Electronic commerce or simply E-commerce refers to business or market operations that are carried out using the internet or the World Wide Web (WWW). Electronic commerce was defined in four approaches or perspectives (Gangly & Bhattacharyya 2011). The first approach is the communication approach or perspective where it refers to the delivery of services, products, information or payments over telephone lines, computer networks or any other electronic means; the second approach is the business perspective where technology is applied to promote the smooth running of business and other transactions through electronic means; the third approach is online approach which involves use of online services and systems to promote buying and selling of products and information; the last perspective is service approach where electronic commerce is applied as a tool to address management, firms and consumer desires so as to cut and reduce costs with an aim of promoting speedy service delivery as well as promoting quality goods promotion (Alhorr et al 2010). Over the years delivery of information between customers and companies was difficult since trade beyond boundaries needed processing of various legal documents. Therefore the introduction and adaptation of e-commerce by different companies globally is too essential in promoting trade between boundaries(Gangly & Bhattacharyya 2011). E-commerce has become a major tool for generating revenue to different firms in industries through creating possibilities of sharing information between consumers, suppliers, and producers(Gangly & Bhattacharyya 2011).
While analyzing the Effects of Adaptation of Electronic commerce on Enterprise performance, these objectives will be useful and helpful ( Liz 2012). The objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, attainable, realistic, and Time bounded). The objectives are;
Research Question
The following research will be useful when studying and researching the effects of electrical-commerce on performance of an enterprise, suppliers, and consumers. Answering the research question will make the all research procedures valid.
What are the Impacts of deploying Electronic-commerce business strategy as a tool for managing transaction of goods and services among consumers and producers so as to reduce duration between the capital outlay and delivery of goods and services?
While studying the impacts of ecommerce to performance of business enterprises, different existing ecommerce models will be tackled (UKEssays 2013). These four e-commerce models are Business-to-business model, consumer-to-consumer model, Business-to-consumer model, and consumer-to-Business model. The architecture of e-commerce within an enterprise will be described as well the different advantage and disadvantages of using e-commerce (Liz 2012). The barriers to proper use of e-commerce within an enterprise will be described.
While carrying out the research, there are various methodological research components and guidelines used in building research process. The all research will be based on answering the research question. The methodological guidelines are useful in giving guidance during the period of conduction of research. The Ontology approach or philosophy which is one of the onion model will be applied because of its ability to give the relationship between different concepts and relate it to the research question(Gangly & Bhattacharyya 2011).
The research study on the effects of Adaptation of Electronic-Commerce on Enterprise performance will use secondary data resources as the main sources of information (Saunders et al 2011). These data sources comprise of various reference materials such as journals, books, magazines describing Market research, Internet marketing, Banking, mobile commerce, mobile advertisement, social media marketing and many other e-commerce related topics(Gangly & Bhattacharyya 2011). These source(s) of data are traced from different parts, they are mainly obtained through searching using internet databases (Noble & Smith 2014).
A qualitative data analysis methodology is to be applied. This technique involves analyzing non-statistical or non-numerical data (Smith et al. 2011). It will be used in giving description of the phenomena that’s existing together with terms related to the study. The data from different secondary sources from online databases will used in giving descriptions of the “Impacts of using ecommerce by Business enterprises.”
The research question was focusing on the impacts of deploying Electronic-commerce business strategy within an enterprise. E-commerce or E-business is a very useful system that helps in carrying out transactions of services and goods in a faster, cheaper, and healthier manner through online (European Commission 2015.). The buyers and sellers are linked using online existing sites through use of technological devices. Some of the existing common e-commerce sites include Alibaba, eBay, and Amazon. E-commerce has got a number of advantages and disadvantages as described in the report and while managing it, care has to be taken so as to overcome online threats(Li & Dong 2010).
