All about internet technology of E-commerce

2010-08-27T04:22:00.000-07:00

Internet technology is aimed at people already familiar with using the Internet, who want to know how and why it works. This work isn't designed for programmers or others who want to make Internet technology. When we say technology we don't just mean the software and hardware, but also the human components which are an integral part of the overall system of the Internet.

A value proposition is an analysis and quantified review of the benefits, costs and value that an organization can deliver to customers and other constituent groups within and outside of the organization.

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value^[1] - economic, social, or other forms of value. The process of business model design is part of business strategy.

In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading practices, and operational processes and policies

The business model is simply a working description that includes the general details about the operations of a business. The components that are contained within a business model will address all functions of a business, including such factors as the expenses, revenues, operating strategies, corporate structure, and sales and marketing procedures. Generally speaking, anything that has to do with the day to day functionality of the corporation can be said to be part of the business model.

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-business consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where the buyer is directly online to the seller's computer usually via the internet. There is no intermediary service. The sale and purchase transaction is completed electronically and interactively in real-time such as Amazon.com for new books. If an intermediary is present, then the sale and purchase transaction is called electronic commerce such as eBay.com.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.

Impact on markets and retailers

Economists have theorised that e-commerce ought to lead to intensified price competition, as it increases consumers' ability to gather information about products and prices. Research by four economists at the University of Chicago has found that the growth of online shopping has also affected industry structure in two areas that have seen significant growth in e-commerce, bookshops and travel agencies. Generally, larger firms have grown at the expense of smaller ones, as they are able to use economies of scale and offer lower prices. The lone exception to this pattern has been the very smallest category of bookseller, shops with between one and four employees, which appear to have withstood the trend.^[10]

E-commerce Payment System

An e-commerce payment system facilitates the acceptance of electronic payment for online transactions. Also known as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), e-commerce payment systems have become increasingly popular due to the widespread use of the internet-based shopping and banking. In the early years of B2C transactions, many consumers were apprehensive of using their credit and debit cards over the internet because of the perceived increased risk of fraud. Recent research shows that 30% of people in the United Kingdom still do not shop online because they do not trust online payment systems. However, 54% do believe that it is safe to shop online which is an increase from 26% in 2006.^[1]

There are numerous different payments systems available for online merchants. These include the traditional credit, debit and charge card but also new technologies such as digital wallets, e-cash, mobile payment and e-checks. Another form of payment system is allowing a 3rd party to complete the online transaction for you. These companies are called Payment Service Providers (PSP), a good example is Paypal or WorldPay. (Note Paypal also offers its own payment system)

Credit Cards and Smart Cards

Over the years, credit cards have become one of the most common forms of payment for e-commerce transactions. In North America almost 90% of online B2C transactions were made with this payment type ^[2]. Turban et al. goes on to explain that it would be difficult for an online retailer to operate without supporting credit and debit cards due to its widespread use. Increased security measures such as the use of the card verification number (CVN) which detects fraud by comparing the verification number on the printed on the signature strip on the back of the card with the information on file with the cardholder's issuing bank ^[3]. Also online merchants have to comply with stringent rules stipulated by the credit and debit card issuers (Visa and MasterCard)^[4] this means that merchants must have security protocol and procedures in place to ensure transactions are more secure. This can also include having a certificate from an authorised certification authority (CA) who provides PKI infrastructure for securing credit and debit card transactions.

Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment

Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) is a fairly new technique that allows consumers to view and pay bills electronically. There are a significant number of bills that consumers pay on a regular basis, which include: power bills, water, oil, internet, phone service, mortgages, car payments etc. EBPP systems send bills from service providers to individual consumers via the internet. The systems also enable payments to be made by consumers, given that the amount that appears on the e-bill is correct. Banks in Canada have been offering these on-line payment services for some time now, and are growing in popularity. Other service providers such as Rogers Communications and Aliant accept major credit cards within the bill payment sections of their websites. This service is in addition to the original EBPP method of a direct withdrawal from a bank account through a bank such as Scotiabank.

We present a new framework and empirical estimates that quantify the relationship

between Information Technology (IT-) investments in external data communication

systems and productivity changes.

1. Introduction

The impact of Information Technology (IT) on productivity has been investigated by an increasing number of studies (see Brynjolfsson and Hitt (2000) for an overview). A part of these studies deals with case studies but in order to investigate a general trend, large-sample empirical evidence has also come up. IT is considered a "General Purpose Technology (GPT)" that generates larger productivity effects than investments in "ordinary" capital goods (Breshanan and Trajtenberg, 1995). The impact of IT on productivity runs along three mechanisms,

1)innovations, 2) intra-organizational changes and 3) inter-organizational changes. IT leads to new kinds of production, which allow innovations in production processes or development of new products. Intra-organizational changes are relevant as the introduction or change of IT in firms requires changes in work skills and work relations. In addition, IT results in new or improved internal business practices. IT leads to inter-organizational changes as it allows firms to easier co-operate with suppliers and customers throughout the value chain. Most studies on the relationship between IT and productivity changes deal with intraorganizational changes in the individual firm. A much smaller number of studies deal with the impact of IT investments on productivity changes through interorganizational changes, either using large-scale data (Hitt, 1999; Brynjolfsson et.al, 1994) or case studies (Malone et.al, 1987; Clemons and Row, 1992).2

This paper examines how IT-investments that facilitate inter-organizational relationships among firms affect the positive direct contribution of IT-investments on productivity at the firm level. IT is the basic tenant of new forms of inter-firm networks (Papazoglou and Ribbers, 2006). Inter-organizational information systems 2 The empirical relationship between IT and innovative output is also in its infancy. 4 of 32 affect collaborative efforts between organizations in two ways. First, they support the

· You can ask the wine experts about the websites that they trust. From their list, you can choose which online seller you should get the wine from. Therefore, you can rest assure that you will only do business and transact with legit and reliable websites that would deliver the wine right in front of your doorsteps.

Other than that, there is also a vast range of wines available online compared to the stock that your local dealer has. If you are looking for a very rare wine, you can also find it from different legit wine merchants as well. More often than not, local sellers do not put expensive wines in their cellars because of the fear that it might not be sold immediately. If someone bought a spoiled wine, then their credibility as a wine seller will be at risk as well.

Another benefit of buying wine online is that you would gain more knowledge with their website rather than talking to a wine sales clerk who doesn't have a clue about their merchandise. More often than not, these online wine merchants have articles posted on their websites so you would understand the different types of wine better. This would also be a great help if you are still undecided on the right wine for your special occasion.

Onlineshopping

All about internet technology of E-commerce

Impact on markets and retailers

Credit Cards and Smart Cards

Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment