RESEARCH TOPICS IN E-COMMERCE

COMPILED BY IZAK BENBASAT (UBC), GABRIELE PICCOLI & BLAKE IVES (LSU) [FEBRUARY 21, 2000] (To access raw data see http://isds.bus.lsu.edu/cvoc/isworld/ecommtop.htm and http://isds.bus.lsu.edu/cvoc/isworld/ecommtop.xls)
Strategic Issues
Understand how eCommerce strategy Relates to other aspects of overall Business strategy How can one sustain competitive advantage in Web commerce? Why do companies enter or not the online markets. What are their expectations, what are the business models? How does one structure an ecommerce corporation for maximum profit/return? What is the optimal mix of bricks and clicks to best serve a profitable set of customers? What are the successful business models for electronic commerce? How do traditional businesses reinvent themselves to remain competitive?

Assessing the impact of eBiz on firms and supply chains How does a firm possibly compete in businesses where the technology and models are highly repeatable and the competition is just a click away? What are the new business models for ebusiness

The impact of E-commerce on the strategic alignment of the organization How does e-commerce impact a market's distribution channels? Under what circumstances might the channels expand, contract, or shift into cyberspace? How can infomediaries trancend the critical mass required to create a positive cycle of growth through increased richness and reach on both the supplier and buyer side? We know some caveats that work most of the time for conventional businesses (e.g. don't get stuck in the middle, and location, location, location). What caveats hold up in the e world? What ones don't? Why? How has EC impacted long-range planning? Are firms shortening their planning timelines, abandoning the notion of developing a long-term strategy altogether, engaging in l/t planning more frequently, or something else? Which approach to planning is most successful? Under what conditions do decreasing coordination costs in electronic markets benefit suppliers versus buyers?

The main aspects to be taken into account in the implementation of an e-commerce strategy. distribution channel conflict

How to market/make a profit with ec.

How does IT Use in ecommerce firms differ from those in conventional firms?

What will be an impact of new eCommerce university programs on existing programs' structure?

What are effective competition differentiators?

What are the critical success factors of EC?

What are the characteristics of future business models ?

How does clustering impact the development of an e-commerce industry in a local area?

what are the characteristics that cause one company to decide to create a spin-off tohandle ecommerce versus handling it in the exisiting company structure? What are the Characteristics of the Internet market vs. traditional markets?

How do price of the product/service, Characteristics of the product/service. cost of transportion between buyer and seller, and web site characteristics interact to create a successful e-business business model? What will the intermediaries/infomedaries of the future look like?

Is the Internet like the railroads of the 19th Century, a creator of wealth and centers of wealth? If so where and what will they be?

What is the impact of new business infrastructure firms on electronic marketspace structure, strategy, relationships, alliances, revenue streams, competition, and efficiency?

Assessment/Valuation

How can we effectively value (model) dot com stocks? E Commerce model Effectiveness Metrics Relationship between e -commerce initiatives and business performance The impact of EC on organizational performance

How do we measure the effectiveness of eCommerce systems? Information Security Program Effectiveness Metrics The 'real' traffic numbers of my isp

What difference in the bottom line (profit) will it have on a company? How does one measure Web site success (or 'derive ROI' etc etc)? Do firms make money from ecommerce operations?

How can I systematically learn from the volumes of digital data that accrue from interacting with customers? Measuring e-commerce success in an organization Ecommerce system success (i.e., the extension of the "Quest for the ISdependent variable" to ecommerce systems)

How does one make a profit through electonic commerce? organization Commerce Model Fit To what extent will e-business change the market-driven economy as we know it and alter society and government in the future? What are the kinds of new roles (eg. novel forms of intermediation) created by technology mediation potential affects on SME's and small cities of e-business. What is the impact of the Internet on organisational form

Organizational transformation and societal Issues

Managing virtual project teams in Business to Business eCommerce (leadership, trust, role ambiguity, knowledge management) Organizational adjustments necessary for e-commerce e-Commerce and social welfare, the impact of eCommerce on digital divide, does it change the gap between rich and poor? Does EC impact the nature or quality of leadership? Do traditional leadership theories (e.g., transformational vs. transactional) apply directly to situations where leaders and followers are physically dispersed, as in virtual organizations, or are new forms of leadership emerging?

How does e-comm impact on organizational processes and how do organizations deal with these impacts What are the economic and social implications of eCommerce?

