The Role Of Social Capital In Managing Relationships With eCommerce Suppliers

Contemporary E-Commerce solutions are often developed and delivered in inter-firm setups that involve various business partners. Being characterised by innovative, ill-structured tasks and using new technologies to develop new business models and services, E-Commerce projects and the subsequently resulting relationships with business partners are demanding and challenging to manage. Surprisingly, project and partner management issues in E-Commerce remain largely unaddressed. This paper takes an inter-firm perspective and addresses the social dimension of E-Commerce relationships. Social capital theory, referring to the value of social relationships and networks, is used to guide this research. Based on findings from case study research, different types and episodes of E-Commerce supplier relationships are distinguished, each calling for a different role of social capital as the basis for effective inter-firm collaboration. By applying social capital theory the study enhances the understanding of E-Commerce as a network-based business as well as the general understanding of the social aspects in relationship management, which to date is largely dominated by concepts like trust and culture. The paper presents a comprehensive framework of social capital in E-Commerce relationships and points out some management implications.

Business plan: Boutique 0

This project consists in the development of a business plan to launch "BOUTIQUE 0", an ecommerce outlet dropship business that helps Portuguese fashion manufacturers destocking, by selling Portuguese designs and brands at discount prices. "BOUTIQUE 0" aims to digitalize the Portuguese fashion outlet market’s landscape, giving Portuguese manufacturers and brands access to an all year long solution to sell their held stocks, and provide buyers the chance of accessing high quality fashion products from Portuguese manufacturers at low prices. The main objective of this project is to assess the viability and implementation strategy of "BOUTIQUE 0", defining a plan to bring this new business to market, including strategic, marketing, technological, organizational and financial considerations. To support this business plan, a literature review on E-commerce, Business Plans and Dropship Logistic Models was conducted. Also, to analyze the opportunities and difficulties of this market and decide on the implementation strategy of "BOUTIQUE 0", a deep research was carried out on the fashion ecommerce market in Portugal, the online outlet competition and best practices, technologic solutions and possible partners, amongst others. Following this research and reflection, the implementation policies were defined, and, in the end, a financial evaluation was developed to conclude on the viability of this project.Este projeto consiste na elaboração de um plano de negócios para o lançamento da empresa "BOUTIQUE 0", um negócio online de venda de stocks de produtores e marcas portuguesas a baixo preço. "BOUTIQUE 0" pretende trazer o mercado de moda outlet portuguesa para o online, apresentando aos produtores e marcas portuguesas, uma solução que lhes permita escoar os seus stocks durante todo o ano sem estarem dependentes dos pontuais stock markets e proporcionando aos consumidores a oportunidade de comprar produtos produtos portugueses de elevada qualidade a preços baixos. O objetivo deste plano de negócios é analisar a viabilidade e estratégia de implementação da "BOUTIQUE 0", elaborando um plano de lançamento deste novo negócio, incluindo considerações estratégicas, de marketing, tecnológicas, organizacionais e financeiras. Para dar suporte a este plano de negócios, foi realizada a revisão de literatura de conceitos chave como Comércio Eletrónico, Planos de Negócio e o Modelo Logístico de Dropshipping. Para além disso, como base à análise de oportunidades e dificuldades neste mercado e decisão da estratégia de implementação, foi efetuada uma análise aprofundada do mercado de moda online em Portugal, da concorrência online de moda outlet e melhores práticas, soluções tecnológicas e possíveis parceiros, entre outros. Após esta análise e reflexão, foi definida a estratégia de implementação e no final, uma avaliação financeira para comprovar a viabilidade do projeto

25 Years of Research into the Management of eTechnology Projects

Over the last 25 years, information technology has evolved from intra-organizational systems to inter-organizational electronic technologies (eTechnology) that span organizations and industries and to extra-organizational systems delivered via the Internet, which involve individuals rather than organizationss. Project management research has largely sought reasons for project outcomes (Factor Research), and considered projects either as a process (Engineering Tradition) or as a form of organization (Social Science Tradition). This meta-analysis of 284 research papers identified key findings that provide insights and guidance for eTechnology project management in different technical and organizational environments. As the management context of eTechnology projects changed and project implementation moved beyond the control of a single organization, research focus shifted to examining topics within inter-organizational environments. Although some shift in focus occurred towards the social aspects of eTechnology project management, there was comparatively little use of multiple levels of analysis or interdisciplinary research within the Social Science Tradition

Can knowledge management save regional development?

