What is e-business? Why does it matter?

Dr Savvas Papagiannidis
savvas.papagiannidis@ncl.ac.uk

MANAJEMENINFORMATIKA
POLITEKNIKNEGERIMALANG

Learning objectives

Define the meaning and scope of e-business and e-commerce

Becoming an e-business
E-business and e-commerce classification
Changes in the environment and their implications
Case: Audiovisual broadcasting over the Internet: From music to video
and from YouTube to CurrentTV

Ask yourself
What is e-business?
What does it mean to me?
Why did I select to study this
course?

E-business is one of those

unfortunate concepts where
everyone has a view on what it is,
but everyone s definition is
somewhat different from the next
person s.
The way we define e-business has
significant implications.

Becoming an e-business
Question: How much e-business does an organisation
have to be, in order to be an e-business?

Where do you draw the line?

Is a bookstore selling books online an e-business?
Is a car manufacturer selling cars online an e-business?
Is a bank an e-business?

A definition
E-business is concerned with using the
Internet and related technologies to
integrate and redesign an
organisation s internal activities,
processes and external relations,
and create new ways of working that
are significantly different from, and
very often far superior to what was
possible (or conceivable) in the
past.
iTunes

Invoice electronically
Electronic supply chain
Electronic marketing and promoting
Long tail economics

Definitions of ebusiness
Author

Year

Definition

Turban et al

2009

E-business refers to a broader definition of e-commerce, not just the buying and selling
of goods and services, but also servicing customers, collaborating with business
partners, engaging in e-learning and conducting electronic transactions within an
organisation.

Laudon and Traver

2009

The term e-business refers primarily to the digital enabling of transactions and
processes within a firm, involving information systems under the control of the firm.

Chaffey

2007

E-business: all electronically mediated information exchanges, both within an

organisation and with external stakeholders supporting the range of business processes.

Papazoglou and
Ribbers

2006

E-business can be defined as the conduct of automated business transactions by means

of electronic communications networks end-to-end.

Farhoomand

2005

The term E-business is used to refer to the organisation and management of major
business processes around the Internet. E-business encompasses all the major functions
of a business, including human resources, customer service and supply chain
management.

Jelassi and Enders

2005

E-business is defined as the use of electronic means to conduct an organisation s

business internally and/or externally.

Becoming an e-business
4 conditions of e-business:

Alignment of all processes with the Internet

Major revenue contribution from the Internet
24/7 electronic infrastructure
Profit and loss focus

Gradual evolution:
Creating brochure-ware (information)
Share information globally, manage knowledge more effectively

Breaking boundaries inter/intra organisational integration (automation)

Use electronic technologies and infrastructure to connect existing operations and
processes through automation.

Transforming the business (new business models)

Redefine traditional value chains and develop complex knowledge-sharing
systems that connect pricing, product, and design information with suppliers and
customers.

Adoption steps of e-business (in Wales)

Step 6 Advanced
eCommerce (2%)

Step 5 Integration
(1%)

Step 4 On-line
Store (3%)

4
3
2
1

Question: If you were

previously working, on
which step was your
employer? How did this
compare with the rest
of the industry?

Step 3 On-line
Brochure (6%)
Step 2 Basic Web-Site
(20%)
Step 1 Use eMail & the
Web (30%)

Step 0 Have not started yet (38%)

E-commerce and its relation to e-business

EB

EC

E B =E C

EB
EC

E-commerce is commonly defined as

electronic (commercial) transactions
conducted by business partners,
which can be both organisations and
individuals.
E-business and e-commerce have
some overlap, but they are different
things.
E-business and e-commerce are the
same thing.
E-commerce is a subset of ebusiness.

Definitions of ecommerce
Author

Year

Definition

Turban et al

2009

Electronic commerce is the process of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging

products, services, and/or information via computer networks, including the
Internet.

Schneider

2009

Electronic commerce, apart from shopping on the Internet, also includes many
other activities, such as business trading with other businesses and internal
processes that companies use to support their buying, selling, hiring, planning and
other activities.

Laudon and Traver

2009

E-commerce involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and

among organisations and individuals.

Chaffey

2007

All electronically mediated information exchanges between an organisation and

its external stakeholders.

Papazoglou and Ribbers

2006

E-commerce is a term that describes a focus on buying and selling products and
services over the Internet.

Farhoomand

2005

E-commerce may be considered the selling component of e-business.

Jelassi and Enders

2005

Electronic commerce deals with the facilitation of transactions and selling of

products and services online.

E-business classification
Most important and common type of e-businesses:

Business to Business (B2B)

Business to Consumers (B2C)
Consumer to Consumers (C2C/P2P)
Consumer to Business (C2B)
Non-Business activities (B2G, C2G etc.)
Intra-organisational activities

C2C

C2B

C2G

B2C

B2B

B2G

G2C

G2B

G2G

Question: If you were previously working, how would you classify your employer? Does the
classification signal special organisational features or operational methods?

Space dimensions
We can also look at transactions from a space angle and extend the
traditional taxonomy by adding the meta and mobile dimensions.

Real

Electronic

Meta

Mobile

Real

Breal2Breal

Breal2Belec

Breal2Bmeta

Breal2Bmob

Electronic

Belec2Breal

Belec2Belec

Belec2Bmeta

Belec2Bmob

Meta

Bmeta2Breal

Bmeta2Belec

Bmeta2Bmeta

Bmeta2Bmob

Mobile

Bmob2Breal

Bmob2Belec

Bmob2Bmeta

Bmob2Bmob

4 period of the e-business evolution

Grassroots of e-business
Many decades before the widespread use of the Internet
Irruption: 1983-1993 NASDAQ doubles from 350 to 700

Rise of the Internet

Frenzy period: 1995-2000 - NASDAQ goes from about 1000 to 4500!
Many companies forgot business fundamentals
Greater fool theory

Crash
10th March 14th April 2000 34% drop of NASDAQ

Consolidation
Return to business fundamentals
Many e-business are now not only profitable, but also leading players (e.g.
Google)

Dot-com crash: The end of e-business?

Underlying growth has never stopped!
The Internet has become an increasingly important part of our everyday
lives.
Part of mainstream business culture - a medium connecting consumers
and enterprises; cutting red tape from transactions.
Many industries have not yet experienced the full potential of the
Internet!
Many new opportunities!
Not the end just the beginning!