New book now available

Global E-Commerce
Impacts of National Environment and Policy

Edited by
Kenneth L. Kraemer, University of California, Irvine
Jason Dedrick, University of California, Irvine
Nigel P. Melville, University of Michigan
Kevin Zhu, University of California, Irvine

With the expansion of the Internet and a greater desire for information and knowledge, global competition is becoming intense. For many firms, gaining a competitive advantage is a primary global and domestic strategy. Established firms such as Dell, Cisco, IBM and Wal-Mart, along with firms born on the Internet, such as Amazon and e-Bay, have shown the potential of IT and e-commerce to enhance customer services, streamline internal operations and improve business-to-business coordination. It provides fast and efficient service, which leads to a competitive advantage and presents the opportunity to reach out to a larger and more global target market.

The dot com boom created high expectations for the scope, depth, and immediacy of the impact of e-commerce on business and economies. It was expected that e-commerce would penetrate deeply into business processes, enabling radical transformation of business models and new supply chain configurations. But are the Internet and e-commerce truly revolutionizing business practices? CRITO Researchers Kenneth L. Kraemer, Jason Dedrick, Nigel Melville and Kevin Zhu explore the transformation hypothesis and conclude that the Internet and e-commerce are not radically transforming business, but are in fact being adapted by firms to reinforce their existing relationships with customers, suppliers and business partners.

The book, Global E-Commerce: Impacts of National Environment and Policy analyzes e-commerce in eight economies: Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, and the U.S. It is an outcome of the Globalization and E-Commerce (GEC) project of the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO) at the University of California, Irvine. Historical case study research was conducted by 20 distinguished scholars expert in the macroeconomic, technological, and cultural dimensions of each economy. These cases examined in detail the environmental and policy factors influencing e-commerce adoption, the nature of e-commerce use, and the impacts of e-commerce in each country. Primary data were collected through a survey of 2100 firms across ten economies (in addition to the eight above, Singapore and Denmark were included) in order to provide understanding of how e-commerce is progressing broadly and within each country. Synthesizing primary survey data and secondary data sources, each author has examined the role of local and global factors in shaping e-commerce diffusion. Taken together, the studies advance understanding of the globalization and convergence debate, providing new empirical evidence with which to examine fundamental questions.

Phil Tierney, Manager at Intel Innovation Centre and CRITO Consortium member, praises the book as "…an informative and fascinating reference. In an ambitious study evolution are analyzed for ten developed and developing countries. Kraemer, Dedrick, Melville, and Zhu have created an eBusiness Atlas that provides a valuable resource for IT strategic planners, economic development planners and policy makers."


Table of Contents
1. Globalization and national diversity: e-commerce diffusion and impacts across nations   Kenneth L. Kraemer, Jason Dedrick and Nigel Melville
2. The United States: adaptive integration versus the Silicon Valley Model   Jason Dedrick, Kenneth L. Kraemer, John L. King and Kalle Lyytinen
3. France: an alternative path to internet-based e-commerce   Eric Brousseau and Bruno Chaves
4. Germany: a 'fast follower' of e-commerce technologies and practices   Wolfgang Koenig, Rolf Wigand and Roman Beck
5. Japan: local innovation and diversity in e-commerce   Dennis Tachiki, Satoshi Hamaya and Kou Yukawa
6. China: overcoming institutional barriers to e-commerce   Zixiang (Alex) Tan and Ouyang Wu
7. Taiwan: diffusion and impacts of the internet and e-commerce in a hybrid economy   Tain-Jy Chen
8. Brazil: e-commerce shaped by local forces   Paulo Bastos Tigre
9. Mexico: global engagement driving e-commerce adoption and impacts   Juan J. Palacios
10. Global diffusion and convergence of e-commerce: cross-country analyses   Kevin Zhu, Sean Xu, Kenneth L. Kraemer and Jason Dedrick
Appendix I - Data collection and survey instrument
Appendix II - GEC survey measures by industry sector and firm size
Appendix III - GEC survey measures by country


(CRITO Research Spotlight, September 2006)

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