The complexity of today's business leads companies to consider new ways of acting around information and communication technologies (ICTs). In the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, there has been a brutal technological revolution that has led to changes in the rules that governed the global economy in the first three quarters of the 20th century. The so-called ICT rebellion has led to change the variables that govern the current socio-economic environment. There are two fundamental elements of this fact: the personal computer and the Internet.
The fundamental moment of the change can be established in the famous television ad that Apple served as a presentation of a new concept of personal computer. The announcement, based on George Orwell's totalitarian idea about the future contained in the 1984 novel, served to make computing available to ordinary people, an element that until then could only be understood by experts and geniuses. The ad was directed by Ridley Scott, powered by Steve Jobs and presented on January 22, 1984 at the start of the third quarter of the Super Bowl, with 96 million viewers. The networks of the t CBS and its 50 local stations exhibited in their news reports on the announcement, and hundreds of American newspapers published chronic reports on the Macintosh phenomenon.
The subsequent presentation of the Macintosh computer by Steve Jobs marks the beginning of the introduction of the personal computer in the homes of all families in the world.
Although the origins of the Internet go back to 1969, when the first connection between computers known as ARPANET was established, between three universities in California and one in Utah, the true explosion of the Internet occurs in the mid-nineties, the Most households in the developed world become connected to the network.
Parallel to this change in the social conception of communication with the world, the entrepreneurial nature has undergone some important changes in business processes and the administration and operations of companies. Today, consumers and companies have exponentially increased their business possibilities thanks to the possibilities offered by the Internet. This new way of dealing with the complete transformation of business relationships in an efficient, fast, innovative and value-creating manner, is called e-business.
FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF E-BUSINESS
WHAT IS E-BUSINESS?
First, we will give an exact definition of what electronic business is. E-business is the application of information technologies to facilitate the sale of products, services and information through public networks based on communication standards. There must be a computer program at one end of the business relationship and either another computer program at the other end, or a person using a computer or a person with the necessary means to access the network.
E-business is based on the interactivity and high density of the transactions that are carried out, working buyers and sellers in an environment that is not fixed, but is created virtually using computers, web browsers, software, content and the users themselves. In this sense, the physical barriers of time and distance between the seller and the buyer are eliminated so that e-business represents a change in the way of interacting between the buyer and seller.
E-BUSINESS VS E-COMMERCE
The belief that the concepts of e-business and e-commerce are synonyms and refer to the same concept is totally wrong.
In reality, although e-commerce covers the processes by which customers and suppliers are reached and covers all sales channels, including marketing, orders, delivery, after-sales service and derivatives, e-business goes much further.. E-business includes in its raison d'être in its entirety, but also covers other internal processes such as production, administration, product development, risk area, finance area, strategic development, knowledge management and human resources.
TYPOLOGIES OF E-BUSINESS
E-business can have different types. It should be clarified that e-business is a constantly evolving phenomenon, which is why new types of electronic business are continuously being generated. More and more types of organizations will be converting to digital media, as technology advances rapidly and opens new frontiers day after day. Here are some of the most important:
- Online Auctions: Internet auctions are more democratic than those carried out in physical auction houses, because this medium allows the participation of everyone who has a connection. Buying and selling portals between individuals: Whoever so wishes may be bidder, buyer or both at the same time. Electronic Banking or E-banking: Electronic banking is one of the most successful businesses on the net. It allows customers to access their bank accounts and operate through an easy-to-use website. Online banking saves users and companies time and money. Electronic Guides: Guides are always useful to find a service or product in Online Engineering: Nowadays it is no longer relevant where engineers are. Anyone with an Internet connection can participate in the development.Joint tools for development have been created. Electronic Games of Chance: They are one of the most profitable businesses on the Internet. E-learning: Online learning offers a new dimension of digital learning. Instead of receiving a CD or floppy disk containing an executable file that explains a topic and contains an evaluation, the student accesses the material online. And you can also make inquiries and chat with other people who are online in the course. Email: There are those who do not associate email with digital business, but communication is the basis of all business. More and more organizations communicate in digital form.Electronic Marketing: In the computer society, everything flows.Thanks to the Internet, companies can respond to the demands of each client and treat each one according to their preferences.
