Web and e‐technology enabled applications are on a steep and accelerating growth curve. They are providing organizations both large and small entirely new and innovative ways to grow markets and serve customers in ways that were unimaginable less than a short decade ago. The “e‐word” has also enabled new direct impacts at the individual level too. Individuals network with others thru online communities, they can keep abreast of changes in their expertise field thru distance learning and thru access to web portals packed with information, and they have flexibility in work patterns and locations “out of the office” that are enabled by ubiquitous access to essential information and contacts thru a variety of personal web and wireless devices.
The essence and impact of this “e‐tech” phenomena is uniquely and constructively expressed in the Encyclopedia of E‐Commerce, E‐Government, and Mobile Commerce by Medhi Khostrow‐Pour. It is a comprehensive and far reaching collection of articles on “all things e‐tech”. This two volume publication consists of 1,350 pages of ideas, concepts, and experiences from over 300 experts from across the globe that are captured and documented in over 200 edited articles.
The articles come with a variety of perspectives including dot‐com case studies, e‐commerce applications, mobile e‐learning strategies, conceptual approaches to e‐collaboration, trends in web retailing and so on. The collection is organized in two ways. One way is a listing of the topics by alphabetical volumes, and the second by broad topic categories. There are 12 of these broad topic categories under which the 200 articles are grouped. The topic groupings are:
- 1.
E‐collaboration technologies and applications.
- 2.
E‐commerce management and social issues.
- 3.
E‐commerce technologies and applications.
- 4.
E‐government management and social issues.
- 5.
E‐government technologies and applications.
- 6.
E‐healthcare technologies and applications.
- 7.
E‐learning technologies and applications.
- 8.
E‐technologies security and privacy.
- 9.
Mobile commerce management and social issues.
- 10.
Mobile commerce technologies and applications.
- 11.
Virtual communities and enterprises.
- 12.
Web portals and services.
Topic areas (e‐commerce technologies and applications (2)), (e‐commerce management and social issues (3)), and (e‐government management and social issues (5)) are the largest topic categories with each containing 50 or more articles. Most all articles use a common format of background, core content, future trends, conclusion, and references that is very helpful in efficiently scanning and browsing the collection from topic to topic, and article to article.
This collection of e‐tech material will be useful to researchers, professionals, managers, executives, and students alike. The collection provides an excellent overview and framework of the e‐tech landscape for readers who want to learn what is encompassed in the field. It is also useful for providing deeper study into specific topic areas thru the many articles contained in each of the 12 topic categories.
The editor‐in‐chief, Medhi Khostrow‐Pour, stated that his objective for the publication was “to provide the most inclusive and up‐to date coverage of e‐technologies by compiling quality contributions that highlight current concepts, trends, challenges, applications, and experiences related to e‐commerce, e‐government and mobile commerce technologies”. The editor indicated that the articles in the volumes were originally screened by the editor‐in‐chief, and then double‐ blind peer reviewed to ensure worthiness of publication.
It can be said that Medhi Khostrow‐Pour has clearly achieved his objective and that anyone who is working in, or is interested in the e‐tech field, should be a reader or at a minimum be knowledgeable of this comprehensive collection. The encyclopedia is available in both print and online versions.
