, 2000 14

Electronic Commerce is Interdisciplinary z. Marketing z. Computer sciences z. Consumer behavior and psychology z. Finance z. Economic z. Production/Logistic z. Management information systems z. Accounting and auditing z. Management z. Business law and ethics Papamichail George, 2000 15

The Benefits of Electronic Commerce z. Benefits to Organizations y. Expands the marketplace to national and international markets y. Decreases the cost of creating, processing, distributing, storing and retrieving paper-based information y. Allows reduced inventories and overhead by facilitating “pull” type supply chain management y. The pull type processing allows for customization of products and services which provides competitive advantage to its implementers Papamichail George, 2000 16

Benefits to Organizations (cont. ) y. Reduces the time between the outlay of capital and the receipt of products and services y. Supports business processes reengineering (BPR) efforts y. Lowers telecommunications cost - the Internet is much cheaper than value added networks (VANs) Papamichail George, 2000 17

Benefits to Customers y. Enables customers to shop or do other transactions 24 hours a day, all year round from almost any location y. Provides customers with more choices y. Provides customers with less expensive products and services by allowing them to shop in many places and conduct quick comparisons y. Allows quick delivery of products and services in some cases, especially with digitized products Papamichail George, 2000 18

Benefits to Customers (cont. ) y. Customers can receive relevant and detailed information in seconds, rather than in days or weeks y. Makes it possible to participate in virtual auctions y. Allows customers to interact with other customers in electronic communities and exchange ideas as well as compare experiences y. Electronic commerce facilitates competition, which results in substantial discounts. Papamichail George, 2000 19

Benefits to Society y. Enables more individuals to work at home, and to do less traveling for shopping, resulting in less traffic on the roads, and lower air pollution y. Allows some merchandise to be sold at lower prices benefiting the poor ones y. Enables people in Third World countries and rural areas to enjoy products and services which otherwise are not available to them y. Facilitates delivery of public services at a reduced cost, increases effectiveness, and/or improves quality Papamichail George, 2000 20

The Limitations of Electronic Commerce z. Technical Limitations of Electronic Commerce y. Lack of sufficient system’s security, reliability, standards, and communication protocols y. Insufficient telecommunication bandwidth y. The software development tools are still evolving and changing rapidly y. Difficulties in integrating the Internet and electronic commerce software with some existing applications and databases Papamichail George, 2000 21

Technical Limitations of Electronic Commerce (cont. ) y. The need for special Web servers and other infrastructures, in addition to the network servers (additional cost) y. Possible problems of interoperability, meaning that some EC software does not fit with some hardware, or is incompatible with some operating systems or other components Papamichail George, 2000 22

Non-Technical Limitations y. Cost and justification (35% of the respondents) x. The cost of developing an EC in house can be very high, and mistakes due to lack of experience, may result in delays. There are many opportunities for outsourcing, but where and how to do it is not a simple issue. Furthermore, to justify the system one needs to deal with some intangible benefits which are difficult to quantify. Papamichail George, 2000 23

Non-Technical Limitations (cont. ) y. Security and Privacy (17% of the respondents) x. These issues are especially important in the B 2 C area, and security concerns are not truly so serious from a technical standpoint. Privacy measures are constantly improving too. Yet, the customers perceive these issues as very important and therefore the EC industry has a very long and difficult task of convincing customers that online transactions and privacy are, in fact, fairly secure. y. Lack of trust and user resistance (4%) x. Customers do not trust an unknown faceless seller, paperless transactions, and electronic money. So switching from a physical to a virtual store may be difficult. Papamichail George, 2000 24

Non-Technical Limitations (cont. ) y. Other limiting factors are: x. Lack of touch and feel online x. Many unresolved legal issues x. Rapidly evolving and changing EC x. Lack of support services x. Insufficiently large enough number of sellers and buyers x. Breakdown of human relationships x. Expensive and/or inconvenient accessibility to the Internet Papamichail George, 2000 25

The Driving Forces of Electronic Commerce z. The New World of Business y. Business pressures y. Organizational responses y. The role of Information Technology (including electronic commerce) Papamichail George, 2000 26

Major Business Pressures Market and economic pressures Strong competition Global economy Regional trade agreements (e. g. NAFTA) Extremely low labor cost in some countries Frequent and significant changes in markets Increased power of consumers Societal and environmental pressures Changing nature of workforce Government deregulation of banking and other services Shrinking government budgets subsides Increased importance of ethical and legal issues Increased social responsibility of organizations Rapid political changes Technological pressures Rapid technological obsolescence Increase innovations and new technologies Information overload Rapid decline in technology cost Vs. performance ratio Papamichail George, 2000 27

Organizational Responses External Environment, Social, Economic, Political, etc The Organization’s Strategy Organization Structure and the Corporate Culture Management and Business Process Information Technology Individual and Roles Framework for Organizational and Societal Impacts of Information Technology 28 Papamichail George, 2000

Business Process Reengineering y. Reducing cycle time and time to market y. Empowerment of employees and collaborative work y. Knowledge management y. Customer-focused approach y. Business alliances — virtual corporation Papamichail George, 2000 29

Everything Will Be Changed z. Improving Direct Marketing y. Product promotion y. New sales channels y. Direct savings y. Time-to-market (reduced cycle time) y. Customer service y. Brand or corporate image Papamichail George, 2000 30

Other Changes in the Workplace z. Transforming Organizations y. Work will change x. Technology learning x. Organizational learning z. Redefining Organization y. New product capabilities y. New business models Papamichail George, 2000 31

Other Changes in the Workplace (cont. ) z. Impacts on Manufacturing y. Pull processing, mass customization, shorter cycle time, integration (ERP), electronic bidding and procurement z. Impacts on Finance and Accounting y. Electronic payment systems, electronic cash, automating back office, home banking, electronic stock trading z. Human Resource Management y. Electronic recruiting, training, distance learning Papamichail George, 2000 32

Plan of the Book Part I Ch 1 Introduction Part II EC Application Ch 2 Retailing Ch 3 Consumer Behavior and Market Research Ch 4 Advertisement Ch 5 Service Industries Applications Ch 6 Business-to-Businesses Ch 7 Intranet and Extranet Applications Part III Part IV Support and Implementation Ch 8 Payments Ch 9 Corporate Strategy Ch 10 Public Policy Part V Technological Support Ch 11 Infrastructure Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Ch 12 Economics, Global, Research in EC Papamichail George, 2000 33

Management Issues y. Is it real? y. How to evaluate the magnitude of the business pressures? y. What should be my company’s strategy towards EC? y. What is the best way to learn about EC? Papamichail George, 2000 34