E-Commerce Compass

Based on research conducted for the author's doctoral§dissertation, this book §provides an experiential perspective of the process§used by successful electronic-§commerce entrepreneurs. A new working model of the§electronic-commerce §process has emerged from over fifty observations,§interviews, and follow-up §interactions. Observations, interviews, and§follow-up interactions are described §here; providing a rich description of the essential§elements in e-commerce, as well §as key inter-relationships that bring about its§success. Emergent themes in this §book include (a) defining the e-commerce process, (b)§process inter-relationships, §(c) fundamental knowledge, skills, and abilities, (d)§opportunity assessment, (e) §market research, (f) competitive assessment, (g)§strategy development, (h) financial §development, (i) risk assessment, (j) technical§development, (k) web review, (l) §technical management, (m) launch and implementation,§and (n) ongoing innovation. §Inter-relationships between the themes are identified§and explored in ways not §previously considered. The result is a virtual§compass for the entrepreneur, showing §the way to build a successful e-commerce company.