The Business Models of E-Marketplace

An electronic marketplace (EM) is an inter-organizational information intermediary that enables participating buyers and sellers to exchange information about price and product offerings and to cooperate on commodity exchange. Prior researches on EM design have not defined EM business model clearly. With a review of existing literatures on business model, this paper developed taxonomy of EM business models and classified existing EMs business model from a network role perspective. Further discussion of the evolution of EM business model is provided at the end

The Impact of Covid-19 and Accelerated Growth of e-commerce: The Insignia Case

2020 was an atypical year. It was marked by a world pandemic caused by the infectious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that radically changed people’s lives. Therefore, the present Internship Report is intended to carry out a case study of how the new consumer behavior and e-commerce trends caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic had a direct impact on Insignia Note!’s business, a company which I had the opportunity to work as an intern for three months. The report focuses on describing the company, the role and experiences developed during this period in the third chapter. In this report, there is a contextualization of the pandemic period, regarding the severe impact in the economic outlooks in almost all industries and sectors worldwide, as well as its consequences. This work aims at understanding how lockdown and restrictions measures have changed consumer behavior and created a digital acceleration around the world, which is bringing both new opportunities and new challenges to bear. In addition to the tasks realized during the mentioned internship, a study case was also presented showing how Note! turn the problems brought by the pandemic into a real opportunity to grow by creating its own online business. Then, the report makes a link between the knowledge acquired during the Master’s course in Intercultural Studies for Business and the internship

A Qualitative Exploration of the Marketing Challenges Faced by Small and Medium Enterprises in Gauteng, South Africa During COVID-19

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine how the resurgence of e-commerce in South Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic impacted SMEs using e-commerce resources, and to devise strategies to assist SMEs to become more agile, resilient and better able to cope with disruptions.   Theoretical framework: The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need to investigate the challenges experienced with e-commerce by SMEs in South Africa since the pandemic disrupted business through the restriction of movement of people which accelerated the use of online shopping. The e-commerce resources and dynamic capabilities of SMEs were analysed to explore the impact they have on the growth of e-commerce.   Methodology: Purposive sampling was used to identify 13 participants (SME owners/managers) for a qualitative study conducted using semi-structured interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges which impacted their business and marketing model. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts from the interviews and identify any patterns.   Findings: It was ascertained that the pandemic stimulated the growth of e-commerce among SMEs that invested in unique resources and capabilities. However, those businesses that had not invested in on-line marketing resources were negatively affected and some have had to close.   Practical implications: The practical implication of this research relates to how SMEs could (should) smartly digitise their business model and migrate to e-commerce more effectively and efficiently.   Value: This study may assist SMEs to make more informed decisions when using e-commerce platforms. The findings may also contribute to preparing South African SMEs to adapt more easily, should a similar disruption occur in the future

E-Markets and Changing Trends

This paper discusses the role of e-markets as intermediaries in the Australasian B2B e-space. The discussion and findings of this paper are from a research project that investigated the business and operational issues of these intermediaries as highly volatile business entities in 2002 and an evaluation of these same e-markets in 2005 to determine the changing trends. This paper presents business opportunities, revenue models from intermediary services, factors contributing to success and the challenges e-markets faced in 2002 and in 2005

The implementation of e-business in the South African automative industry

Globally, the automotive industry has progressed through various stages of manufacturing paradigms over many decades. The automotive industry is one of South Africa's most important sectors, with many of the major automotive multinationals using South Africa to source components and assemble vehicles for both the local and international markets. Lean production has been recognised as the most effective manufacturing strategy that generates high quality products at low costs, while still producing different varieties of products. The effectiveness of the lean production lies in the relationships that exist between the original equipment manufacturer and its suppliers. Klopping and McKinney (2004) state that the evolution of the Internet as a business tool enhanced by the development of the World Wide Web has led to the emergence of the fast growing e-commerce applications. This quantitative research study aims at investigating the e-business relationships that exist between a selected Eastern Cape Original Equipment Manufacturer and its first tier suppliers. The primary objective of the study was to obtain and document direct feedback from the South African Automotive Manufacturing Industry about their perceptions, opinions, plans and activities in respect to Business to Business Electronic Commerce - called "e-Business" for the remainder of this study. The study shows that most automotive suppliers are comparatively heavy users of e-business. Many of these suppliers are also using e-mail and have a website, but comparatively few engage in more complex e-business operations. The greater majority of respondents reported that e-business has facilitated efficiency of their operations. However, e-business is not being utilised effectively between the OEM and its suppliers even with the introduction of Covisint which is a common e-business interface that was created through collaboration between major OEMs and their suppliers to ease e-business in the automotive industry

The contribution of digitalisation, channel integration and sustainability to the international performance of industrial SMEs