Within the electronic-business architectural model, there exists customers and supply interfaces or collaborations (Gangly & Bhattacharyya 2011). Customer collaboration refers to those business rules, processes, information technology, and data that are very useful in promoting customer service, increasing sales, and offering business partner and customer support. The Supply collaboration denotes technology relating to information technology, business processes, as well as data needed for operation. (Li & Dong 2010). Both customer and supply interactions occur through the use of internet and telephones lines (Iqbal et al 2013.). The use of e-commerce architectural model is to help in giving guidance to a company so as to ensure business solutions that are cost-effective. These solutions will be very useful in meeting the companies or enterprises performance, scalability, and reliability requirements through enabling it to make necessary changes as soon as possible(Li & Dong 2010).
The different Levels in the E-business or E-commerce Architecture are Enterprise level, Functional level, and Operational level (Jiang & Song 2010). The Functional level of e-commerce architecture model directs to elements of value chain. It discovers the major process-to-process relationships involving those relating customer collaborations, supply collaborations, value chains, and corporate functions(Li & Dong 2010). The function level depends so much on looking at the customer desires and make the necessary changes. Customers are useful in finding solutions, give the ability to install new technologies and at the same time useful when integrating data storage. The Other level of E-commerce Architecture model is the operational level. This level describes the documentation and detailing of process definitions and integrations with varying process areas and value chains (Lackermair 2011). This level is very helpful when defining process roles, execution activities, and control points thus supporting different applications inorder to enable integration and consistency while using operating systems, web services and conceptual communication view in the architectural model. The enterprise level architectural e-commerce model looks at the strategic company direction(Li & Dong 2010). This level is very useful in influencing the behaviors of the business as well as customer and supply collaborations. It’s very helpful in assisting customer collaborations during sales, consumer marketing and contracts, as well as customer relations(Li & Dong 2010).
Describing E-commerce Architecture, the different E-commerce models cannot be neglected (Lee et al 2011). These business models are Business-to-Business (B2B) model, Business-to-consumer (B2C) model, Consumer-to-Business (C2C) model, and Consumer-to-Business (C2B) model. Business-to-consumer model describes a direct business relationship between business enterprise and customers through use of online platforms or sites facilitating the transactions. Using the model, enterprise subject their products to consumers through using online sites(Li & Dong 2010). In the Consumer-to-Business model goods and services are transacted from consumer to the enterprise through using available online transaction platforms (Li & Dong 2010). The customer becomes seller and the enterprise the buyer. Another model is the Business-to Business e-commerce model, this involves two enterprises where one is the seller and the other is the buyer conducting transactions using online platforms(Li & Dong 2010). This model is widely spread since it involves administrative tasks, ordering, and purchasing among different enterprises. It mainly deals in wholesaling, business subscriptions, and manufacturing activities. The last model is consumer-to-consumer model involving transactions among consumers themselves. These consumers use auctioning internet e-commerce platforms for advertising, buying, and selling of commodities(Robinson & James 2010).
The possible ways that can be adapted to manage the current e-commerce
E-commerce business varies from one person’s setup to an organization globally(Robinson & James, 2010). In order to achieve success in any kind of business, one needs to first foster growth which is not only in form of the business sales but enterprise management during complex moments. In case an e-commerce business is still small, the enterprise owners should strive hard to ensure that they establish specialized responsibilities and functions (Tong & Frank 2014).To note, it is very important to master the various situations in which the management of e-commerce operates. Even though e-commerce is so competitive, all e-commerce strategies should be strong enough so as to ensure effective management(Robinson & James, 2010). In this case, there are various strategies that can be applied to make ensure that there is effective e-commerce management and they include the following;
Firstly, the sourcing or production function. In this case, changing and seasonality consumer desires greatly affect the sales of e-commerce businesses(Robinson & James, 2010).Therefore, it is the responsibility of the production company to secure a given product so as to keep it up (George & Brooke, 2010). In clarity, the manufacturing organization is responsible for maintaining the standard of the product in the e-commerce market so as to obtain favorable outcomes. Secondly, implementing the basic e-commerce marketing strategies(Robinson & James, 2010). In this case, it is very important for an e-commerce business to understand the role played by marketing in a business. E-commerce business needs to invest in various marketing criteria such as the use of PPC and SEO so as to drive traffic. In addition, some e-commerce businesses are opting to design niche networks so as to expand their business overseas(Robinson & James, 2010).
