Are the Internet and e-commerce truly revolutionising business practice? This book explodes the transformation myth by demonstrating that the Internet and e-commerce are in fact being adapted by firms to reinforce their existing relationships with customers, suppliers and business partners. Detailed case studies of eight countries show that, rather than creating a borderless global economy, e-commerce strongly reflects existing local patterns of commerce, business and consumer preference and its impact therefore varies greatly by country. Paradoxically, while e-commerce is increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness of firms, it is also increasing the complexity of their environments as they have to deal with more business partners and also face greater competition from other firms. This incisive analysis of the diffusion and impact of e-business provides academic researchers, graduate and MBA students with a solid basis for understanding its likely future evolution.
Preface; 1. Globalization and national diversity: e-commerce diffusion and impacts across nations Kenneth L. Kraemer, Jason Dedrick and Nigel Melville; 2. The United States: adaptive integration versus the Silicon Valley Model Jason Dedrick, Kenneth L. Kraemer, John L. King and Kalle Lyytinen; 3. France: an alternative path to internet-based e-commerce Eric Brousseau and Bruno Chaves; 4. Germany: a 'fast follower' of e-commerce technologies and practices Wolfgang Konig, Rolf Wigand and Roman Beck; 5. Japan: local innovation and diversity in e-commerce Dennis Tachiki, Satoshi Hamaya and Kou Yukawa; 6. China: overcoming institutional barriers to e-commerce Zixiang (Alex) Tan and Ouyang Wu; 7. Taiwan: diffusion and impacts of the internet and e-commerce in a hybrid economy Tain-Jy Chen; 8. Brazil: e-commerce shaped by local forces Paulo Bastos Tigre; 9. Mexico: global engagement driving e-commerce adoption and impacts Juan J. Palacios; 10. Global diffusion and convergence of e-commerce: cross-country analyses Kevin Zhu, Sean Xu, Kenneth L. Kraemer and Jason Dedrick; Appendix I - Data collection and survey instrument; Appendix II - GEC survey measures by industry sector and firm size; Appendix III - GEC survey measures by country; Index.
