intro to e-commerce

Five Phases of Consumer decision model

1. need identification 2. information search. 3. evaluation of alternatives. 4. purchase decision and delivery. 5. postpurchase behavior

e-business

A broader definition of EC that includes not just the buying and selling of goods and services, but also servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organization.

multichannel business model

A business model where a company sells in multiple marketing channels simultaneously (e.g., both physical and online stores).

social network

A category of Internet applications that help connect friends, business partners, or individuals with specific interests by providing free services such as photos presentation, e-mail, blogging, and so on using a variety of tools.

Auction

A competitive process in which a seller solicits consecutive bids from buyers (forward auctions) or a buyer solicits bids from sellers (backward auctions). Prices are determined dynamically by the bids.

customer interaction center

A comprehensive service entity in which EC vendors address customer service issues communicated through various contact channels.

search engine

A computer program that can access databases of Internet resources, search for specific information or key words, and report the results.

cookie

A data file that is placed on a user's hard drive by a remote Web server, frequently without disclosure or the user's consent, that collects information about the user's activities at a site.

extranet

A network that uses a virtual private network to link intranets in different locations over the Internet; an "extended intranet."

digital enterprise

A new business model that uses IT in a fundamental way to accomplish one or more of three basic objectives: reach and engage customers more effectively, boost employee productivity, and improve operating efficiency. It uses converged communication and computing technology in a way that improves business processes.

transaction log

A record of user activities at a company's Web site.

social network service

A service that builds online communities by providing an online space for people to build free homepages and that provides basic communication and support tools for conducting different activities in the social network.

store front (webstore)

A single company's Web site where products or services are sold and usually has an online shopping cart associated with it. Many Webstores target a specific industry and find their own unique corner of the market.

Web Portal

A single point of access, through a Web browser, to critical business information located inside and outside (via Internet) an organization.

Intermediary

A third party that operates between sellers and buyers.

virtual world

A user-defined world in which people can interact, play, and do business.

social computing

An approach aimed at making the human-computer interface more natural.

digital economy

An economy that is based on digital technologies, including digital communication networks, computers, software, and other related information technologies; also called the Internet economy, the new economy, or the Web economy.

intranet

An internal corporate or government network that uses Internet tools, such as Web browsers, and Internet protocols.

e-marketplace

An online market, usually B2B, in which buyers and sellers exchange goods or services; the three types of e-marketplaces are private, public, and consortia.

internet mall

An online shopping center where many online stores are located.

electronic shopping cart

An order-processing technology that allows customers to accumulate items they wish to buy while they continue to shop.

e-auctions

Auctions conducted online.

click-and-mortar retailers

Brick-and-mortar retailers that offer a transactional Web site from which to conduct business.

direct marketing

Broadly, marketing that takes place without intermediaries between manufacturers and buyers; in the context of this book, marketing done online between any seller and buyer.

clickstream behavior

Customer movements on the Internet.

electronic CRM

Customer relationship management conducted electronically.

e-government

E-commerce model in which a government entity buys or provides goods, services, or information to businesses or individual citizens.

virtual (pure-play) e-tailers

Firms that sell directly to consumers over the Internet without maintaining a physical sales channel.

Digital Products

Goods that can be transformed to digital format and delivered over the Internet.

Desktop Search

Is conducted by tools that search only the contents of a user's own computer files. The emphasis is on finding all the information that is available on the user's PC, including Web browser histories, e-mail archives, music, chats, photos, and word-processed documents.

horizontal marketplaces

Markets that concentrate on a service, material, or a product that is used in all types of industries (e.g., office supplies, PCs).

vertical marketplaces

Markets that deal with one industry or industry segment (e.g., steel, chemicals).

tendering (bidding) system

Model in which a buyer requests would-be sellers to submit bids; the lowest bidder wins.

brick-and-mortar organizations

Old-economy organizations (corporations) that perform their primary business offline, selling physical products by means of physical agents.

click-and-mortar organizations

Organizations that conduct some e-commerce activities, usually as an additional marketing channel.

virtual (pure-play) organizations

Organizations that conduct their business activities solely online.

