An Analysis of the Evolution of the E-Business in America Essay

Economic transactions have taken a toll of revolutions and evolutions from the most historic barter deals to currency minting to bank-to-bank transactions, and finally, electronic business. Undeniably, the phenomenal effect of information technology to the lives of common man has caught the complexities of all branches of science and economics in a single matrix. Similarly, it has extinguished spatial boundaries in the business arena. Upon the advent of the accessibility of the internet or the World Wide Web to the public in 2004, it has been deemed that e-commerce will shortly follow through. So thus soothsayers and journalists manifest into the world this forecast. Company websites and internet servers sprouted like wild mushrooms here and there, flooding the virtual world with what’s it’s’ people cannot usually find for themselves. A unique gadget which can be found nowhere at a shopping mall is now easy to find at Ebay or Amazon. om, or shopping for clothes can also be done via ordering online, and sending emails or conversing with another entity half an earth away through instant messengers now became a common activity to the technologically savvy. A worldwide acknowledgment of this phenomenon has now slowly shifted every human paradigm there is. This evolutionary way of business ‘anytime-anywhere scheme’ or transacting across the planet in only a matter of seconds has put le verage to the face of business vis-a-vis human technology. E-business or e-commerce, also known as EC, has now penetrated all elements of life, particularly the world of commerce and economics. Today, e-business is now the most preferred way of dealing with and between firms. In the fields of traveling, media, logistics, telecommunication, and manufacturing, as identified by Horsti, Tolonen and Brannback (2003) in their study of five electronic business models, it showed that operating a business backed by ecommerce and proper management of personnel skills and customer relationships is a critical success factor (CSF) and always has a direct correlation to business success. This gives light to the logic as to why bankers and corporations alike have resorted to sending orders and invoices via internet instead of sending messengers or bulky packages to each other and wait for days before the same arrives at each other’s doorstep. On an individual basis, transacting with another online instead of going to a bank and undergoing the tedious process of lining-up and filling out slips and various withdrawal or deposit forms has been the hip. Online credit card transactions has also been the trend nowadays especially to the technologically savvy. As Moslein (2001) would argue, the rise of ecommerce has extinguished traditional boundaries and spatial constraints of conducting business. So what really is it behind e-business and what makes everyone indubitably caught up with this intertwining net of transactions? In this paper, the aforementioned is put to a limelight along with a detailed analysis of the e-business phenomenon. A projection as to how e-business in America will perform in the short-run is also forecasted. Pros and cons of doing e-business as well as important dissections of it are also included herein. The first part of this paper shall serve as a guideline as to how discussion will flow and what models and methods were used in shedding light to the subject matter at hand. It also serves as briefer to the latter portions which delve deeper to the subject matter. The latter portions shall plainly consist of the author’s own views with regard to the topic, however, with sources to buttress proof of claims. The summary and conclusions are second to the last parts before providing a list of references used in this research. Statement of the Issues/Problems The dawning of the internet and the birth of ecommerce in which e-business arose forthwith has also given birth to online corporations and rebirth to traditional enterprises. However, the new age technology has also given birth to various risks and opportunities for misers to tamper with the gifts of technology to the disadvantage of those who are faithful in their dealings. In this regard, the primary thrust of this paper is to analyze the gradual paradigm shift of business in America to the modern e-business taking into consideration the management decisions of enterprises vis-a-vis the costs and risks in engaging into e-business. Further, this paper rests with the issue on how ecommerce evolved to what it is today. Given these matters, the ultimate question this paper aims to answer is: Why do businesses continue to prefer to do e-business despite online security threats and risks? Hypothesis E-business is a response of various industries to the market forces affecting it, and amidst costs and risks, the benefits of e-business to enterprises prove to shape corporate success, help industries maximize benefits and positively affect the entire business industry as a whole. Methodology This paper is a result of a collaboration, compilation, corroboration and interpretation from various sources of information gathered mostly through the internet. Various theories in economics and business management are also used to prove certain stands pertinent to the subject matter. The author has also included newspaper articles and opinions from renowned columnists all of which can also be accessed through the internet. The said sources were streamlined for this purpose of incorporating into this subject matter all indispensable elements of e-business. It is important to highlight that this paper is not to measure e-business per se because of the very volatility and fast speed of growth and advancement of the e-business itself. As stated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), measuring e-business and quantifying the elements of convenience and easy access to information is impossible given the current fast-changing nature of the market (OECD, 1998). Hence, this paper has enumerated the costs and benefits instead and weighed both in the light of the evolution of e-business to the stage. Degree of Reliance of Statistical Data/Literature Search The author has chosen only those sources which are strongly correlated and are very pertinent to e-business. For statistical data, there is an interim degree of reliance from high to medium degree, since statistics were conducted by professional research institutions and quoted from high grade literature. With regard to articles and sources, most of the studies consulted where products of doctorate and master’s degree holders who are expert in this field notwithstanding those who gave garnered distinctions (i. e. Nobel Prize, Pulitzer, etc. in the field of economics. Therefore, there is a high level of reliance on their studies. A Description of the Research Design This paper is purely research based and one which does not involve interpretation of raw statistical data. Due to the broad and constantly changing nature of e-business, a survey of the entire America is implausible. Thus, it is best to resort to data that have been gathered by reliable research institutions concentrating on the same subject matter. The literatures used herein are mostly second-hand ones and are retroactive in its nature such that theories used are identified as paradigms. Despite being cited and further cited in various citations, the theory is not eroded. Thus, citations of the same coming from other citations, or a chain of citations in one citation, are valid. It is also important to note that despite the varying nature of the sources used in this paper, the discussion shall not be deprived of important knowledge as regards the subject matter. Models Followed The paper follows three specific models in economics: the law on supply and demand, the model on cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and the game theory. This is because these three easy-to-understand theories are also the primary considerations of CEOs in choosing management decisions and doing other management strategies. In accordance with the objectives of this paper, various researches shall also be inculcated herein to give various theories and conceptions an equal footing as regards the topic. As a clarification, there are no current researchers who have analyzed the nature of e-business extensively and collaboratively using the aforementioned theories. Therefore, literature reviews are primarily based on historical findings on the evolution of e-business, analyses of various researchers on the nature of economics vis-a-vis ecommerce and not on concurrent ecommerce theories. This is also because majority of ecommerce theories are offspring of the theories on economics. Moreover, ecommerce theories may be relevant to the subject matter but are not directly connected to the topic such that answers to the research questions as aforementioned were more founded by basic economic theories rather than the specialized ecommerce theories on web-hosting and online selling.