Related Literature Review E-commerce

1. Introduction
Now a day, E-commerce sector plays a significant role both in developed and developing
countries. M. S. Khan and S. S. Mahapatra et.al mentioned that Information technology can play
a significant role in developing and increasing the perfection of services in business sectors and
he also discussed that now a day’s after the revolution of agricultural and industrial revolution,
internet is considered to be the third wave of revolution. Yaser Ahangari Nanehkaran et.al
explained, E-Commerce has actually made a business situation in our modern world through
technology like the internet or other computer network. The development of E-Commerce is
basically depending of the accessibility of the internet of the people.

As we all know, internet and E-commerce are entirely committed towards every developed
country. But we think it can be accomplished and can make a remarkable benefit to developing
countries also if an ideal business purpose can be made. Ohidujja man et.al clearly discussed that
E-commerce is a revolution & turning point in online business practices and can make a huge
contribution to the economy and Hasan et.al also indicated that currently, E-commerce
organizations have increasingly become a fundamental component of business strategy and a
strong catalyst for economic development. A huge amount of research works has been done on
E-Commerce which is basically on online shopping. A large group of researchers has found out
and also pointed out the necessity and possibilities of Online Shopping.

1.1 Definitions of Electronic commerce

Electronic commerce (E-commerce) has been a popular topic in the literature since the Internet
began to be commonly used for commercial purposes in the 1990s. It could be regarded as the
key achievement of applying information communication technology (ICT) in economy (Rosen,
2000). In 1998, Committee on Trade and Development of World Trade Organization (WTO)
defines E-commerce as “the production, distribution, marketing and sale or delivery of goods
and services by electronic means”. Similarly, in a survey conducted by Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 1999) on 200 companies of different sizes,
most companies agree that E-commerce is about business activities, both communications and
transactions, conducted electronically that including not only ordering, invoicing and payment
but also marketing, advertising and communications. Therefore, the understanding of E-
commerce is quite dynamic and manifold. It can be various due to different context and research
aims (Grandon and Pearson, 2004). Though there is no consensus on the definition of E-
commerce, the measuring elements can be summarized into business activities that occur by
electronic means and technological means that enable these activities (Kendall et al., 2001).
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the
transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the internet. These business
transactions occur either as business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-
to-consumer or consumer-to-business. The terms e-commerce and e-business are often used
interchangeably. The term e-tail is also sometimes used in reference to the transactional
processes that make up online retail shopping.

1.2 Functions of E-Commerce Business

 Global Reach
E-commerce businesses are conducted online on a worldwide level. It covers large areas serving
large number of customers at a time. Its operations vary from one country to another. There is no
restriction on expanding the business to large areas.
It is not confined to a particular area like in case of a physical market. These businesses due to
their operations in large areas earn high profits.

 24×7 Service
This is one the important feature of the e-commerce business. E-commerce businesses carry out
their business 24 hrs. & on all days of the week. Customers can avail their services all the time at
their home comfort. In the physical market, there is a timing for opening & closing.
Customers need to visit accordingly as per schedule. There is nothing such in e-commerce
business. Peoples can anytime & from anywhere can do shopping from these as per their choices.

 Easy Navigation
It means that the product required can be easily searched in less time over the E-commerce
business. Customers are not required to waste their time searching for a specific product. Product
is simply searching in the search bar of the website of business.
If it is not available over a particular website, customer can easily search it over several other
websites. It can be booked & will be delivered to customer address in less time.
 Ubiquity
It means that the services of the business are accessible anytime & from anywhere. These
businesses are not confined to a particular area like a traditional business. Customers can as per
their choice & comfort can do transaction & activity here.
The website can be easily accessed from customer cell phones, tablets or tablet anytime. It is
completely user-friendly & it brings ubiquity to it.

 Easy Product Comparison

There are a large number of products available over the internet. Comparison of these products is
quite easy. Products in terms of their price, quality & various other features can be compared
over different websites.
Customers can easily find the best product as per their choice after better comparison. This
feature of e-commerce satisfies the customers & help in increasing sales.

 Interactivity
It refers to the communication between the business & the customer. Customer can easily
interact with the business. They can raise their queries & problems through the business website.
Customers also provide suggestions & feedback about business products & services. This feature
helps in developing better relationships between business & customers. 

1.2 The 5-C-Model of E-Commerce

Another approach to define and explain, what E-Commerce is, comes from the so-called 5-C-
model (ZWASS 2014). It defines E-Commerce by five activity domains whose denominations
start with the latter “C”:

