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Electronic Commerce

Rostow, W.W. (1990). Theorists of Economic Growth from David
Hume to the Present With a Perspective on the Next Century.
New York: Oxford University Press.

Roger L. Luft

EDUCATION

SEE Corporate Education; Online Education; Professional
Education; School to Career Movement; Training and
Development

ELECTRONIC

COMMERCE

Electronic commerce, e-commerce or ecommerce
consists primarily of the distributing, buying, sell-
ing, marketing, and servicing of products or serv-
ices over electronic systems such as the Internet
and other computer networks. The information
technology industry might see it as an electronic
business application aimed at commercial transac-
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). Keynes defined the tions. It can involve electronic funds transfer, sup-
theory of a “mixed economy,” in 1941. © BETTMANN/CORBIS
ply chain management, e-marketing, online
marketing, online transaction processing, elec-
tronic data interchange, automated inventory
management systems, and automated data–collec-
tion systems. It typically uses electronic commu-
nications technology such as the Internet,
SUMMARY
extranets, e-mail, Ebooks, databases, and mobile
There are, of course, many other noted economists who phones. (Electronic commerce, n.d.)
have influenced the study of economics. Many contempo-
rary economic theorists have used the writings of the early It is fitting that this entry begins with the definition
economists to further develop economic thought. Eco- of e-commerce from a free encyclopedia, self-described as
“the largest encyclopedia in history, in terms of both
nomics is a continually evolving study, and its history will
breadth and depth,” entirely created by the voluntary con-
be constantly changing.
tributions of the Internet community—for that is a very
SEE ALSO Economics good indication of the revolutionary basis upon which e-
commerce has thrived. The entry on e-commerce in the
previous edition of this work also began with a quote, but
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blaug, Mark, ed. (1990). The History of Economic Thought. one in which it was seen more as a promise than a reality:
Brookfield, VT: E. Elgar Publishing. “No single force embodies our electronic transformation
Deane, Phyllis (1978). The Evolution of Economic Ideas. New more than the evolving medium known as the Internet.
York: Cambridge University Press. Internet technology is having a profound effect on the
Galbraith, John Kenneth (1987). Economics in Perspective: A global trade in services” (“The U.S. Government’s Frame-
Critical History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. work,” 1997). At that time Forrester Research, a market
Heilbroner, Robert L., and Thurow, Lester C. (1998). Economics research company, estimated that e-commerce would
Explained. New York: Simon and Schuster. increase to $1,444 trillion by 2003. In reality, e-commerce
Heimann, Eduard (1964). History of Economic Doctrines: An in the United States totaled $1,679 trillion in 2003, hav-
Introduction to Economic Theory. New York: Oxford Univer- ing met that earlier forecast several years ahead of sched-
sity Press. ule (see Figure 1).

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