What effect will consumer driven marketplaces have on business. How can we manage the cultural changes necessary for a business to have clicks and mortar? What are the critical success factors?

Does EC impact the nature or quality of interpersonal communication? Will traditional communication theories (e.g., richness, social presence, etc) adequately explain the nature of interpersonal communication in a full-blown e-Economy? Or are substantively new forms of interpersonal communication emerging?

Adoption Issues

To what extent is security a real or perceptual problem in Web commerce? The measurement and management of trust in ecommerce relationships Web design models and their impacts on eCommerce What are the decision processes companies go through when deciding on business to consumer eCommerce.

What elements of Web site design contribute to user satisfaction with the site itself? How is the growth of e-commerce going to be affected by culture? What makes Consumers shop from the Internet. What systems and arrangements are needed to accommodate small and medium sized enterprises for efficient and effective eCommerce implementation?

What factors are associated with a maximal cus tomer experience? Does the typical customer prefer online interaction over face-to-face business interaction? Cultural differences in online shopping

What is different about e-retailing from the consumer's point of view Cognitive aspects of e-commerce

When will electronic cash be practical?

Theory and Methodology

What methodologies can be used to analyse, design, and implement EC solutions.

The fundamental, underlying economic principles of e-commerceWhat are the generic business models/strategies implied by the general eCommerce economic principles Can we find differences in the value chains (presales and post sales activities, for example) of different customers which can lead to generic b2c strategies / models? How can I leverage the wealth of data captured electronically to improve my offerings? How can an e-retailing business build up a relationship with its customers Capacity & bandwidth

What are the theories that underlie how e business process can be best managed ? (knowledge mgmt theories, fast response theories, supply web theories, service theories, plug-and-play theories, ...) Principles and procedures to identify the degree to which a market sector is suitable for e -commerce

How can we better articulate theories that link IT infrastructure and business enablement

Can we find differences in the value chains of different companies which can lead to generic b2b strategies / models? What are the factors that lead to customer satisfaction with the total e-commerce experience? What is the impact of e-comm on customer loyalty Managing bandwidth, payment and security issues in Business to Consumer eCommerce. How does new technology get implemented/integrated into an ecommerce organization? Integration of e-commerce with all technologies including the new emerging telecom technologies and systems

In what ways is EC similar to, and different from, traditional commerce? What portion of the traditional body of knowledge (from functional as well as holistic perspectives) applies to EC, and where are the gaps? What is the relationship between various forms of Internet and non-Internet advertising of a Web site with actual use of the site?

Marketing and CRM issues

How do you create a business where each customer adds value to other customers (ie how do you create a network effect)? How should we design EC applications to increase customers' royalty? (<-?Loyalty?) How to best secure e-commerce applications How to effectively audit e-commerce systems

Technical Issues

electronic product standardization and des cription How to effectively management e-commerce developments

ERP and Intergration with all systems in the enterprise

What are reliable architectures?

Security and Legal Issues

Is it really secure

Security (incuding integrity, certification etc)

Security (both broadcast (internet) and internal (intranet)) Security and legal issues, including taxation

Security and legacy of transactions, including identification of the amount of information that a customer should provide. Privacy, security, and other personal issues in eCommerce

Security for private and financial data What are current status and changes in place (per country, region) in preparations of legal arrangements in global eCommerce?

Second research issue concerns international legal / tax issues

Logistics/Operations

How to minimize distribution costs, especially for international orders

Infrastructure (building an IT platform to handle changes in business and competitive conditions).

how does the organization act when it receives an order. How does the product arrive at the customer, what about after sales service, returns, defectives and repair?

Miscellaneous

How can I effectively manage the total cost of my customers' demands for increased digital services? What are the roles of intelligent agents and intelligent interfaces in eCommerce? What are the effects of EC on boundaries (i.e., individual, workgroup, organizational, societal, national, political, etc.). How can these effects be minimized and/or exploited (by individuals, groups, firms, governments, etc.)?

dynamic pricing.

what are the patterns of decision making in firms successful in ecommerce and how do they differ from those in conventional firms What are the determinat factors of a Digital Economy ?

Computer personnel in ecommerce environments (job satisfaction,motivation, skills required, etc etc

What will constrain the growth of ECommerce?

How will future spaces/ media for the exchange of information and creation of economic value look like, what are the design concepts ?

What will be the impact of software agents on electronic commerce?