The key factors of competitiveness and the key factors of success in the e-commerce business have been studied on many occasions in order to examine and clarify the causes and scenarios in which this success has existed in the market. The e-commerce staff is essential in the development and maintenance of electronic programs and projects that are developed between various companies. This article describes the key factors for the success of the e-commerce business: tangible assets, intangible assets and processes, and also focuses on the importance of IT staff competencies. As individuals and as a group they can be a decisive force in determining the success of e-commerce projects, more specifically examining the administration and staff of e-commerce projects in terms of how work is organized.
Introduction
The electronic commerce (e-commerce) is a process of buying and selling products and services through electronic systems available through Internet, networking and other digital technologies. The amount of e-commerce conducted electronically has grown a lot due to the introduction of the Internet years ago.
Both marketers and key members of companies using e-commerce as a business strategy must be alert to a revolution in online services (e-services). This revolution will be triggered by various factors such as information technology, different lifestyles, and existing demographic differences.
The current web-based models used for e-services are part of an embryonic phase of an era of rapid transformation, challenges and market opportunities.
For companies to prepare for future challenges, they need to understand the variants of information technology as well as the psychological dynamics behind consumer behavior. Rapid decision making as well as learning about the customer and their needs is essential.
Also in this article we will review the information technology models that companies require to be successful.
It is crucial for a company to build these models according to their needs but also their flexibility, since if you need to adapt them or make some changes you can do so without completely redesigning your business model as it can cause problems to take off in the market of new.
The business model that includes the information technologies in the E-Commerce to be adapted must be flexible and integrated. The processes of the systems, the cultural and business strategies will have to be coherent. Being successful in this implementation allows the company to handle any change in a more competitive way to achieve excel in the market.
It is important to mention that E-Commerce when innovating and installing new information technology models must consider the personnel who will develop and maintain business programs and will also introduce new projects with other companies.
Staff competence can be a decisive force in determining the level of success in E-commerce projects.
Methodology
Digital Library of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies, Campus Monterrey,
Laudon Textbook, Laudon “Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm” Ninth Edition. Organizations, Management, and the Networked Enterprise, 2006
Chapter 1 "Defining E-Commerce"
In this study, E-Commerce refers to organizational programs that use information technology to link their operations with suppliers, customers, or intranets to communicate with employees, communities that include some business orientation, and general Web sites that feature a variety of marketing., finances, news and other information of the organization.
Chapter 2 "Characteristics of E-Commerce"
A unique feature that stands out when analyzing E-commerce is that one or more of the parts of its value chain are online. Each stage of the graph below offers opportunities to use the information to create new products and services. To be able to do this, the processes must be put in their corresponding place in order to obtain information, synthesize it and distribute it.
Figure 1. Virtual Value Chain Model
Other characteristics of E-commerce is the instability of the markets that arises from two types of pressures: short-term macroeconomic trends, which are globalization and deregulation; and the other pressure that is the deregulation and liberation of many markets that has opened more opportunities to more organizations.
The speed of change is both a characteristic of E-commerce and a challenge. If markets were stable but changes occurred gradually, problems would be minor and less impactful. The problem is that changes happen much faster than organizations are used to. The time scales that in other types of companies take years; in what is called "Internet time" can occur in weeks or months. To counter this situation, organizations must gain a large share of the market quickly before competition levels off.
Another characteristic of E-commerce is the ability to connect individuals, groups and organizations around the world, and one of the significant differences from traditional industries is the high degree of interconnectivity of the different parts. In particular, complementary and allied product providers play a significant role in determining the success of the industry.
The last characteristic of e-commerce is the great uncertainty that exists as to what will happen in the future with markets and new technologies. There are three positions that organizations can take to confront uncertainty: shape the future, embrace the future, and reserve a place to participate.
Chapter 3 "IT and E-Commerce Staff"
Much of the research done on personnel working with information technology (IT) has focused on several factors. One of these factors mentions that losing highly trained members can incur substantial costs associated with recruiting, retraining, and hidden costs associated with difficulties completing completed projects.
