Page 19 - Electronic Commerce

Preface

Introduction
xvi
The book’s first section includes two chapters. Chapter 1, “Introduction to Electronic
Commerce,” defines electronic commerce and describes how companies use it to create
new products and services, reduce the cost of existing business processes, and improve
the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. The concept of electronic commerce
waves is presented and developed in this chapter. Chapter 1 also outlines the history of
the Internet and the Web, explains the international environment in which electronic
commerce exists, provides an overview of the economic structures in which businesses
operate, and describes how electronic commerce fits into those structures. Two themes
are introduced in this chapter and recur throughout later chapters: that examining
a firm’s value chain can suggest opportunities for electronic commerce initiatives,
and reductions in transaction costs are important elements of many electronic
commerce initiatives.
Chapter 2, “Technology Infrastructure: The Internet and the World Wide Web,”
introduces the technologies used to conduct business online, including topics such as
Internet infrastructure, protocols, packet-switched networks, and the Internet of Things.
Chapter 2 also describes the markup languages used on the Web (HTML and XML) and
discusses Internet connection options and tradeoffs, including wireless technologies.

Business Strategies for Electronic Commerce
The second section of the book includes five chapters that describe the business strategies
that companies and other organizations are using to do business online. Chapter 3, “Sell-
ing on the Web,” describes revenue models that companies are using on the Web and
explains how some companies have changed their revenue models as the Web has
matured. The chapter explains important concepts related to revenue models, such as
cannibalization and coordinating multiple marketing channels. The chapter also describes
how firms that understand the nature of communication on the Web can identify and
reach the largest possible number of qualified customers.
Chapter 4, “Marketing on the Web,” provides an introduction to Internet marketing
and online advertising. It includes coverage of market segmentation, technology-enabled
customer relationship management, rational branding, contextual advertising, localized
advertising, viral marketing, and permission marketing. The chapter also explains how
online businesses can share and transfer brand benefits through affiliate marketing and
cooperative efforts among brand owners.
Chapter 5, “Business-to-Business Activities: Improving Efficiency and Reducing Costs”
explores the variety of methods that companies are using to improve their purchasing and
logistics primary activities with Internet and Web technologies. Chapter 5 also provides an
overview of EDI and describes how companies are outsourcing or offshoring some of their
business processes to less-developed countries. Chapter 5 describes how businesses are
using technologies such as e-procurement, radio-frequency identification, and reverse
auctions in the practice of supply chain management online.
Chapter 6, “Social Networking, Mobile Commerce, and Online Auctions,” explains
how companies now use the Web to do things that they have never done before, such as
creating social networks, engaging in mobile commerce, and operating auction sites. The
chapter describes how businesses are developing social networks and using existing social

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