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand the contribution of digitalisation, channel integration and sustainability to the improvement of industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)' international performance. Design/methodology/approach - Based on a reviewof the literature, the authors developed a researchmodel that included six hypotheses about the relationships between the constructs studied: digitalisation, channel integration, sustainability and international performance. The structural equation model was tested with data from a survey answered by 200 exporting industrial SMEs, by means of partial least squares regression. Findings - The digitalisation of SMEs contributes positively to channel integration and sustainability, while channel integration is positively related to their international performance. Although a direct relationship between digitalisation and international performance was not observed, a mediated relationship through channel integration was confirmed. Additionally, the multi-group analysis according to the level of internationalisation revealed that sustainability positively influences the international performance of companies with a high degree of internationalisation. Originality/value - This study is original insofar as it examined the role of digitalisation in the international performance of industrial SMEs, considering the mediating role of sustainability and channel integration

The Short Term Intention of Managers to Adopt Internet Commerce After the Tech Wreck: Directions for Research

Electronic commerce has been greeted with much excitement in both the research and wider community over its relatively short lifetime. While many authors have promoted electronic commerce, the “tech wreck” of early 2000 saw a sudden drop in e-commerce uptake. Only a limited amount of research has examined the reasons for the adoption of this technology. This study examines the reasons for commercial technology adoption and applies them to the adoption of internet commerce by Australian companies. The study establishes a set of business reasons for technology adoption, being the desire to gain a competitive advantage, desire to remove a competitive disadvantage, improve communication, reduce organisational costs, improve functionality and a possible bandwagon effect. The study finds that internet commerce adoption may be associated with attempts to attain a competitive advantage, to improve communication. As with many internet commerce adopters, there is evidence of institutional bandwagon effects

Enterprise architecture in practice : from IT concept towards enterprise architecture leadership

Informaatioteknologia (Information Technology, IT) on kaikkialla ja liiketoimintakriittisesti välttämätön osa yritysten nykytoimintaa, viestintää ja tulevaisuuden strategioita (Nolan 2012). Informaatiota tarvitaan ihmisten ja organisaatioiden hyvinvointiin, kasvuun ja selviytymiseen. IT muuttaa liiketoimintaa, työtä ja työnjakoa nopeammin ja laajemmin kuin mikään aikaisempi tekninen keksintö. Teknologiaa käytetään informaation hankkimiseen, hallintaan ja jakamiseen. Teknologioiden, tietojärjestelmien (Information Systems, IS) ja informaation hallinta vaativat uutta ajattelua, konsepteja ja välineitä työn organisointiin (Orlikowski 2007). Tämä opinnäytetyö tutkii kokonaisarkkitehtuurin (Enterprise Architecture, EA) mahdollisuuksia hallita teknologioita ja digitalisaatiota osana nykyaikaista liiketoimintaa. EA-käsitteellä ei ole vakiintunutta määritelmää. Burgess, Ramakrishnan, Salmans ja Kappelman (2010, 252) raportoi 10 erilaista tapaa määritellä EA-käsite, joista korkeimman abstraktiotason määritelmä on “kaikki tietämys yrityksestä”. EA-käsitteen moniselitteisyys johtuu osittain informaatioteknologian nopeasta kehityksestä ja hyvin teknisestä näkökulmasta. Viimeisen 20 vuoden aikana kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallinnan (EA management; EAM) idea on kasvanut tietotekniikasta ja IT-arkkitehtuureista kohti hallinnollista innovaatiota, jolla ohjataan organisaation rahan käyttöä (Luftman & Ben-Zvi 2011, 206), tietojärjestelmien kehitystä (Makiya 2012, 6) ja strategian toteutusta (Simon, Fischbach & Schoder 2014). EAM on uusi käsite, joka lupaa moninaisia hyötyjä, mutta sisältää samalla ristiriitaisia odotuksia ja monimutkaisia systeemisiä ja sosiaalisia haasteita mahdollisten hyötyjen realisoimiseksi. Tämä työ tarkastelee kokonaisarkkitehtuuria IT-käsitteenä ja monimutkaisena sosioteknisenä ilmiönä. Etenemme EA:n tietoteknisistä juurista, arkkitehtuureista, liiketoiminnan ja tietotekniikan samansuuntaisuuden (alignment) kautta kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallintaan. Kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallinnasta jatkamme toiminnan teorian (Vygotsky 1978, Leontiev 1978, 1981; Engeström 1987), toimijaverkostoteorian (Actor-Network Theory, ANT: Latour 1999a; Monteiro 2000), strukturaatioteorian (Giddens 1984) ja sosiomateriaalisuuden (Orlikowski 2007) avulla kohti kokonaisarkkitehtuurin johtamista (EA leadership). Teoriaosuudessa esittelemme kolme viitekehystä ja näkökulman analysoida organisaation tietotekniikan, kokonaisarkkitehtuurin ja tietämyksen hallinnan sosiomaterialistista kokonaisuutta. Opinnäytetyön kokeellinen osuus on tapaustutkimus kohdeyrityksemme kokonaisarkkitehtuurin kehittymisestä. Teoriaosuuden viitekehyksiä testataan analysoimalla kohdeyrityksen kokonaisarkkitehtuurin kehityksestä tehtyjä etnografisia havaintoja vuosilta 1996-2011. Seitsemän lyhyttä kuvausta (vignettes) kertovat kohdeyrityksen kokonaisarkkitehtuurin kehitystarinoita, joita arvioidaan IT, EA, EAM ja tietämyksen hallinnan näkökulmista. Tämä työ osoittaa kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallinnan mahdollisuuksia parantaa informaatiotekniikan tuottavuutta integroimalla liiketoiminnan, prosessien ja tietojärjestelmien/tekniikan kehittämistä. Kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallinta vaatii lisää systeemistä ymmärrystä miten sosiomateriaalisia rakenteita ja käytäntöjä tulisi (uudelleen)määrittää ja sovittaa yrityksen tietämyksen ja muutoksen hallinnan tehostamiseksi. Tutkimuksessa esitettyjä viitekehyksiä voidaan jatkossa käyttää pyrittäessä kohti reflektoivia kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallinnan ja johtamisen käytäntöjä

