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46 Part 1 Introduction

Results Financial results are presented in the above tables.
eBay’s community of confirmed registered users has
grown from around 2 million at the end of 1998 to more Question
than 94 million at the end of 2003 and to more than 135
Assess how the characteristics of the digital media
million at 31 December 2004. It is also useful to identify
and the Internet together with strategic decisions
active users who contribute revenue to the business as
taken by its management team have supported
a buyer or seller. eBay had 56 million active users at the
eBay’s continued growth.
end of 2004 who are defined as any user who has bid,
bought or listed an item during a prior 12-month period.

Summary 1 Electronic commerce traditionally refers to electronically mediated buying and selling.
2 Sell-side e-commerce or digital marketing involves all electronic business transac-
tions between an organization and its customers, while buy-side e-commerce
involves transactions between an organization and its suppliers.
3 ‘Electronic business’ is a broader term, referring to how technology can benefit all
internal business processes and interactions with third parties. This includes buy-
side and sell-side e-commerce and the internal value chain.
4 The monetary value of e-commerce for business-to-business (B2B) transactions
greatly exceeds that for business-to-consumer transactions (B2C).
5 The main business drivers for introducing e-commerce and e-business are oppor-
tunities for increased revenues and reducing costs, but many other benefits can be
identified that improve customer service and corporate image.
6 Consumer adoption of the Internet is limited by lack of imperative, cost of access
and security fears. Business adoption tends to be restricted by perceptions of cost,
making return on investment difficult to quantify.
7 Introducing new technology is not all that is required for success in introducing
e-commerce and business. Clearly defined objectives, creating the right culture
for change, mix of skills, partnerships and organizational structure are arguably
more important.

Exercises Answers to these exercises are available online at www.pearsoned.co.uk/chaffey

Self-assessment questions
1. Distinguish between e-commerce and e-business.
2. Explain what is meant by buy-side and sell-side e-commerce.
3. Describe the different services that can be offered to customers via a web presence.
4. Summarize the consumer and business adoption levels in your country. What seem
to be the main barriers to adoption?
5 Outline the reasons why a business may wish to adopt e-commerce.
6 What are the main differences between business-to-business and business-to-
consumer e-commerce?