brick-and-mortar retailers

Retailers who do business in the non-Internet, physical world in traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

e-tailing

Retailing conducted online, over the Internet.

social networking

Social networks and activities conducted in social networks. It also includes activities conducted using Web 2.0 (e.g., wikis, microblogs) not within social networks.

software (intelligent) agents

Software applications that have some degree of reactivity, autonomy, and adaptability—as is needed in unpredictable attack situations. An agent is able to adapt itself based on changes occurring in its environment.

spyware

Software that gathers user information over an Internet connection without the user's knowledge.

back end

The activities that support online order fulfillment, inventory management, purchasing from suppliers, payment processing, packaging, and delivery.

e-procurement

The electronic acquisition of goods and services for organizations. E-procurement supports the purchase of both direct and indirect materials and employs several Web-based functions such as online catalogs, contracts, purchase orders, and shipping notices.

Second Life

The most publicized virtual world is

e-learning

The online delivery of information for purposes of education, training, or knowledge management.

procurement management

The planning, organizing, and coordinating of all the activities related to purchasing goods and services needed to accomplish the organization's mission.

front end

The portion of an e-seller's business processes through which customers interact, including the seller's portal, electronic catalogs, a shopping cart, a search engine, and a payment gateway.

Enterprise Search

The practice of identifying and enabling specific content across the enterprise to be indexed, searched, and displayed to authorized users. It describes the application of search technology to information within organization.

e-catalogs

The presentation of product information in an electronic form; the backbone of most e-selling sites.

e-sourcing

The process and tools that electronically enable any activity in the sourcing process, such as quotation/tender submittance and response, e-auctions, online negotiations, and spending analyses.

electronic commerce

The process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, or information via computer.

reintermediation

The process whereby intermediaries (either new ones or those that had been disintermediated) take on new intermediary roles.

disintermediation

The removal of organizations or business process layers responsible for certain intermediary steps in a given supply chain.

Web 2.0

The second generation of Internet-based services that lets people collaborate and share information online in new ways, such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies.

personalization

The tailoring of services, products, and advertising content with individual consumers and their specific preferences.

behavioral targeting

The use of information collected on an individual's Internet-browsing behavior to select which advertisements to display to that individual.

Internet/Web Search

This is the standard search that involves any documents on the Web.

business-to-business ecommerce

Transactions between businesses conducted electronically over the Internet, extranets, intranets, or private networks; also known as eB2B (electronic B2B) or just B2B.

e-banking

Various banking activities conducted from home or the road using an Internet connection; also known as cyberbanking, virtual banking, online banking, and home banking.

viral marketing

Word-of-mouth method by which customers promote a product or service by telling others about it.

internet

a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange

web advertising methods

banners keyword banners random banners pop-up ad pop-under ad e-mail advertising classified ads search engine

types of e-procurement

buy at buyer's site buy at seller's site buy at exchange or third party group purchasing

advantages of online advertising

cost richness of format personalization timeliness location-basis linking digital branding

enterprise oriented networks

digital enterprise virtual world

Types of Web Portals

eMarketplaces digital products front end back end intermediary

E-informing

gathering and distributing purchasing information both from and to internal and external parties using Internet technology

typers of stores and malls

general stores/malls specialized stores/malls regional versus global stores pure-play online e-cataologs

e-commerce drivers

information technology business models business pressures

exchanges

many sellers to many buyers

marketing evolution

mass marketing market segmentation one-to-one marketing relationship marketing

buy-side

one buyer from many sellers

sell-side

one seller to many buyers

basic types of b2b e-marketplaces

one-to-many/many-to-one many-to-many supply chain improvers and collaborative commerce

common e-business models

online direct marketing e-tendering system e-marketplaces e-exchanges

basic types of b2b transactions

sell-side buy-side exchanges supply chain improvements and collaborative commerce

e-commerce impact industries

services employment gov agencies/institutions real estate online e-banking entertainment gambling online dating services

user profile

The requirements, preferences, behaviors, and demographic traits of a particular customer.

e-reverse auctioning

using internet technology to buy goods and services from a number of known or unknown suppliers