Lecture: 1

Unit-I
1.1 : Meaning, Nature & Concepts of
E-Commerce

Subject Name: E-Commerce

Subject Code: BBA-106
Semester: 2

Subject Faculty:
Bhupender Singh,
Asst. Professor,
DME Management School 1 of 18
Syllabus

2 of 18
Syllabus

3 of 18
 Introduction: What is e-Business?
• It is about performing business operations
through electronic means. It refers to the use of
computers and electronic communications
networks to do business. It gives ease of doing
business.
• Example: Traditional Marketing Practices require
more efforts in terms of money and time with
ability to address few customers. Where as,
electronic marketing practices are cost effective,
require less efforts and large customer base
could be entertained or reached.
• It caters monetary as well as non-monetary
business transactions. It covers a wide range of
activities, ranging from the use of email and
Electronic Funds Transfer, Internet based sales
and transactions and web-based marketing.  3 of 18
Introduction: Why Study E-commerce?
• E-commerce majorly deals with monetary
business transactions done through
electronic means.
• E-commerce brings fundamental changes
to commerce
• Traditional commerce:
– Consumer as passive targets
– Sales-force driven
– Fixed prices
– Information asymmetry

4 of 18
 Suggested Readings
• Text Book:
1. Elias M. Awad (3 Ed., 2007). Electronic Commerce- From Vision to
Fulfillment, PHI Learning.
2. Joseph, P.T and S.J (4th Edition, 2012), E-Commerce – An Indian
Perspective, PHI Learining

• References:
Laudon, K.C. & Traver, C.G (2008), E-commerce:- ‘Business. Technology.
Society’, Chapter 1, Page No. 46-52

• Web links:
https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/what-is-ecommerce
6 of 18
 E-Business Vs E-Commerce
 E-Commerce is what you do…E-Business is what you are…
 e-Business has a broad scope than e-commerce
 E-Commerce is a subset of E-Business.

E-Business
• Enterprise designed for success
in the Information Age
E-Commerce • Creates new sources of shareholder value
– Building customer loyalty
• Marketing
– Optimizing business process
• Selling – Creating new products and services
• Buying of products and – Managing risk and compliance
services on – Reaching new markets
the Internet – Enhancing human capital
– Harnessing technology
– Achieving market leadership
 Features of E-Commerce

1. Ubiquity
2. Global Reach
3. Universal Standards
4. Richness
5. Interactivity
6. Information Density
7. Personalization/Customization

8 of 18
 Ubiquity
•Available everywhere but may be hidden.
•Ubiquity lowers transaction costs for the
consumer/buyer.
•Cognitive Energy – mental effort needed to
complete a task.
•Ubiquity reduces cognitive energy.
– Humans tend to seek options that require the
minimum cognitive energy.
– Consider the mental effort needed to buy your
book online vs. hunting for it at various book
stores.
9 of 18
 Global Reach

• e-commerce technologies enable a

business to easily reach across geographic
boundaries.

• Its really easy to understand how this

feature can benefit business and
consumers.

8 of 18
 Universal Standards
• e-commerce is made possible through hardware
(Internet) and software/content (World Wide Web)

• The Internet – In its infancy, the architects

developed standards that are now globally
recognized (TCP/IP)

• The World Wide Web – Standards are becoming #1

priority (XML, HTML, etc.)

• Since e-commerce is built on standard technology

(XML, HTML), its really to integrate, aggregate, and
summarize information.
9 of 18
12 of 18
 Richness
• Advertising and branding are an
important part of commerce.
• e-commerce can deliver video, audio,
animation, etc. much better than other
technologies (billboards, signs, etc.)
– However, its about as rich as television
technology.
• Comparison: Airplanes enable global
reach, but how about Richness?

13 of 18
 Interactivity

• Consumer/user can interact with the

content.
– Here is where Web technology kick’s TV’s.

• TV is a passive activity
– Engaging consumer/user is a powerful feature.

14 of 18
 Information Density
• The e-commerce technology
– reduces information costs
– raises the quality of information

• How does the technology reduce costs?

• How does it raise quality.

• Consider the old way to share information, i.e.,

paper, mail, voice communication, etc.

15 of 18
Personalization/Customization
• Ability of business to offer different sets of services to
different groups/individuals are per their requirements.

• Different market segments with different needs exists.

It is of utmost importance for a business to cater such
disparate market.

• Technology has made it simple for a business to offer

personalized services.

• Example: Telecom Vendor offers different plans

focusing on Talk Time, Data, Combo plan to attract
majority of market space.
16 of 18
E-Commerce Applications:
E-commerce applications in educational sector


E-commerce applications in financial segment



E-commerce applications in entertainment



E-commerce applications in the manufacturing sector



E-Commerce advantages can be broadly classified in

three major categories −
Advantages to Organizations


Advantages to Consumers


Advantages to Society


17 of 18
 Summary
• Meaning of E-Business.

• Meaning of E-Commerce.

• Comparison b/w E-Bus & E-Commerce.

• Features of E-Commerce.

• Application Areas of E-Commerce.

• Beneficiaries of E-Commerce.
18 of 18