Australia needs to create innovative regions to sustain economic prosperity and regional development. In order to do this, regions will need to systematically address their knowledge needs and identify tools that are appropriate in maximising their effectiveness. Many initiatives have focused on information and communication technology (ICT) to enable knowledge exchange and stimulate knowledge generation, but active knowledge management (KM) strategies are required if ICTs are to be used effectively. These strategies must respond to the regional economic and social environments which incorporate small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper outlines the importance of KM for supporting regional cluster development and the key ways in which communities of practice (CoPs), a KM technique, have been used to add value in similar contexts. How CoPs and their online counterpart, virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), can be used and developed in regional areas of Australia is considered along with a program for further research.<br /

Role of eIntermediaries in the United States paper supply chain

In an attempt to streamline the paper supply chain, paper industry vertical business-to-business eMarketplaces were established to help industry players to decrease inefficiencies in their supply chains, to minimize negative effects of economic cyclicality, and to achieve better visibility. eMarketplaces rode the hype of revolutionizing the way in which industries conduct business, citing the cost savings achieved by expanded market reach, operational efficiencies, aggregated purchasing, and finding the least expensive suppliers. Adoption of eIntermediaries has been lower than expected in the paper industry and many of the paper vertical start-ups failed when the economy softened and the dot.com bubble burst. This thesis examines the expectations, experience and role of eIntermediaries in the paper supply chain. eIntermediaries failed to fulfill paper suppliers expectations regarding key promises, such as improving cash flow, reducing cycle time, and reducing errors. None of the paper supplier respondents achieved the expected benefits from eIntermediary implementation. Overall paper suppliers lack commitment and trust for eIntermediaries. Paper buyer and paper supplier attitudes and expectations on eIntermediaries do not differ significantly. Both suppliers and buyers are concerned that using eIntermediaries would lead to loss of contact with exchange partners, but paper suppliers have a greater level of concern. Suppliers are most concerned with profitability, security of sensitive information, technical resources, costs, and the need to restructure established business processes in the context of using eIntermediaries. B2B exchanges seem to have underestimated the complexity of the paper industry and overestimated companies’ ability to adopt eCommerce. Organizational changes, changes in business processes, development of industry standards, and improvements in integration technology systems are all needed to capture benefits from B2B exchanges

Pandemics trends in E-commerce: drop shipping entrepreneurship during COVID-19 pandemic

Drop shipping represents a delivery business model based on e-commerce logistics, which is very relevant in the global pandemic crisis. In this model, buyers order products and services directly from the manufacturer over the Internet through the intermediary of a drop shipper who ensures the easiest and fastest delivery. Drop shipper is a type of e-commerce entrepreneur that offers goods using online logistics infrastructure to ensure direct physical delivery from the manufacturer to the retailer or customer. This includes drop shipping as a business model to Industry 4.0 (i.e. the digital economy). This paper elaborates how a particular e-commerce model affects the development and improvement of global supply chains. Aim of this paper is to research how entrepreneur can lower its costs along drop shipping supply chain by managing inventory ratios or cost of stock. This enables drop shipping to greatly facilitate market access for cash-strapped entrepreneurs. We also conducted a simulation of optimized drop shipping process to show that there is a constant adaptability for entrepreneurs using drop shipping, especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The timeliness of drop shipping is that it has facilitated as a global delivery solution in relation to the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19). Moreover, drop shipping is based on a Activity-Based Costing (ABC model) whose quantitative efficiency has been proven by scientific analysis and research results. Finally, the legal aspects of drop shipping are given importance in the situation of COVID-19 which had a crucial impact on international trade in 2020, especially in predicting short-term trade trends. Due to this within this paper we also examined the effects of the ˝coronavirus˝ on global e-commerce. Global drop shipping data ensures qualitative predictions considering pandemic environment, social distancing issues and internet trade curves which are more than useful in today’s changing business conditions

Cities Online: Urban Development and the Internet

Examines how institutions in Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., are adapting to the Internet as an economic development and community building tool