Electronic Commerce A Manager's Guide

This book is the ideal starting point for business managers involved with electronic commerce, as well as technical professionals who want to keep abreast of the latest trends and issues in management practices affected by electronic commerce technology. You will learn about firewalls, transaction security, electronic payment methods, and the management issues facing Internet Service Providers. Also fully covered are electronic commerce applications internal to the corporation-supply-chain management, manufacturing, and finance.

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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Electronic Commerce: A Manager's Guide is a companion to our earlier tome: Frontiers of Electronic Commerce . The widespread success of the first book bears witness to the need for more easily understood, independent information about what is happening in the fast-changing world of electronic commerce. Why Is Electronic Commerce Important?As we approach the year 2000, we can no longer look to the past as a guide to the future. In the face of strong market forces created by electronic commerce and mounting competition, corporations can no longer plod along historical tracks or seek the preservation of the status quo. Companies are discovering that old solutions do not work with new problems. The business parameters have changed, and so have the risks and payoffs.However, in order to figure out the answers, we need to understand why, where, and when electronic commerce is important. Electronic commerce is becoming critical in three interrelated dimensions: customer-to-business interactions, intra-business interactions, and business-to-business interactions.In the customer-to-business dimension, electronic commerce is enabling the customer to have an increasing say in what products are made, how products are made (movement from make-to-stock to a build-to-order model) and how services are delivered (movement from a slow order fulfillment process with little understanding of what is taking place inside the firm, to a faster and more open processes with customers having greater control).Electronic commerce is also a catalyst for dramatic changes in internal organizational functioning, as evidenced by the rapid proliferation of Intranets. It is facilitating an organizational model that is fundamentally different from the past, one that is characterized by the shift from a hierarchical command-and-control organization to the information-based organization. The emerging forms of techno-organizational structure involve changes in managerial responsibilities, communication and information flows, and work-group structures.Electronic commerce is also impacting business-to-business interactions. Electronic commerce facilitates the network form of organization where small flexible firms rely on other "partner" companies for component supplies and product distribution to meet changing customer demand more effectively. Hence, an end-to-end relationship management solution (often called integrated or extended supply-chain management) is a desirable goal that is needed to manage the chain of networks linking customers, workers, suppliers, distributors, and even competitors. The management of "online transactions" in the supply chain assumes a central role.In the face of market changes, corporations can no longer be insular in nature. In order to be successful, management has to come to grips with the changes taking place in the various market spaces. In the same vein, managers cannot operate effectively without some major regauging of mindset, attitudes, skills, and knowledge. What Makes This Book Different?In this book readers will find a well-researched analytical evaluation of the management issues and concerns affecting electronic commerce in the service provider businesses, banking, retail, electronic publishing, and Intranet applications. The analytical approach to understanding management issues presented in this book differs considerably from the anecdotes, testimonials, and case studies so commonly found in the popular press.Instead of a dry summary of the facts, we tried to state clearly our opinions on all the major issues. We have done this because all organizations, large and small, will be (or already are) making major electronic commerce-related investment decisions to stay in business and be competitive. Making investment decisions is difficult and we believe it is helpful to hear an opinion rather than just a se