B2B e-marketplaces : a study of the current industry

The subsequent work is a study of B2B e-marketplaces. These trading platforms are a relatively new creation, having their birth in the ever more widespread adoption of Internet technology throughout business. The implementation of electronic transactions in place of the traditional paper-based order process offers substantial cost reductions to companies. Once a company has decided on changing the procurement process to the electronic medium however it is presented with a multitude of technical incompatible problems to reach all of its trading partners, as there currently exists no technical standard for business transactions. Thus there is an opportunity for an intermediary, a platform where a myriad of companies can ‘virtually’ congregate to trade, this marketplace being accessed through an easy to use Web site. The e-marketplace may generate revenue in part by extracting a fee for each transaction conducted across its platform. This creates a dilemma, the creation of a trading platform is not such a feat that it is beyond large companies. Indeed the transaction fees charged by e-marketplaces compound the desire of companies to create their own platforms. Such private e-marketplaces are appearing, built on proprietary technologies and inciting concerns of fair-trading law infringements. The independent e-marketplace built to service an entire industry must offer more to potential users than a company could provide for itself. It achieves this through being neutral and open to all industry members, highly transparent in operation and explicit in its integrity. Impossible for company-created and therefore biased platforms, the independent platform can create a Virtual Community, supporting networking throughout an industry. Rather than monetary profits for the owners of the platform, the true value of the e-marketplace lies in the use of information to manage inventory, saving large amounts of money usually trapped in stock and in striking redesigns of workflow.The subsequent work is a study of B2B e-marketplaces. These trading platforms are a relatively new creation, having their birth in the ever more widespread adoption of Internet technology throughout business. The implementation of electronic transactions in place of the traditional paper-based order process offers substantial cost reductions to companies. Once a company has decided on changing the procurement process to the electronic medium however it is presented with a multitude of technical incompatible problems to reach all of its trading partners, as there currently exists no technical standard for business transactions. Thus there is an opportunity for an intermediary, a platform where a myriad of companies can ‘virtually’ congregate to trade, this marketplace being accessed through an easy to use Web site. The e-marketplace may generate revenue in part by extracting a fee for each transaction conducted across its platform. This creates a dilemma, the creation of a trading platform is not such a feat that it is beyond large companies. Indeed the transaction fees charged by e-marketplaces compound the desire of companies to create their own platforms. Such private e-marketplaces are appearing, built on proprietary technologies and inciting concerns of fair-trading law infringements. The independent e-marketplace built to service an entire industry must offer more to potential users than a company could provide for itself. It achieves this through being neutral and open to all industry members, highly transparent in operation and explicit in its integrity. Impossible for company-created and therefore biased platforms, the independent platform can create a Virtual Community, supporting networking throughout an industry. Rather than monetary profits for the owners of the platform, the true value of the e-marketplace lies in the use of information to manage inventory, saving large amounts of money usually trapped in stock and in striking redesigns of workflow

Research in Supply Chain Management: Issue and Area Development

Today the study of supply chain management (SCM) is growing rapidly and provides a great opportunity to do research both empirical and theoretical development. Research opportunities in SCM has been reviewed by many researchers and grouped into many categories. This paper contains a review of research SCM and classify into 7 categories, namely (1) SCM Operational Management & Strategy, (2) knowledge management, (3) Relationship Management, (4) Information Technology in SCM, (5) Supply Chain Design, Logistics & Infrastructure, (6) Global Issues, (7) Environment, Legal & Regulations. The issue in each category and research opportunities will be discussed in this paper. Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Research Opportunities in SCM, Issue in SC