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Unit 1: Introduction to E-
Commerce
International E-Commerce
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Learning Objectives
Define the value and meaning of e-
commerce and their different elements.
Know the evolution of e-commerce.
Understand different e-commerce
models.
Identify several advantages of e-
commerce.


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Trying to define the E-
commerce.
By Intuition how can you define
the E-commerces Concept?

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Definition of
E-Commerce (EC)
By intuition, it is buying and selling
using the Internet
It should be electronically mediated
financial transactions between
organizations and customers.
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Definition of
E-Commerce (EC)
E-commerce is the purchasing , selling
& exchanging goods and services over
computer network or internet through
which transactions or terms of sale are
performed electronically.

The Process of E-Commerce
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Element of E-commerce
There are certain elements required to
perform online business.
Promote your Web site presence.
Have an online catalog or store.
Have the capability to receive
payments.
Be able to deliver the item.
Provide after-the-sale support.


Why use E-Commerce?
Low entry cost.
Reduces transaction cost.
Acces to the global market.
Secure Market Share.
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Brief History of E-Commerce
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1970s: Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
Late 1970s and early 1980s: Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) for e-commerce within
companies
1990s: the World Wide Web on the Internet
provides easy-to-use technology for information
publishing and dissemination
E-Commerce (First Period)
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E-commerce in the period of 1995 2000 is
known as e-commerce1
E-commerce 1 refers to that period in which ,
first widespread use of the web was their to
advertize a product
Period in which companies started to invest in
various e-commerce sectors
Ended in 2000 when stock market for dot
companies has begin to collapse

E-Commerce (Second Period)
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E-commerce2 refers to the second period in the
evolution of e-commerce from 2001 2006.
Period in which concept of one world , one
market, one price has weakened.
Companies introduced new ways to differentiate
their product and services.
Ex: price on books and cd`s vary by 20% and
50% respectively.

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Models of E-commerce
Transaction
Based on e-commerce transactions
between two types of parties, we may
be able to define different business or
consumer models.
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Types of Parties
Types of parties can be:
Company (B)
Consumer (C )
Government (G)
Person or Peer (P)
Employee (E)
Citizen(C)

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B2B
Business-To-Business. A transaction
that occurs between two companies, as
opposed to a transaction involving a
consumer.
The term may also describe a company
that provides goods or services for
another company.
About 80% of e-commerce is of this
type.


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B2B
Examples:
Intel selling microprocessor to Dell
Heinz selling ketchup to Mc Donalds
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B2B examples
Examples
B2B Example
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B2C
Business-to-consumer (B2C, sometimes
also called Business-to-Customer)
describes activities of businesses
serving end consumers with products
and/or services.

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B2C
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Businesses selling to the general public
through catalogs using shopping cart
software.
B2C e-commerce reduces costs.
B2C allowing consumers to find the
most competitive price for a product or
service.
B2C examples
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B2C examples
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C2C
Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) (or
citizen-to-citizen) electronic commerce
involves the electronically-facilitated
transactions between consumers
directly or through some third party.

C2C example
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C2B
Consumer-to-business (C2B) is an
electronic commerce business model in
which consumers (individuals) offer
products and services to companies and
the companies pay them.
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More
B2E: Business-to-employee
B2G: Business-to-government
G2G: Government to government
G2C: Government to Citizen
G2B: Governmet to Business

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Key Technology Infrastructure
Component
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Hardware
Storage capacity and computing power
required of the Web server depends on:
Software that will run on the server
Volume of e-commerce transactions
Website hosting

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Web Server Software
Security and identification
Web sites must be designed to protect against
attacks
Denial-of-service (DOS) attack
Retrieving and sending Web pages
Web site tracking
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Web Server Software(continue)
Web site development
Web page construction
Static Web page
Dynamic Web page

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E-Commerce Software
Catalog management
Product configuration
Shopping cart facilities
E-commerce transaction processing
Web traffic data analysis
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Advantage of E-commerce
Faster buying/selling procedure, as well as easy
to find products.
Buying/selling 24/7.
More reach to customers, there is no theoretical
geographic limitations.
Low operational costs and better quality of
services.
No need of physical company set-ups.
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Advantage of E-commerce
Easy to start and manage a business.
Customers can easily select products from
different providers without moving around
physically.
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Disadvantage of E-commerce
Unable to examine products personally.
Not everyone is connected to the Internet.
There is the possibility of credit card
number theft.
Mechanical failures can cause
unpredictable effects on the total
processes.

Reference
Chaffey, D, E-Business and E-Comerce
Management, Prentice Hall, Chapter 1
Turban, E., et al., 2008, Electronic
Commerce: A Managerial Perspective,
Prentice Hall, Chapter 1, 2.

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