1. Commerce
o In the electronic marketplace there is a machining of customers and suppliers, an
establishing of the transaction terms, and the facilitation of exchange transactions.
o With the broad move to the Web-enabled enterprise systems with relatively uniform
capabilities as compared to the legacy systems, a universal supply-chain linkage has
been created.
2. Collaboration
o The Web is a vast nexus, or network, of relationship among firms and individuals.
 o More or less formal collaborations are created or emerge on the Web to bring together
individuals engaged in knowledge work in a manner that limits the constraints of space,
time, national, and organizational affiliation.
3. Communication
o As an interactive medium, the Web has given rise to multiplicity of media products.
o The rapid growing M-Commerce (see below) enables connectivity in context, with
location –sensitive products and advertising
o In the communication domain, the Web also serves as a distribution channel for digital
products.
4. Connection
 Common software development platforms, many of them in the open-source domain, enable
a wide spectrum of firms to avail themselves of the benefits of the already developed
software, which is moreover, compatible with that of their trading and collaborating partners.
5. Computation
 Internet infrastructure enables large- scale sharing of computational and storage resource thus
leading to the implementation of the decades-old idea of unity computing.
2. Role of Internet
In the early years E-Commerce was considered to be an aid to the business. In the meantime,
it has become more or less a business enabler (Mohapatra 2013, pp.10-12).
Between 1998 and 2000, a substantial number of business in the united states and Western
Europe developed rudimentary websites. In the dot-com era, E-Commerce came to include
activities more precisely termed “Web, commerce” –the purchase of goods and service over
the World Wide Web, usually with secure connections with E-shopping carts and with
electronic payment services such as credit card payment authorizations.
The emergence of E-Commerce also significantly lowered barriers to entry in the selling of
many types of goods; many small home-based proprietors are able to use the internet to sell
goods. Establish suppliers had to close their shops and to change their business model to an
E-Commerce model to stay profitable and in the business.
3. Types of e-commerce
 Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce refers to the electronic exchange  of products,
services or information between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers.
 Examples include online directories and product and supply exchange websites that allow
businesses to search for products, services and information and to initiate transactions
through e-procurement interfaces.

In 2017, Forrester Research predicted that the B2B e-commerce  market will top $1.1 trillion
in the U.S. by 2021, accounting for 13% of all B2B sales in the nation.

 Business-to-consumer (B2C) is the retail part of e-commerce on the internet. It is when

businesses sell products, services or information directly to consumers. The term was
popular during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, when online retailers and sellers of
goods were a novelty.

Today, there are innumerable virtual stores and malls on the internet selling all types of
consumer goods. The most recognized example of these sites is Amazon, which dominates the
B2C market.

3.1E-Commerce Advantages

Comfort: If we need any household commodities or even anything, we can get it by sitting at
home on the click of our finger on the internet.

• Time-saving: By using e-commerce sites, there is not a chance of waste of time and with the
help of online order, our necessary product will be delivered to our address.

• Options, options, and options: Without visiting outside from one store to another, the
consumer can simply compare goods products or commodity. We can see who offer low price
for standard & branded goods and can have more option to choose from the websites.

• Easy to compare: When the marketers place their products to the website, they make a
lucrative description of these products to compare them with other products, to let the
consumers know that they have the best option and come back for more.

• Coupons and deals: Some online business company makes offers that we can’t refuse. Some
major sites sometimes offer up to 80% of discount.
• 24/7, 365 days: if it’s holiday or rainy or sunny or the road is blocked by any reason, the
businessman should not be worry for his business because the door of this market is always
open & the profit will go rising every day.

3.2 E-COMMERCE DISADVANTAGES

Privacy and security: Before making a transaction, we should be sure and check the website’s
security certificate. Sometimes unauthorized access, DDOS attack make a huge problem
. • Quality: Quality is a big fact on e-commerce, sometimes the product which is ordered
from online website will not be similar in quality. So the consumer should not touch the
product or make instant transaction until they delivered the product in door.
• Hidden costs: Sometimes hidden fees will not be mentioned like product delivery cost, tax
etc. so be alert.
• Credit card issues: Some company gives some free point for purchasing good by taking the
credit card information after that from that vary information the credit card can be hacked.
• Social Relationships: Through traditional shopping a face to face interaction occurs which
makes a social relationship with others but in online shopping we fail to do so
Challenges of E-Commerce
The major challenges faced by the buyer and the seller which carrying out business
transactions through website are as follows.
• Now Private and Public organization work separately but if they do business jointly, the
ecommerce business will be developed flourishingly in near future.
• As we know that most of the e commerce website don’t have proper cyber security for this
their system is not reliable & secure. If the website is hacked, the consumer will lose their
money as well as the marketer too.
• In developing countries like Bangladesh there is a tradition of buying goods or products by
bargaining price with the seller but in e-commerce, it is quite impossible.
• Another biggest challenges is to make a low price of the internet and cutting down the short
ranged validity or expiry date. The authorities spreads high cost of internet which should be
stopped.
• Lack of quality trainer to teach the e commerce knowledge. Lack of Government laws,
rules and regulations
Summary
In near future E-Commerce will be the leader with popularity and prosperity in e-trade
sector. From above discussion we can come to a view that eCommerce has changed the
business strategy and making life easier for the people of Bangladesh as well as other
countries. Developing countries like Bangladesh, we faced some problem in this sector but
we think we can overcome very strategically in future. In this sector Government role is also
very significant for the growth and implementation. Shiferaw et.al [15] Government should
simplify friendly policy and egovernment services. Here social support and practice is also
needed for the improvement of online shopping. Limayem et al [16] Family practice &
choice and the significant role of the media should be leaded positively. So from the above
research we can easily say, maintenance of factors, handling of limitation and by the help of
Govt. e-commerce can plays a significant role in 21st centur