The personnel involved in information technology are professionals with a career or a master's degree, but they only represent 50% of all positions. The human resources department, as well as its effective use, play an important role in the selection of trained personnel for information technology positions, since they have to support more sophisticated web activities, so the demand for Knowledge and skills are further expanded.
It is logical to assume that the key success factors in the development and implementation of e-commerce applications are the technical and organizational competencies of the staff, making it vitally important for managers of –commerce projects to provide the greatest Possible understanding of staff productivity dynamics.
Table 1. High-level needs required by developers of E-Commerce systems.
Chapter 4 "Key success factors for the success of E-commerce in organizations"
The success factor model is divided into three factors: Tangible Assets, Intangible Assets and processes.
Tangible Assets.
Finance.
In the course of operating an organization, the vital problem that most face when starting with E-commerce is the financial problem. A lot of money flow is needed in the initial phase, therefore the operation is based on resource effectiveness. Especially in the course of changing the new business environment, corporate needs to adapt to change and seek transformation for environment change.
Facilities.
The acquisition of effective and efficient facilities can give E-commerce a fundamental basis to be able to have a competitive advantage. Although the effect of economies of scale is relatively lower in E-commerce organizations than in traditional organizations, the effect of facilities is still prolonged in the industry.
Intangible Assets
Technology.
For E-commerce organizations, technology is the most important factor in determining competitiveness.
Customers.
The customer base is crucial for most industries. For the e-commerce organization, especially in the startup phase it is of less importance than the other factors. Later in other stages, they must retain and expand the client portfolio, which is the source of the income and profits.
Brand and image.
The brand of a product or service and the corporate image is the representative factor of intangible assets. The brand is the designation to differentiate a product or service from its competitors and the brand asset refers to the difference in utility between brand value and product value. Technology plays an important role in this factor since in E-commerce what the customer sees is just a screen and that is where they decide to buy.
Organizational processes.
Organizational processes have three roles: coordination / integration, learning, and reconfiguration. Coordination / integration is very important, but more important is how it is obtained effectively. Learning and reconfiguration are processes by which repetition and experimentation allow tasks to be performed better and faster. It also allows opportunities for new services to be identified.
conclusion
There are many studies that analyze competitiveness factors and success factors for E-Commerce, which clarify the causes of success in the market. Through these studies, various factors and perspectives have been covered that analyze the weaknesses and limitations of E-Commerce in providing adequate service to customer needs.
This article shows these perspectives and clarifies the key success factors in E-Commerce through the implementation of information technologies, as well as the implementation and evaluation of concepts and methodologies used strategically for the correct operation of the technology.
When the E-Commerce concept was just introduced, it was interpreted, both by suppliers and customers, as simple transactions on the Internet. As the concept evolved, it expanded to purchase and sale activities via the Internet.
Much of the evolution of this concept was due to the implementation of information technologies that companies introduced by investing heavily. The main functions they decided to automate were payroll, accounting, finance, human resources, and manufacturing processes. This prompted companies to have a platform to communicate effectively and inexpensively with customers, suppliers and employees and thus be able to conduct business in a competitive way.
Another important factor within E-Commerce is the human factor, the key personnel and other staff who carry out projects in terms of how work is organized, which units are self-directed and which units need further assistance, how projects are already assigned. who, what skills are critical and how the results are measured.
The information technologies implemented in E-Commerce are susceptible to threats that include hackers, joint marketplaces, Internet growth, customer insecurity, dangers of sharing information, etc. Organizations must take responsibility for their own protection, acquire cooperation from the other parties involved and understand that they are facing a potentially dangerous E-Commerce environment and therefore must be aware of the weaknesses of the systems on which they depend. This should take turns more important as the international expansion of the Internet grows. This explosive growth suggests an explosive growth also for those who possess the necessary skills to cause significant damage to information systems and technologies.
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