1. Why has the web grown so dramatically?
The World Wide Web enables us to acces a wide range of information at a fast speed making it much more efficient to use. In this modern society, people have less time to do things and thus the web enables them to complete activities in a short amount of time.
2. How could a web 2.0 technology be used in business?
Web 2.0 technology has become increasingly popular in the business world as it provides a more efficient and effective way of getting things done in a faster amount of time. Web 2.0 technologies are strategic as they give businesses the chance to use modern and innovative programs which will in turn give them a competitive advantage over others. Web 2.0 is also easier to implement and more flexible than traditional top-down approaches as there are more ways of doing things with new and up to date technology.
The success of Goggle Apps and the entry of many major software suppliers into the web-based application market - including Microsoft with its Live platform and SAP with its hosted AS1 enterprise resource planning tool - points to the potential for much greater penetration of Web 2.0 technologies into enterprises.
There has been an increase of CEO’s using blog site to enhance communication, build trust amongst collegues, supplement press releases and talk from the heart. A content rich blog can also work to a businesses advantage as it will enhance the positive image of the company and reputation.
3. What is eBusiness, how does it differ from eCommerce?
ECommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet.
EBusiness differs from eCommerce as it deals with conducting of business on the internet including, not only buying and selling, but also serving customers and collaborating with business partners.
There is much more to eBusiness than there is to eCommerce.Ebusiness goes far beyond ecommerce or buying and selling over the Internet, and deep into the processes and cultures of an enterprise. It is the powerful business environment that is created when you connect critical business systems directly to customers, employees, vendors, and business partners, using Intranets, Extranets, eCommerce technologies, collaborative applications, and the Web.
4. What is pure and partial eCommerce?
Pure eCommerce concerns business whose transactions are largely carried out on the internet.
Partial eCommerce concerns business in which a large part of the transaction takes place in the off-line real world. Amazon, for example, will sell bokks online, but these must be stored in large warehouses and physically delivered through the post.
The difference between pure and partial eCommerce is that the product, process and delivery agent can be physical or digital.
5. List and describe the various eBusiness models?
Business-to-business (b2b): Applies to businesses buying from and selling to each other over the internet.
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This includes business that are involved in trading products. They both operate on the internat and complete transaction solely using the internet.
Business-to-consumer (b2c): Applies to any business that sells its products or services to consumers over the internet.
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An example of a B2C transaction would be a person buying a pair of shoes from a retailer. The transactions that led to the shoes being available for purchase, that is the purchase of the leather, laces, rubber, etc. However, the sale of the shoe from the shoemaker to the retailer would be considered a B2B transaction.
Consumer-to-business (c2b): Applies to any consumer that sells a product or service to a business over the internet.
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Using blogs and internet forums as an example, an author offers a link back to an online business facilitating the purchase of some product (like a book), and the author might receive affiliate revenue from a successful sale.
Consumer-to-consumer (c2c): Applies to sites primarily offering goods and services to assist consumers interacting with each other over the internet.
- An example of this type of model is an online auction, where a consumer posts an item for sale and the other consumers bid to purchase it. The third party generally charges a flat fee or commission. The sites are only intermediaries and are just there to match consumers. They do not have to check the quality of the products being offered.
6. List and describe the major B2B models?
Sell-Side B2B: Sell-side transactions occur when there are many buyers and one seller. Sell-Side e-marketplace delivers to business customers a web-based private sales channel, frequently over an extranet. Both individual consumers and business buyers may use the same sell-side marketplace or they may use different ones.
There are three major pricing methods involved in sell-side transactions. These include:
1. Electronic catalogues- customized for large business buyers.
2. Forward auctions
3. One-to-one selling- negotiated long term contracts.
Buy-Side B2B: This type of transaction occurs when there are many sellers and one buyer. It involves a corporate-based acquisition site that uses reverse auctions, negotiations, group purchasing or any other e-procurement method.
Electronic Exchange: These are sites on the Internet where buyers and sellers can come together to exchange information and buy and sell products and services. There are three structures that are involved in electronic exchange:
- Public Exchange- A third party market operates the electronic market, displays information, and provides the tools necessary to conduct e-business. Independent exchanges may be vertical or horizontal.
- Consortia-backed Exchange- These are e-markets created by consortia of traditional firms within an industry who band together to create a common forum for business-to-business transactions of goods and services.
- Private Exchange- These exchanges are structured around the needs of a specific sponsoring business and its trading partners and can be joined by invitation only.
Collaborative Commerce: Focuses on all the activities from the initial design and manufacture of the product, through the connection with the customer up to the purchase transaction, and then beyond the transaction.
Key dimensions of e-business collaboration as follows:
• Information and Knowledge Sharing connects people with the information they need to do their jobs. This includes access to back-end ERP data, as well as personalized content delivery so that each person gets only the information that is relevant to them.
• Business Interactions occur within an enterprise and across enterprises whenever people collaborate in direct support of a business goal. Examples include contract negotiations, responses to request for proposal (RFP), new product design, and project planning.
• Community Building occurs whenever people interact to ask questions, share ideas, or resolve issues. Examples include online meetings, online training seminars, discussion forums, and live "chat" sessions.
• B2B e-commerce solutions must offer secure and reliable Business Transactions, which include financial transactions and the resulting updates to back-end systems for order management, billing, and inventory management.
7. Outline 2 opportunities and 2 challenges faced by companies doing business online
Opportunities
Worldwide Presence: This is the biggest advantage of conducting business online. A firm engaging in eBusiness can have a nationwide or a worldwide presence. Worldwide presence is ensured if companies rethink their business in terms of the Internet. This will grow the reputation of the business and thus make it successful.
Cost Effective Marketing and Promotions: Using the web to market products guarantees worldwide reach at a nominal price. Advertising techniques like pay per click advertising ensure that the advertiser only pays for the advertisements that are actually viewed. Affiliate marketing, where customers are directed to a business portal because of the efforts of the affiliate who in turn receive a compensation for their efforts meeting with success, has emerged on account of eBusiness. Affiliate marketing has helped both the business and the affiliates. Firms engaging in eBusiness
have managed to use cost effective online advertising strategies to their advantage.
Save Money: Online business has a lesser start-up cost as opposed to other types of business that you will have to rent a space and buy different equipment and materials before you can actually begin selling. It will make you save from having to hire a number of employees since internet business only requires maintenance and enhancement of the site and the products that you offer.
Challenges
Copy Ideas: Because the site is open to the public, there is a tendency that web visitors or even customers will copy the concepts and marketing strategy of the business. If people will realize that they can also do exactly what another eBusiness is doing to gain profits, then they will compete with the business. They won't mind if they make a duplicate with every inch of detail of what the business has conceptualized, so long as they know that they can soon be earning from this.
No Trust: Online business can give the feeling of being isolated both for the entrepreneur and the clients. Sometimes, it is hard to build a good and trusting relationship when you do not see the people you deal with. Since there is a limited close acquaintance between you and your client, the chance for them to be a return visitor is indeed slim. Therefore, you will definitely need a lot of extra effort to establish trust with your potential customers to make them buy what you are offering and keep them coming back for more.
Fraud: There has been numerous reports of credit card fraud which makes customers reluctant to purchase online. With the increasing cases of fraudulent events, people are so afraid to even give the details of their bank account number allowing them to opt for shopping in the marketplace.
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