16 .02.2010
What is e-business?
E-business was a phrase first coined by IBM in its advertising campaign in the 1990s it was defined ‘as the transformation of key business processes through the use of internet technologies’. Today, e-commerce is commonly defined as electronic transactions conducted by business partners, which can be both organizations and individuals. In contrast e-business is much broader, referring not only to buying and selling, but also to servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organization (Li, p.6, 2007).
Jelassi and Enders defined e-business as the use of electronic means to conduct an organizations business internally and/or externally. They specifically emphasized the inclusion in their definition of internal e-business activities, including the linking of an organization of an organization employee with each other through an intranet to improve information sharing, facilitate knowledge dissemination and support management reporting. E-commerce is regarded as a subset of e-business, which deals with the facilitation of transaction and selling of products and services online. Either via the internet or via any other telecommunication network (Li, 2007)
E-business is not just about dot.com or internet-only companies, or selling or selling or buying via electronic channels (which is often referred to as e-commerce). Fundamentally, e-business is a much broader concept and it is concerned with using the internet and related technologies to integrate and redesign organizations internal activities, process and external relations, and create new ways of working that are significantly different from, and very often far superior to, what was possible (or conceivable) in the past. In...