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Electronic Commerce (electronic + commerce)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	45%
Humanities and Social Sciences	35%
Information Science and Computing	10%
2 Other Domains	10%

Selected Abstracts

Tax Sensitivity in Electronic Commerce,

FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2007
Mark A. Scanlan
Empirical research into the impact of taxation on e-commerce has concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between local sales tax rates and the likelihood that a person will shop online. This paper finds that the tax sensitivity for online purchases at the local level is much lower than previously estimated and is not significant under previous general models. However, by using a splined tax-rate function, this paper finds that consumers living in counties with high sales tax rates are still sensitive to tax rates when deciding whether to shop online, while those in counties with low tax rates exhibit no significant sensitivity. [source]

A Transaction Structure Approach to Assessing the Dynamics and Impacts of ,Business-to-Business' Electronic Commerce

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2002
Dr Richard Hawkins
This paper proposes some ways forward in stimulating and structuring interdisciplinary research on business-to-business electronic commerce. A ,commerce-centered' perspective is proposed that is grounded in concepts of commerce as a complex socio-economic institution. On this basis, a conceptual framework is developed for assessing the dynamics and impacts of electronic commerce in the value chains of products and services. The approach focuses on examining technical change in transaction structures, and how this relates to the evolution of electronically-mediated business relationships in the rapidly developing Internet environment. The approach is oriented towards critical research questions concerning the effects of electronic commerce on the ways various market participants exercise and/or respond to control over the organization and operation of value chains, and the implications for business, the public interest and policy. The practical research possibilities of the transaction structure approach are then discussed as oriented toward a comparative analytical framework. [source]

The Evolution of the Digital Divide: How Gaps in Internet Access May Impact Electronic Commerce

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2000
Donna L. Hoffman
Enthusiasm for the anticipated social dividends of the Internet appears boundless. Indeed, the Internet is expected to do no less than virtually transform society. Yet even as the Internet races ambitiously toward critical mass, some social scientists are beginning to examine carefully the policy implications of current demographic patterns of Internet access and usage. Key demographic variables like income and education drive the policy questions surrounding the Internet because they are the most likely have a differential impact on the consequences of interactive electronic media for different segments in our society. Given these concerns, we set out to conduct a systematic investigation of the differences between whites and African Americans in the United States with respect to computer access, the primary current prerequisite for Internet access, and Web use. We wished to examine whether observed race differences in access and use can be accounted for by differences in income and education, how access influences use, and when race matters in the calculus of equal access. The particular emphasis of this research is on how such differences may be changing over time. We believe our results may be used as a window through which policymakers might view the job of ensuring access to the Internet for the next generation. [source]

Electronic Commerce and Consumer Privacy: Establishing Online Trust in the U.S. Digital Economy

BUSINESS AND SOCIETY REVIEW, Issue 2 2002
Thomas A. Hemphill
First page of article [source]

Computer Mediated Markets: An Introduction and Preliminary Test of Market Structure Impacts

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2000
Charles Steinfield
Electronic commerce may influence the way in which goods are traded between businesses. Many believe that Internet-based business-to-business e-commerce will reduce the extent to which firms buying goods and services are "locked in" to a single supplier. Using a secondary analysis of data collected in late 1996 on firms' use of electronic networks for transactions, we empirically test the effects of Internet use on buyer lock-in. Results are weak, but suggest that using the Internet rather than proprietary computer networks in connecting with external trading partners appears to lessen a buying firm's dependence on its primary supplier. The Internet seems to be especially valuable in allowing small firms to connect to external constituents. [source]

Optimal Design of the Online Auction Channel: Analytical, Empirical, and Computational Insights,

DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 4 2002
Ravi Bapna
ABSTRACT The focus of this study is on business-to-consumer (B2C) online auctions made possible by the advent of electronic commerce over an open-source, ubiquitous Internet Protocol (IP) computer network. This work presents an analytical model that characterizes the revenue generation process for a popular B2C online auction, namely, Yankee auctions. Such auctions sell multiple identical units of a good to multiple buyers using an ascending and open auction mechanism. The methodologies used to validate the analytical model range from empirical analysis to simulation. A key contribution of this study is the design of a partitioning scheme of the discrete valuation space of the bidders such that equilibrium points with higher revenue structures become identifiable and feasible. Our analysis indicates that the auctioneers are, most of the time, far away from the optimal choice of key control factors such as the bid increment, resulting in substantial losses in a market with already tight margins. With this in mind, we put forward a portfolio of tools, varying in their level of abstraction and information intensity requirements, which help auctioneers maximize their revenues. [source]

Applying domain knowledge and social information to product analysis and recommendations: an agent-based decision support system

EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2004
Wei-Po LeeArticle first published online: 24 JUN 200
Abstract: The advance of Internet and Web technologies has boosted the development of electronic commerce. More and more people have changed their traditional trading behaviors and started to conduct Internet shopping. However, the exponentially increasing product information provided by Internet enterprises causes the problem of information overload, and this inevitably reduces the customer's satisfaction and loyalty. To overcome this problem, in this paper we propose a multi-agent system that is capable of eliciting expert knowledge and of recommending optimal products for individual consumers. The recommendations are based on both product knowledge from domain experts and the customer's preferences from system,consumer interactions. In addition, the system also uses behavior patterns collected from previous consumers to predict what the current consumer may expect. Experiments have been conducted and the results show that our system can give sensible recommendations, and it is able to adapt to the most up-to-date preferences for the customers. [source]

Beyond the Producer-driven/Buyer-driven Dichotomy The Evolution of Global Value Chains in the Internet Era

IDS BULLETIN, Issue 3 2001
Gary Gereffi
Summaries The Internet is still in the early stages of its development, but its impact on global value chains is already evident. While it may be premature to try to identify lasting changes on producer-driven and buyer-driven chains, several possible scenarios are emerging and they are not mutually exclusive. The first scenario is that electronic commerce will lead to the emergence of infomediary-based value chains that privilege direct on-line access to consumers. A second scenario is that the Internet is really just extending the logic of buyer-driven chains as both information and power continue to shift inexorably from manufacturers, marketers and retailers to consumers. A third scenario is that the impact of the Internet will be captured and integrated into the practices of large established companies, thus reinforcing power relationships in existing producer-driven and buyer-driven governance structures. Although there is evidence to support all three scenarios, the third model currently seems to be dominant. [source]

Trust, power and interorganizational information systems: the case of the electronic trading community TransLease

INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2000
David K. Allen
Abstract. This paper focuses on Cap Gemini's electronic commerce system, TransLease. TransLease is an interorganizational information system (IOS), which facilitates electronic commerce between motor vehicle leasing and repair companies. During our investigation, the system was used by approximately 1000 repair agents working for seven of the UK's leading vehicle leasing and contract hire companies. This system was originally developed by AT&T and acquired by Cap Gemini in July 1998. At the time of acquisition, the system was seen as being of high strategic value, although it was also seen as underperforming. This paper reports the results of an action research project, which formed one element of the process by which Cap Gemini investigated the former problem. In the paper, TransLease is described as a complex electronic community, dependent upon the existence of symbiotic relationships. As such, the problems that the system users and developers experienced can be attributed to factors that impeded the mutual benefit accruing from participation in the system. The efficacy of the terms of exchange and the degree to which participants mutually benefit through electronic interaction is determined by the complex interplay of a number of relational and organizational factors. The research therefore illustrates the importance of the ,soft' organizational issues in IOS management and development, and suggests a conceptual model of the factors relevant in this case. At the time of this study, TransLease was still in the early stages of its life cycle, having only been available in the marketplace for approximately 18 months. During this time, through recognizing the complex problems and issues detailed in this paper, Cap Gemini accordingly redressed the way in which the system was managed and maintained. TransLease is now seen as having matured into a highly successful example of an IOS , a view reflected by its position as market leader in the industry. As this paper will show, the key to improving the existing service has been the emphasis Cap Gemini now places on managing the ,soft' aspects of the electronic community. [source]

Ontological modelling of e-services to ensure appropriate mobile transactions

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002
Vagan TerziyanArticle first published online: 21 MAR 200
The main goal of this paper is to provide simple ontological support to mobile electronic commerce. The description of an ontology-driven Transaction Monitor (TM) for mobile business applications is considered. The approach is based on the assumption that the transaction management tool can be implemented in a mobile terminal, allowing integration of different distributed external e-services. We use the ontology-based framework for transaction management so that the TM will be able to manage transaction across multiple e-services and we consider management of distributed location-based services as an example of such ontology-based TM implementation. The core of the approach is very simple service ontologies. Ontologies should be ,placed' both in mobile terminals and in e-services. They define common multiple clients,multiple services standards and vocabularies for the use of the names, types, schemas, default values for parameters, atomic service actions with appropriate structure of action's input and output. In our implementation ontologies help to the TM to deal with multiple services during transactions and to simplify the appropriate user interface. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Executable declarative business rules and their use in electronic commerce

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001
G. Antoniou
Business rules are statements which are used to run the activities of an organization. In the era of electronic commerce it is important for these rules to be represented explicitly, and to be automatically applicable. In this paper we argue that methods from the field of knowledge representation can be used for this purpose. In particular, we propose the use of defeasible reasoning, a simple but efficient reasoning method based on rules and priorities. We motivate the use of defeasible reasoning, give examples, describe two case studies, and outline current and future work in our research. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Subsessions: A granular approach to click path analysis

