Over the years, John Wiley & Sons have published a wide range of outstanding volumes on general management as well as more specific, emergent topics. In keeping with recent trends, their excellent portfolio of books on electronic commerce covers a variety of inter‐related topics and perspectives. Due to the overall high quality of publications, it would have been rather difficult for me to select one particular book and review it for the current special issue. My task was made easier by Dr Jun Li, who chose to review Timmers’ widely acclaimed Electronic Commerce: Strategies and Models for Business‐to‐Business Trading, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2000. I therefore settled on Elliot’s volume of edited chapters that deals specifically with a complementary aspect, namely business to customer (B2C) trading strategies and models. The book represents a systematic and empirically rigorous approach to comparative research into e‐commerce in a number of countries, both large and small. Its international flavour and detailed case studies add further value to the ten informative, well researched and tightly argued chapters. The volume as a whole makes a significant and much needed contribution to the growing mass of e‐commerce literature.
In the first chapter, Elliot introduces the reader to both the structure of the book and the topic under scrutiny. This focused approach is cleverly designed to assist as well as “hook” the reader from the very first page. It worked with me and soon I found myself involved in reading a substantial volume in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding rather than summarising its content for review purposes. Apart from the usual objectives, structure and target sections, the first chapter also contains a great deal of interesting information relating to the research project upon which the this book was based. Interestingly, in their effort to assist organisations to exploit B2C e‐commerce, the authors present not only an international comparative study of successful implementations, but also an empirically rigorous analysis of related outcomes. In my opinion, the proof of the contribution of this book is in its approach: it presents an in‐depth analysis of the experiences of both businesses and their customers within a single, consistent and integrated study in six economies: UK, USA, Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong and Australia (Chapters 2 to 7). In this context, the author notes an interesting, if rather obvious dichotomy in respect to business models and strategies. This is useful to the understanding of the depth and direction of the research: business models specify the relationship that might exist between participants, the benefits and costs, and specific flows of revenue; business strategies indicate how a particular business model can be applied to a target market in a way that it would differentiate an organisation from its competitors.
Each chapter provides a number of main and peripheral case studies, grounded in country‐specific, general data and e‐market information. I got the impression that contributors were given, or have agreed to use, a standardised approach and/or dissemination formulae. In terms of comparative, cross border research this type of approach appears to work well. Interested parties can either read the chapter relevant to a particular country or take a “compare and contrast” perspective and read specific sections in each of the six economies analysed in this book. The case study sections in each chapter are similarly well organised. Typically, a reader could expect detailed information and data analysis for each organisation, to be summarised under the following headings: introduction, environmental issues, business model, innovation factors and processes, key business drivers and obstacles, Web site development and operation, Web site features, the future and conclusion. Good use is made of various tables, figures and diagrams in order to illustrate and support the narrative. Apart from summarising all the case studies presented, an overall, critical conclusion to each country‐specific chapter is also provided.
The final three chapters are dedicated to theoretical, practical and research considerations. In chapter eight, Elliot and Bjorn‐Andersen focus upon evaluating Web sites and surveying customers online. Chapter nine and ten are both written by Elliot and are dedicated to research models and theoretical implications, and the overall conclusions to the book. These are dense, informative and concise sections that distil and disseminate a great deal of structured data, information and knowledge. For me, the final three chapters provided many hours of informative reading and the opportunity to widen my interest in e‐commerce aspects beyond the mainstream, “business and management” field of research. It is good to be reminded occasionally just how inter‐related most organisational research topics can be and also how narrow and insular one’s perspective can get – in particular in terms of approach and dissemination of decision‐making processes and competitive strategies. Practical and funding issues not withstanding, the authors’ research and dissemination approach is ideal for cross‐country comparative research, one that pre‐empt the usual reservations and criticisms levied to the vast majority of similar attempts.
It is customary to conclude a book review with a list of suggested “beneficiaries”: fortuitously, Elliot provides (p. 4) a list of “target audiences”. Personally, I would suggest that anyone interested or involved in e‐commerce would benefit tremendously from reading this excellent book. Entrepreneurs, executives, owner/managers, consultants, researchers, academic, undergraduate and postgraduate students could all learn a great deal and/or consolidate their existing knowledge on the ongoing “e‐commerce revolution”. Both Elliot and the publishers ought to be congratulated for a well researched, highly structured and readable volume, one that is likely to make a significant contribution to the theory and practice of this innovative and fast growing aspect of economic activity.