Further, some e-commerce businesses are deriving their benefits by using various online marketing technologies and tools such as targeting customers according to their behavior while online or clickstream.
Thirdly, proper use of technology so as ensure that e-commerce operates effectively with higher profits. To note, technology is a major factor that contributes to the operation of a business (Teriz, 2011). Therefore, an e-commerce business needs to always keep updated with the current technology so as to move with the trend. In addition, the technological trend starts with choosing the fastest sever, the domain name, shopping cart tool and hosting so as to ensure security (Power &Micheal, 2013).
Lastly, e-commerce logistics must be well established so as to ensure safe and fast delivery of goods to the customer. Logistics is responsible for delivering goods to customers and returning back if it needs repair. Therefore, expenses in logistics should be managed accurately so s to ensure the effective operation of the current e-commerce businesses(Robinson & James, 2010).
E-commerce has got a number of positive and negative effects that it impacts on consumers and enterprises(Robinson & James, 2010). To note, e-commerce works hand in hand with various technologies such as the internet for transactions. The internet is made up of websites, servers, hosting companies and many others. Therefore there are various economic disciplines that are involved in e-commerce, that is to say, information systems, finance and accounting systems and many others(Robinson & James, 2010).The positive and negative effects of e-commerce on enterprises and consumes is explained below;
Positive Effects of e-commerce to the enterprise are; provision of a right channel for better distribution and promotion of products(Millward&Arkadius, 2016). In this case, e-commerce allows different sellers to make transfers of their products information to various buyers on the net hence reducing their marketing costs. To note, sellers use electronic technology to boost their selling power by carrying out advertisements to different people (Millward&Arkadius, 2016). E-commerce also helps sellers to avoid competition with other businessmen due to the wider market created online. Ecommerce also involves various ways that can be used to monitor the customer preferences and rate of a product(Millward&Arkadius, 2016). Therefore, enterprises advert a given product depending on the customer rating.
E-commerce also plays an important role in exposing the business to the international market. Once a given enterprise involves its self in e-commerce, it is automatically joined to trade beyond its boundaries which helps in increasing its revenue(Millward&Arkadius, 2016). In addition, e-commerce also helps an enterprise to capture a large number of customers due to the exposed across the globe. Ecommerce also lowers down the company costs of communication since the internet is cheaper and flexible as compared to calls(Millward&Arkadius, 2016)..
E-commerce also supports mass customization of goods and services. With e-commerce, less time is required to manufacture and send consumer products since the customer specifies the type of the products that he or she needs with the help of the web. To some extent, e-commerce helps in cutting operational costs for enterprises, for example, distributing, processing and storing. In this case, enterprises only produce according to customer order. E-commerce also facilitates the selling or exchange of intangible products such as music, eBooks, and many others(Millward&Arkadius, 2016).
Ecommerce has got a number of positive effects to consumers in terms of flexibility and deliverability. In this case, e-commerce provides the convenient and useful platform for consumers to buy a number of goods and services from very many vendors at a good price. In addition, consumers use different sites to compare the prices of goods from different vendors at a reduced rate. Further, e-commerce helps consumers to make orders at any given period of time from anywhere so long as he or she is connected on a network(Millward&Arkadius, 2016). Therefore, e-commerce relief consumers from a burden of moving from one place to another looking for goods and services. E-commerce also relief consumers from a burden of looking for products in different shops.
Ecommerce also provides a chance for customers to make their rightful choices concerning the purchase of goods and services(Millward&Arkadius, 2016). In this case, the consumer has a choice to decide the type of product they need according to color, size, category and many other. Consumers also have a choice of deciding the supplier they wish to provide the products(Rhona 2010). Therefore, e-commerce provides consumers with all the right choices they need to purchase a given product. To note, before a customer makes an order, he or she is required to first confirm his shopping cart so as to avoid issues of satisfaction(Steven, 2014).
