Everything On Demand: The “Uberization” of E-commerce
• Class Discussion
– Have you used Uber or any other on-demand service
companies?
– What is the appeal of these companies for users and providers?
– Are there any negative consequences to the increased use of on-demand services like Uber and Airbnb?
 
 The First Thirty Seconds
• First 20 years of e-commerce – Just the beginning
– Rapid growth and change
• Technologies evolve at exponential rates – Disruptive business change
– New opportunities
• Why study e-commerce
– Understand opportunities and risks
– Analyze e-commerce ideas, models, issues
 
 Introduction to E-commerce
• Use of Internet to transact business
– Includes Web, mobile browsers and apps
• More formally:
– Digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals
 
 The Difference between E-Commerce and E-Business
• E-business:
– Digital enabling of transactions and processes within a firm, involving information systems under firm’s control
– Does not include commercial transactions involving an exchange of value across organizational boundaries
 
 Technological Building Blocks Underlying E -Commerce
• Internet
• World Wide Web – HTML
– Deep Web versus. “surface” Web
• Mobile platform – Mobile apps
 
 Insight on Technology: Will Apps Make the Web Irrelevant?
• Class Discussion
– What are the advantages and disadvantages of apps,
compared with websites, for mobile users?
– What are the benefits of apps for content owners and creators?
– Will apps eventually make the Web irrelevant? Why or why not?
 
 Major Trends in E-Commerce
• Business trends include:
– All forms of e-commerce show very strong growth
• Technology trends include:
– Mobile platform has made mobile e-commerce reality
• Societal trends include:
– Increased online social interaction and sharing
 
 Unique Features of E-Commerce Technology (1 of 2)
1. Ubiquity
2. Global reach
3. Universal standards 4. Information richness
 
 Unique Features of E-Commerce Technology (2 of 2)
5. Interactivity
6. Information density
7. Personalization/customization 8. Social technology
 
 Types of E-Commerce
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
• Mobile e-commerce (M-commerce) • Social e-commerce
• Local e-commerce
 
 Figure 1.5 The Growth of B2C E-Commerce in the United States
  
 Figure 1.7 The Growth of B2B E-Commerce in the United States
  
 Figure 1.8 The Growth of M-Commerce in the United States
  
 E-Commerce: A Brief History (1 of 4)
• Precursors
– Baxter Healthcare modem-based system
– Order entry systems
– Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards – French Minitel
 
 E-Commerce: A Brief History (2 of 4)
• 1995–2000: Invention
– Sale of simple retail goods
– Limited bandwidth and media – Euphoric visions of
 Friction-free commerce
 First-mover advantages – Dot-com crash of 2000
 
 E-Commerce: A Brief History (3 of 4)
• 2001–2006: Consolidation
– Emphasis on business-driven approach
– Traditional large firms expand presence
– Start-up financing shrinks
– More complex products and services sold – Growth of search engine advertising
– Business web presences expand
 
 E-Commerce: A Brief History (4 of 4)
• 2007–Present: Reinvention – Rapid growth of:
 Web 2.0, including online social networks  Mobile platform
 Local commerce
 On-demand service economy
– Entertainment content develops as source of revenues
– Transformation of marketing
 
 Figure 1.10 Periods in the Development of E-Commerce
  
 Insight on Business: Rocket Internet
• Class Discussion
– What are the benefits of investing in a company that
Rocket Internet has launched?
– Is an incubator the best solution for start-ups to find funding? Why or why not?
– Why is Rocket Internet controversial?
 
 Assessing E-Commerce (1 of 2) • Stunning technological success
• Early years a mixed business success – Few early dot-coms have survived – Online sales growing rapidly
• Many early visions not fulfilled – Price dispersion
– Information asymmetry
– New intermediaries
 
 Assessing E-Commerce (2 of 2)
• Other surprises
– Fast-follower advantages
– Start-up costs
– Impact of mobile platform
– Emergence of on-demand e-commerce
 
 Understanding E-Commerce: Organizing Themes
• Technology:
– Development and mastery of digital computing and
communications technology • Business:
– New technologies present businesses with new ways of organizing production and transacting business
• Society:
– Intellectual property, individual privacy, public welfare policy
 
 Figure 1.11 The Internet and the Evolution of Corporate Computing
  
 Insight on Society: Facebook and the Age of Privacy
• Class discussion:
– Why are social networks interested in collecting user
information?
– What types of privacy invasion are described in the case? Which is the most privacy-invading, and why?
– Is e-commerce any different than traditional markets with respect to privacy? Don’t merchants always want to know their customer?
– How do you protect your privacy on the Web?
 
 Academic Disciplines Concerned with Technology
• Technical
– Computer science, management science, information
systems • Behavioral
– Information systems research, economics, marketing, management, finance/accounting, sociology
 
 Careers in E-Commerce
• Position: Category specialist in E-commerce Retail Program
• Qualification/Skills
• Preparing for the Interview
• Possible Interview Questions