(The terms will be used interchangeably)

electronic commerce (EC) The process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, or information via computer networks, mostly the internet and intranets. e-business A broader definition of EC that includes not just the buying and selling of goods and services, but also servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organization.

Electronic commerce can take several forms depending on the degree of digitization of the: 1.) ordering system(order & payment) 2.)the processing (creation of product or service) & 3.) the shipment or delivery method. -In traditional commerce all three dimensions are physically done. Eg: purchasing earphones from the Apple Store in Sunway Pyramid.

-In pure EC. all dimensions are digital or electronic. Eg: purchasing an E-book from Amazon.com or software from Buy.com is pure Ec. because ordering, processing, and delivery to the buyer are all digital.

-In partial EC. there is at least on digital dimension but not all 3. Eg: purchasing a computer from DELL’s website or a book from Amazon.com is partial Ec. because the merchandise is physically delivered.

Old economy organizations that perform their primary business offline, selling physical products by means of physical agents are referred to as brick & mortar organizations
Companies that conduct their business activities solely online are considered virtual(pure play)organizations.
Click & mortar organizations are those that conduct some e-commerce activities, usually as an additional marketing channel.

Electronic commerce can be conducted in an electronic marketplace which is where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods, services, money, or information. Electronic markets are connected to buyers and sellers through the internet or to its counterpart within organizations, the intranet.
The intranet is an internal corporate or government network that uses internet tools such as web browsers and internet protocols.
Another computer environment is the extranet which is a network that uses the internet to link intranets of several organizations in a secure manner.
The following are E-marketplace types:
Buyer-side: Website hosted by buyers.
Seller-side: Website hosted by sellers.
Intermediary: Website hosted by middle-man.
Intra-business: Website hosted by organizations to trade business internally.

There are many applications of Electronic commerce, inorder to execute these applications, companies need the right information, infrastructure, and the 5 support services areas.
1. People
2. Public policy
3. Marketing and advertising
4. Support services
5. Business partnerships

A common classification of EC is by the nature of transactions or the relationship among the participants. The major types of EC transactions are:

business-to-business (B2B)
E-commerce model in which all of the participants are businesses or other organizations. Eg: Dell buying parts from suppliers through e-commerce. business-to-consumer (B2C)
E-commerce model in which businesses sell to individual shoppers also known as e-tailing. Eg: (Online retailing, usually B2C (e.g., Walmart, Sears, Best Buy...)

business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) E-commerce model in which a business provides some product or service to a client business that maintains its own customers e.g. Godiva.com, the company sells chocolates directly to business customers, those businesses may then give the chocolates as gifts to employees or to other businesses. Godiva may mail the chocolates directly to the recipient (with a with compliments of…. Note). consumer-to-business (C2B) E-commerce model in which individuals use the Internet to sell products or services to organizations or individuals who seek sellers to bid on products or services they need.