E-commerce has negative effects on enterprises and they include the following; firstly, commercial infrastructure arising from various problems such as international trading agreements, taxation laws and many other. At times, e-commerce enterprises find it a problem to delivers their products to different customers worldwide due to higher taxes imposed as compared to the unit of product purchased(Kawa&Aradius, 2017). Commercial infrastructure highly impacts the operation of e-commerce businesses. Lastly, e-commerce businesses lead to price wars in the market between online and offline or shops. In most cases, online business always sells their products cheaper than offline or normal shops due to reduced costs (Millward&Arkadius, 2016).
On the other hand, e-commerce negatively impacts consumers in a number of ways such as; Delivery of wrong products or services (Kohli&Gautam 2016). In this case, some products delivered to customers by sellers are not exact to the ordered products in terms of size and types. In some instances, e-commerce sellers make mistakes in packing customer products which result in customer satisfaction (Kawa&Aradius 2017). Further, e-commerce also has a problem with delayed shipping. Delayed shipping is mostly common to consumers from distant places. In addition, products sold online are mostly expensive compared to the offline products and this happens due to more expenses incurred in transporting the products for example from one continent to another. Exposure to the client’s details as he or she I required to fill in his or her information such as account name, account number and many other credentials. At times, customer’s information is obtained by hackers which leads to the loss of information and money(Kohli&Gautam 2016). At times some people create fake online accounts with an intention of cheating people online, for example, one may create an account named Amazon which is similar to Amazon (Dimkota& Angelika 2012)
According to Li &Zhaolin (2015), most of the enterprise has not yet gained enough form e-commerce as expected. Further, there is still a concern on how electronic commerce will derive firms in most of the developing countries to the current trading opportunities (Rhona 2010). In this case, the obstacle that is limiting e-commerce benefits are still under study. The barriers to e-commerce include the following;
Firstly, high cost for accessing the internet. In most of the countries worldwide, the cost of accessing the internet is always very high as a result of high taxes imposed on telecommunication companies by governments(Laudon et al 2014). Notably, for one to access the internet he or she must either use a computer or phone but the technology is also still scarce in the loss of the countries. Even though the prices of phones and computers have fallen, some people can’t be in the position to purchase one hence causing a barrier to e-commerce (Kohli&Gautam 2016).
Secondly, the human labor costs of operating, installing, training, maintaining and supporting are still too high for most of the enterprises worldwide. Therefore, some countries have failed to involve themselves as recommended due to the fact that they still have challenges in managing the system. In addition, some countries are still lacking secure payments systems that can be used in the exchange of goods, for example, PayPal(Januszkiewicz et al 2017).
Lastly, there is also a problem of insufficient online physical infrastructures that hinder electronic transactions in most of the countries(Laudon et al 2014). In most of the countries, the regular and legal framework for online transaction mediums are inadequate in most developing countries. Further, most online markets face a number of limitations regarding the ability of consumers to pay for the products, connectivity, deliveries, their choice to purchase online and ability to own credit cards (Laudon et al 2014).
Conclusion
Conclusively-commerce is part and partial of modern business. There is need for all persons and enterprises to effectively develop strategies that can enable them enjoy the benefits of e-commerce. With the world becoming more of a global village, its only enterprises that are strategically positioned that are able to out compete their fellow counterparts in order to effectively succeed in a highly innovative business environment. With proper proper planning, effective strategic positioning and better innovations, there is no doubt that enterprises can fail to achieve there objectives both in the short and long run period. More enterprises fail in the e-commerce mainly due to poor planning and inadequate strategy formulation and implementation techniques at all levels. There e- commerce has to be embraced throughout the globe for purposes of achieving the benefits of globalization and technological revolution that is currently being experienced across all world spheres.
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