THE E-COMMERCE
WHAT IS THE E-COMMERCE
E-commerce or electronic commerce is made up of commercial transactions with digital capacity between organizations and individuals. As we said before, e-commerce is one of the fundamental parts of e-business.
In recent years there have been numerous studies on the impact of electronic commerce on global commerce. The general trend of them is that more and more companies and individual consumers are opting for electronic commerce as a regular way of operating.
E-commerce through the Internet implies the use of this network as a means to facilitate exchange operations. Nowadays, the use of the Internet as one of the commercial channels of reference for the company must obey its strategic and business approach.
CATEGORIES OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
E-commerce, depending on who the stakeholders are, can be classified into four different categories:
- B2B: This is the case in which electronic commerce occurs between two companies (Business to Business).B2C: This is the case in which electronic commerce occurs between the company and the final consumer (Business to Consumer). B2A: This is the case of the relationship established between companies and the Administration (Business to Administration).C2A: In the latter case we refer to the relationship established between the Administration and the final consumer, the citizen (Consumer to Administration).
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN SPAIN
E-commerce in Spain in mid-2009 had reached figures close to € 2,860 M and the trend is increasing year after year, even in this last economic period in which we have lived through difficult times.
The tourism sector in Spain has shown the best results in terms of revenue with a transaction volume of € 464.3 M. Direct marketing moved € 122.8 M, followed by gambling and betting, which contributed € 86.6 M.
The invoicing of Spain's electronic commerce, which includes purchases made within Spain and from abroad on Spanish websites, remained on the rise.
ADVANTAGES OF USING THE E-COMMERCE FOR THE COMPANY
Here are a number of advantages of using e-commerce for companies:
- A greater geographical scope is achieved. The business becomes open 24 hours a day. Costs are reduced due to the need for less infrastructure. Prices can be reduced due to this cost reduction. There is a better record of the transaction and we can obtain more commercial information from the client. Better measurements of commercial effectiveness can be made. They reduce the capital necessary to open a business due to a lower need for investment in physical infrastructure.
ADVANTAGES OF USING THE E-COMMERCE FOR THE FINAL CONSUMER
Below we present a series of advantages of using electronic commerce for the final consumer:
- Full access to all kinds of markets is achieved. More options to choose between all kinds of products and services. Lower prices due to the lower costs borne by the sellers. Time and geographic freedom. Goods and services are purchased without waiting in queues and payment times are reduced.
FORMULATION OF POLICIES AND STRATEGIES ORIENTED TO THE SYSTEMATIZATION OF INNOVATION PROCEDURES IN E-BUSINESS
From the point of view of its interests in the evolution of its business model, a company can formulate different policies and strategies aimed at the systematization of innovation procedures in electronic business.
Companies that adopt an e-business strategy usually do so in an inclusive way. E-business must be implemented taking into account concepts such as the positioning that is to be achieved, the objectives that are to be achieved and the capabilities that the organization has to adapt to change. We define three stages:
- First stage: In a first stage, the company begins to have visibility on the network, showing activities and products. It will evolve into a company that begins to trade on the Internet with minimal capital investment. The first problems arise when combining the traditional business model with e-business. Second stage: The company and its business environment obtain important synergies through the impulse of using ICT. It begins to evolve to computerized management systems and greater investments in technology begin. Third stage: The company becomes a benchmark in the electronic business environment and differentiates itself from its competitors due to the value provided by new technologies. The rigid structures of the company are converted into flexible structures.Normally, all functions that are not part of the business core are outsourced and high investments in technology are required.
The formulation of e-business strategies leads the company to undergo radical strategic changes in its business model.
