The concept of E-Business

 
Introduction
Spiegel (2000) defined e-business as all the customer services, business transactions and
intra-business tasks that are executed with the help of digital communication technology. In other
words, e-business involves the use of Information and Communication Technology to exchange
services, products and even information for commercial as well as communication purposes. It
can occur among businesses, between businesses and individuals, between government and
members of the public, even with governments etc. The main driving force of e-business is the
Internet. The Internet is a generic term used to describe a global networked environment, which
support such systems like email, websites, and file transfer protocol. It’s simply a network of
computers scattered across the globe. The exponential rise of internet and digital technology has
made e-business to occupy a very significant position, in the world of business. In this paper, we
take comprehensive look as the concepts and feature of e-business.
1. The concept of E-Business
1.1 Describe the environment in which e-business is conducted and business transaction
types.
As already mentioned at the beginning of this paper, e-business is defined as the use of
information and communication technologies, in executing various business operations.
According to Ladan (2010), e-business is basically conducted in three different systems, namely:
systems of human activity, systems of information, and systems of information and
communication technology. These three systems interact collectively together to form the
environment in which e-business is basically carried out.
E-business can be classified based on the type of organizations or individuals that are
involved in the transaction. The main types of e-business as: Business-to-business (B2B),
Business-to-consumer (B2C), Consumer-to-business (C2B) and Consumer-to-consumer (C2C).
Business-to-business (B2B) is a special type of business transaction, which takes place
between businesses. It can either occur between a wholesaler or retailer or a manufacturer and a
wholesaler. For instance, manufacturers of vehicles usually make several B2B transactions that
include: buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for the vehicles. Many of these
transactions can be conducted via the internet (Nemat, 2011). 
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Business-to-consumer refers to business activities, in which end customers are served
with services and/or products. Thus, it includes any business that sells its services or products
over the Internet. Some good examples include: Amazon, online banking, travel services, online
auctions, health information and real estate sites (Nemat, 2011).
Consumer-to-business (C2B) is a unique type of e-business, in which consumers sell their
services or products to companies via the internet. A very good example is the affiliate program
(Dutta and Bison, 2001).
Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) is the process whereby transactions are electronically
facilitated between consumers through a third party. One of the commonest examples of this type
of e-business is the online auction, where commodity for sale is posted by a consumer and other
consumers bid to purchase it. The auction site is owned by a third party who makes his own
money from the commissions that are charged for these transactions (Nemat, 2011).
1.2. The benefit and barriers to businesses considering an online presence
Over the last few decades, the exponential rise of internet and the digital technology has
opened a new playing field for all categories of businesses. Consequently, an increasing number
of businesses have continued to establish presences on the vast internet world. However, there
are both benefits and disadvantages of e-business. These are discussed below.
Benefits of e-businesses
The main reason behind the increase in the number of business that operates online is the
numerous advantages that can be obtained from the venture. Internet is the basic platform on
which every online business operates. Statistics has shown that billions of users log in to the
internet on daily basis. Thus, any business that is established online will be exposed to millions
of potential customers, who will have an unrestrictive access to the information about the
products and services that are being rendered by the businesses (Henderson, 2014). Also, e-stores
operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a feature that enables the owner to even makes
money while sleeping (Bradley, 2014). Some internet platforms like chat rooms, web forums etc
enables e-business owners to create strong networks that can link them to potential customers 
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across the globe. Finally, operating an e-business is more cost-effective than operating a physical
store (Henderson, 2014).
Barriers of e-business:
There are also certain factors that are militating against the successful establishment of
businesses o