Chapter 14 - E- Business

E BUSINESS

     The internet is a powerful channel that presents new opportunities for organization to;

• Touch customers
•  Enrich products and services with information
• Reduce costs

      How do ecommerce and e business differ?

• Ecommerce – the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet
•  E business – the conducting of business on the internet including, not only buying and selling, but also serving customers and collaborating with business partners

Industries Using E business 

E BUSINESS MODELS

•        E business model – An approach to conducting electronic business on the Internet 

Business-to-Business (B2B)

•     Electronic marketplace (E market place) – interactive business communities providing a central market where multiple buyers and sellers can engage in e business activities. 

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

       Common B2C e business models include;

•  E shop – A version of retail store where customers can shop at any hour of the day without leaving their home or office
•  E mall – consists of a number of e shops; it serves as a gateway through which a visitor can access other e shops

    Business types;

•           Brick-and-mortar business
•           Pure-play business
•      Click-and-mortar business

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

• Priceline.com is an example of a C2B e business model

• The demand for C2B e business will increase over the next few years due to customer’s desire for greater convenience and lower prices

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)

  Online auctions

• Electronic auction (E auction) – Sellers and buyers solicit consecutive bids from each other and prices are determined dynamically
•  Forward auction – Sellers use as a selling channel to many buyers and the highest bid wins
•  Reverse auction – Buyers use to purchase a product or service, selecting the seller with the lowest bid   

C2C communities include;

• Communities of interest – People interact with each other on specific topics, such as golfing and stamps collecting
• Communities of relations – People come together to share certain life experiences, such as cancer patients, senior citizens, and car enthusiasts
• Communities of fantasy – People participate in imaginary environments, such as fantasy football teams and playing one-to-one with Michael Jordan

EBUSINESS BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES 

E business benefits include; 

• Highly accessible
• Increased customer loyalty
• Improved information content
•   Increased convenience
• Increased global reach
•   Decreased cost

      E business challenges include; 

•          Protecting consumer
•      Leveraging existing system
•        Increased liability
•            Providing security
•           Adhering to taxation rules 
•    There are numerous advantages and limitations in e business revenue models including;

-Transaction fees

-  License fees

-  Subscription fees

-  Value-added fees

-  Advertising fees

MASHUPS

     Web mash up – A Web site or Web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new services

- Application programming interface (API) – A set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications

-  Mash up editor – WSYIWYGs (What You See Is What You Get) for mash ups