Identify the eight unique features of e-commerce technology and explain how these features set e-commerce apart from more traditional ways of conducting commercial transactions
What will be an ideal response?
The eight unique features of e-commerce technology are ubiquity, global reach, universal standards, richness, interactivity, information density, personalization/customization, and social technology. The fact that e-commerce is available nearly everywhere, at any time, (ubiquity) extends the marketplace beyond traditional boundaries and removes it from a temporal and geographic location. A marketspace is created in which shopping can take place anywhere, enhancing consumer convenience and reducing shopping costs, whereas in traditional commerce the marketplace is a physical place you must visit in order to transact. The global reach of e-commerce means that commerce is enabled across national and cultural boundaries as never before, with potentially billions of consumers and millions of businesses worldwide included in the marketspace. Traditional commerce, by contrast, is local or regional involving local merchants or national merchants with local outlets. Universal standards (one set of technical media standards) also allow for the seamless enablement of global commerce. In contrast, most traditional commerce technologies differ from one nation to the next. In traditional markets, national sales forces and small retail stores can provide a complex and content-rich message. However, there is generally a trade-off between the richness of the message and the number of consumers who can be reached with the marketing message. In e-commerce the trade-off is no longer necessary. An information rich environment is extended globally. Unlike any other commercial technology of the twentieth century, except perhaps the telephone, e-commerce technologies are interactive, allowing for two-way communication between the seller and the consumer. E-commerce technologies reduce information collection, storage, processing, and communication costs, thereby greatly increasing the prevalence, accuracy, and timeliness of information. This information density (information that is more plentiful, cheaper, and of higher quality) sets e-commerce apart from all other traditional methods of conducting transactions. E-commerce technologies also permit the personalization and customization of marketing messages on a level that was impossible with previous commerce technologies. Marketing messages can be targeted to specific individuals based on their interests and past purchasing behavior, and the product or service can be altered to suit a customer's preferences and prior behavior. Social technology allows users to easily generate and share content and permits a many-to-many model of mass communications that is different from previous technologies. This supports the creation of new business models and products that support social network services.
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Which of the following statements about the wholesale and agency models for selling books is not true?
A. In the wholesale model, the retailer decides at what price to sell a book to the consumer. B. Amazon surprised traditional publishers by selling e-books for below their wholesale cost. C. Amazon supports the agency model. D. A result of the agency model was that Amazon's prices on e-books rose.
What does the term bimodal mean?
What will be an ideal response?
You recently graduated from business school and you want to open up a small pizzeria in a large college town
There is a perfect space to lease for the pizzeria; however, a few doors down is a very well-established Italian restaurant that has been around since 1964. Their food has been legendary for all of those years. How would a market analysis help you decide if opening up the pizzeria near the restaurant would be a good idea or not?
Anil is the owner of Brick and Mortar, a construction company in a growing city. Anil has been in the construction business his whole life and takes pleasure in the day-to-day operations of the business. Brick and Mortar has quickly become popular, largely because Anil almost always comes in at a lower bid for the work than his competitors. Anil has hired trustworthy employees to whom he can grant ever-growing responsibilities, and he has built a state-of-the-art cafeteria and gym for them to enjoy. He is meticulous and thorough with his filing system and has designated his vice president, a long-time colleague, as his successor in the event of his death. Based on this scenario, what management issue is Anil most likely to experience as a result of his actions?
A) His long-time colleague might not be a strong manager or be a good record keeper. B) Anil has over-delegated responsibility and will likely lose control of his business. C) His low bids and gym and cafeteria construction could possibly leave him short of cash. D) The growth of the city may attract other builders, leaving him without adequate business. E) The satisfaction and joy Anil finds in the construction business may wane over time.