Electronic commerce offers functionality and new ways of doing business that cannot be ignored. Readings in Electronic Commerce is a collection of research papers addressing issues facing academia and industry in the age of electronic commerce. It offers some of the best thinking from researchers who specialize in the various facets of electronic markets - namely economics, finance, marketing, production and operations management - as well as technology experts in the industry who are creating and specializing in the electronic commerce infrastructure.

Dr. Ravi Kalakota is a pioneer in the area of e-commerce. He is the CEO of e-Business Strategies, a technology research and consulting practice, and has consulted extensively with start-ups and Fortune 1000 companies.

Andrew B. Whinston is the Cullen Chair Professor of Information Systems, Computer Science and Economics, IC2 Fellow, and Director of the Center for Information Systems Management at the University of Texas at Austin. His recent research interests are Internet pricing and application of client/server computing to support groups working collaboratively.

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PREFACEThe majority of the chapters in this book are based on papers presented at the Sixth Organizational Computing, Coordination, and Collaboration Conference held at the IC 2 Institute in Austin, Texas, in October 1995. The purpose of this conference was to address research issues facing academia and industry in the age of electronic commerce. Experts in the field of electronic commerce came together with the goal of helping companies to better understand the shape, structure, and operation of business in the coming millennium.As the fastest-growing facet of the Internet, electronic commerce offers functionality and new ways of doing business that no company can afford to ignore. The basis for moving to an electronic commerce is a belief that electronic markets have the potential to be more efficient in developing new information goods and services. In addition, electronic commerce also offers companies new ways of finding global customers and trading partners. The Sixth Organizational Computing, Coordination, and Collaboration Conference was aimed at promoting electronic commerce research and practice. Electronic commerce is expected to make obsolete much of the accumulated research in business and to create and demand radical changes in the process, product, and promotion to better exploit the digital platform.This emerging electronic marketplace is an uncharted frontier, and, much like the "Wild West" of the past, needs to be tamed. The challenge is simple: using emerging technology, how do we create a business environment or infrastructure that will ensure efficient electronic markets? What does it take in terms of new organizational structures like the network structures facilitated by smart and wireless messaging; new electronic institutions such as brokerages staffed by electronic brokers or agents; new business processes better suited for mass customization, global sourcing, and logistics; and new financial payment mechanisms and mercantile protocols?To explore and exploit new frontiers, we need to integrate business concerns with the changing technology. This conference sought to provide this integration by bringing together leading business researchers who specialize in the various facets of electronic markets--namely, economics, finance, marketing, production, and operations management--and technology experts in the industry who are creating the electronic commerce infrastructure. In addition, experts who specialize in the WWW browsers, electronic cash, encryption, software agents, MIME-based messaging, EDI, and structured documents made presentations.It is no longer sufficient for electronic commerce to be viewed as a path-breaking technology. Electronic commerce is already playing a significant role in determining the strategy of today's companies in providing value to external and internal customers. The challenge facing companies is to increase the effectiveness of electronic commerce activities in order to achieve business performance. As successful organizations have taken a process-oriented view of their business, they will have to reevaluate the role of electronic commerce in terms of alignment with corporate goals.This book is divided into five parts. Part One, an introductory overview of electronic commerce, includes three chapters. The first, "An Unaffiliated View of Electronic Commerce," by David H. Crocker, discusses the reasons that the Internet will serve as the global conveyor of transactions for on-line commerce. It also discusses the nature of the technical and operational concerns of electronic commerce and offers solutions to these problems. Chapter 2 by Donna L. Hoffman, Thomas P. Novak, and Patrali Chatterjee explores three main issues associated with the explosion of commercial activity on the Web. Dr. Hoffman explores the role of the Web as a distribution channel and a medium for marketing communicati