E-commerce Details & History pp 17-51

Types of E-commerce B2C – Business to Consumer Example? B2B – Business to Business C2C – Consumer to Consumer P2P – Peer to Peer

Growth of Internet 1997 – 20 million hosts (web servers) 2003 – over 160 million hosts Web Content 1997 – Less than 500 million pages 2003 – More than 6 billion.

B2B E-commerce Started much earlier Actually grew much faster than B2C Matured in the early 1990’s whereas B2C matured in the late 1990’s Actually grew much faster than B2C Overlooked during the B2C explosion circa 2000.

B2C E-commerce Surprisingly, there are numerous limiting factors What are they? Hint: Think about what might limit the customer from participating? PC Cost/Internet Cost Skill level/sophistication Cultural barriers Regional Infrastructure Barriers

E-commerce I: 1995-2000 Lack of standardization Exuberance Un-controlled growth B2B successes B2C failures Real Sales Growth vs. New Pathways for Sales

E-commerce I: 1995-2000 Key concepts for this era: Network effect – users receive value because everyone uses the same tools/products First Mover – The first to market in a particular area can more easily gain market share (but not always) Friction-Free Commerce – info is equally distributed transaction costs are low prices adjust automatically based on demand middle-men are eliminated unfair competitive advantages are eliminated

E-commerce II: 2000-today E-commerce I Technology driven Growth emphasis Venture capital Ungoverned Start-ups Disintermediation E-commerce II Business driven Profit emphasis Traditional financing Strong regulations Large traditional firms Strengthening intermediaries

E-commerce II Key concept: Disintermediation – get rid of the middle man, create a new direct relationship between manufacturers and customers Disintermediation is good, right? How can it be bad? Consider this: Manufacturing business that have no expertise in sales, marketing, and micro distribution.

Project If you have the book, read the Kazaa case study pp 47-51. It may inspire your proposal. Things that are one the agenda for up-coming labs: The art of picking a domain name. Registering domain names for under $3/year Web hosting: Criteria to make your decision Website Development: Free resources to get you started.