In the rapidly proliferating literature on electronic commerce this collection stands out. Stuart Barnes and Brian Hunt have edited an anthology that presents new and exciting research in a clear and accessible form. What is particularly pleasing about the text is that it also covers issues relating to electronic commerce in SMEs, as this perspective has not received the attention that it deserves. The treatment of electronic commerce in large organisations enables the reader to begin to make comparisons with electronic commerce in SMEs and to identify some of the distinctive features of the latter. All the chapters are well written, make good use of tables and diagrams, and have valuable reference lists. The readability and the effective citation of recent literature in them make the book an excellent starting point for research on the topics within its remit. These features also mean that the collection can be recommended to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students who wish to develop research interests or work on their dissertations. The case studies (which cover organisations varying in size, type of business, and location) are particularly useful to students as they give carefully worked illustrations of how to apply a theoretical perspective to a new situation.
The structure of the book is well defined and the major areas of interest are clearly separated. The collection is divided into two distinct sections. The first section concentrates upon identifying the potential benefits of electronic commerce. The discussion features a selection of companies including traditional businesses and their electronic challenges, SMEs, and firms operating in the publishing industry. This diversity of focus also applies to the wide range of issues under consideration. Online content assessment and management, virtual communities, and electronic customer relations are among the topics treated.
The first chapter considers the transformation of business on the Internet from a strategic perspective. A modified framework drawn from the field of strategic marketing is employed to investigate how the Internet is modifying the operation of markets. It is suggested that most companies are not deriving maximum benefit from the Internet as they are regarding it as a medium for publishing information or adding online capability to their existing business practices.
Issues raised by the growth of online delivered content are the focus of the next chapter. The kinds of products and services that have the potential to become an important element of online trade are also explored. The discussion makes a useful contribution to the positioning of electronic trade in online delivered content within the panoply of electronic commerce activity as a whole. The particular qualities of this type of electronic trading are identify and constrast with other (traditional) methods of content trading.
Digital intermediation in electronic commerce is a rapid growth area and chapter 3 investigates this phenomenon. A framework for appreciating situations in which innovations in information technology for electronic commerce alter the strategic selections made in Internet market competition forms the focus of the discussion. There is valuable analysis of the economic motivations for these selections. The digital intermediation function is carefully considered and the “IDR” cycle of “intermediation”, “disintermediation” and “reintermediation” is elucidated.
The fourth chapter looks at the intermediary role of virtual communities in building successful electronic commerce. The focus of interest is a detailed investigation of a significant virtual communities business model for developing customer and stakeholder relationships. The discussion develops the important observation that most virtual communities that are currently evolving have been started, organised and controlled by businesses. The contribution that virtual communities can play as facilitating intermediaries in the exchange relationships between members of a community is usefully covered.
The measurement of the effectiveness of electronic commerce Web sites has growing commercial importance. In one of the best chapters in the book, this issue is systematically treated through comprehensive consideration of the Web assessment method for evaluating electronic commerce Web sites. Significantly, this method recognises how Internet related technologies have altered the character of sales and marketing. This insight is developed via the identification of potential differentiating success factors for a Web site from a consumer standpoint.
Chapter 6 provides an excellent overview of the business impact of the Internet on SMEs and can be recommended as concise introduction to this important topic. The discussion of the developing employment of the Internet by SMEs is valuable, as is the focus upon the impacts produced by introducing the Internet trading. The model that is used in the chapter facilitates a structured approach to analysing these impacts and several case studies show its usefulness in practice.
The following chapter continues the SME theme and it is concerned with the transformation of the travel industry by electronic commerce innovations. The aim is to consider wider business impacts that alter the structure of the industry itself. This topic is of interest because it is increasingly evident that business to consumer electronic commerce has an important role in restructing some traditional industries.
In the second section, the focus is upon virtual business in various forms. The management of virtual businesses, integration of virtual and physical business, and employment of technology in virtual organisations are just some of the topics that are considered. The first chapter in this section opens with a comprehensive definition of a virtual organisation and an overview of its main properties and roles. This discussion supplies a valuable general framework from which to assess the business models that are presented in the subsequent chapters.
Chapter 9 is concerned with supporting collaboration by the use of interorganisational systems. It is argued that relationships between businesses can be improved and reinforced by interorganisational systems and that these systems can also ease new strategic collaborations between companies. The barriers to successful interorganisational systems are conceptualised. There is a useful presentation of the issues raised by the systems in the form of an integrated model on three levels.
The factors that comprise the structure, strategy and success of a virtual organisation are explored in chapter 10 as a comprehensive theoretical and practical account of these organisations. The discussion identifies crucial and connected success factors for a virtual organisation, including the key ideas of shared purpose, trust, risk and mutual benefit. There is a useful treatment of a number of possible types of structures and strategies for virtual organisations, namely co‐alliance, star‐alliance, value‐alliance and market‐alliance.
The next chapter sets out to develop a framework to assist the effective management of a virtual organisation. The focus is upon how the Internet and associated technologies permit the virtual organisation to connect and coordinate with a substantial range of business partners. The concept of the virtual modular organisation is introduced. It is claimed that these organisations are hard to manage and that a support tool for management, tentatively entitled modular network design, can improve their functionality.
In chapter 12 the topic of knowledge networks in virtual teams comes to the fore with the investigation of creativity and change management. A notion of virtual teamwork that is relevant to businesses in traditional sectors is introduced and developed. It is argued that a requirement for radical alteration of business practices should be seen in the light of established ways of working and managing organisational knowledge. Some of the factors that contribute to a successful move to virtual working are also identify.
The potential of the Internet to contribute to advanced supply chain management is examined in chapter 13. Electronic procurement has become an increasingly important aspect of business‐to‐business electronic commerce and the discussion provides valuable insight into some of the possible benefits that this can bring. It is argued that the employment of the Internet and related technologies in the area of supply chain management has the potential to generate substantial returns.
Chapter 14 considers the impact of virtual organisations from an industrial standpoint. The treatment of this centres on the implementation of virtual organisation principles in the information technology sector in two European countries, with particular reference to the employment of information systems as tools for virtual organisation. Information systems are claimed to be of notable significance because worldwide open platforms have recently become available.
The final chapter deals with identifying what limitations virtual organisations may have by taking a wide perspective on them. Several potential problems with this emergent organisational form are investigated. Interestingly, the conclusion reached is that the virtual organisation does have a distinct role but its scope is possibly far less than some of its enthusiasts would like to admit.
The most significant lacuna in the collection is the lack of discussion of methods for implementing or seizing success. However, the book can be recommended to readers with an interest in electronic commerce and familiarity with the topics it covers will be valuable. On balance, I feel that this text represents a most useful addition to the specialist literature in this field.