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 7 2004
Ernestina Menasalvas
The fiercely competitive web-based electronic commerce (e-commerce) environment has made necessary the application of intelligent methods to gather and analyze information collected from consumer web sessions. Knowledge about user behavior and session goals can be discovered from the information gathered about user activities, as tracked by web clicks. Most current approaches to customer behavior analysis study the user session by examining each web page access. However, the abstraction of subsessions provides a more granular view of user activity. Here, we propose a method of increasing the granularity of the user session analysis by isolating useful subsessions within sessions. Each subsession represents a high-level user activity such as performing a purchase or searching for a particular type of information. Given a set of previously identified subsessions, we can determine at which point the user begins a preidentified subsession by tracking user clicks. With this information we can (1) optimize the user experience by precaching pages or (2) provide an adaptive user experience by presenting pages according to our estimation of the user's ultimate goal. To identify subsessions, we present an algorithm to compute frequent click paths from which subsessions then can be isolated. The algorithm functions by scanning all user sessions and extracting all frequent subpaths by using a distance function to determining subpath similarity. Each frequent subpath represents a subsession. An analysis of the pages represented by the subsession provides additional information about semantically related activities commonly performed by users. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

A Transaction Structure Approach to Assessing the Dynamics and Impacts of ,Business-to-Business' Electronic Commerce

Perceived trustworthiness of online shops

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2008
Oliver B. Büttner
Trust has been found to be crucial for consumer behaviour towards online shops. However, existing studies on the role of trust in electronic commerce are mainly based on ad hoc scales to measure trustworthiness, merely rely on self-reported consequences of trust such as intention to buy, and focus on low-risk products. In a web-based study, 634 participants interacted with a provider of medical goods, that is a simulated online pharmacy. The study develops and employs a psychometrically sound scale for assessing perceived trustworthiness of online shops. Moreover, it examines the impact of trustworthiness on both consumers' intended and actual behaviour towards online shops. Results show that trustworthiness promotes both intention to buy and actual financial risk taking. Perceived risk was not found to moderate the relationship between trustworthiness and intention to buy. Instead, trustworthiness partially mediated the influence of perceived risk on intention to buy. The results from the scale development challenge multidimensional conceptualizations of trust; comparing this finding with other studies suggests that the duration of the relationship might moderate the dimensionality of trust. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

How Can Organisations Prepare for Reputational Crises?

JOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2000
Simon A. Booth
Most public and private organisations have assumed that they are responsible for their reputation, which they see as a key asset. In a world rapidly becoming dominated by the internet and electronic commerce, organisational control is threatened. This article develops a definition of organisational reputation and suggests how it can be nurtured. It explores the types of reputational threats that face organisations and how training may prevent or reduce the effects of reputational crises. [source]

Gas industry leads way in adopting internet for electronic commerce

NATURAL GAS & ELECTRICITY (PREVIOUSLY : NATURAL GAS), Issue 12 2000
James H. Buccigross
[source]

E-satisfaction and e-loyalty: A contingency framework

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 2 2003
Rolph E. Anderson
The authors investigate the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in the context of electronic commerce. Findings of this research indicate that although e-satisfaction has an impact on e-loyalty, this relationship is moderated by (a) consumers' individual level factors and (b) firms' business level factors. Among consumer level factors, convenience motivation and purchase size were found to accentuate the impact of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty, whereas inertia suppresses the impact of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty. With respect to business level factors, both trust and perceived value, as developed by the company, significantly accentuate the impact of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Multiple geographies of the Arab Internet

AREA, Issue 1 2007
Barney Warf
The Arab world plays a relatively minor role in the rapidly changing geographies of global cyberspace. This paper explores the multiple geographies of the Arab Internet. First, it addresses Internet penetration rates, which averaged 7.8 per cent in 2006, although these varied widely among and within the region's countries. Between 2000 and 2006, the number of users jumped by 830 per cent, indicating these geographies are in rapid flux. It then examines the telecommunications infrastructure of the Middle East and North Africa, including fixed and mobile telephone networks and Internet cafes. Third, it turns to the reasons why the Internet has experienced relatively late adoption among Arab countries, including the dominance of the Latin alphabet, high access costs reflecting state-owned telecommunications monopolies, low Arab literacy rates, and restrictive gender relations that keep the proportion of female users low. The paper pays special attention both to government censorship of the Arab Internet as well as resistance to such controls and attempts to utilize the Internet counter-hegemonically. Finally, it explores the impacts of the Internet on some Arab societies, including the opening of discursive communities of politics, the Palestinian,Israeli conflict, Iraq and electronic commerce. [source]