Ανάλυση επιχειρηματικών μοντέλων ηλεκτρονικού εμπορίου με έμφαση στις ηλεκτρονικές αγορές

Φωτιάδης, Γεώργιος Φ.

Business models analysis of e-commerce emphasising on e-marketplaces

Master Thesis

Author

Φωτιάδης, Γεώργιος Φ.

Date

2015-02-18

Abstract

Ε-commerce is one of the most significant contemporary business advances contributing to the optimization and automation of business processes and offering competitive advantage. With the development and increased use of the Internet, businesses have better chances to improve their competitiveness by automating their procedures and improving the handling of their supplies. In this environment, a new way of transaction processing has been formed, supported by new technologies and development of electronic business. The firms that will manage to understand the dynamic of electronic business and exploit the opportunities that it offers have more chances to acquire competitive advantage in the new economy. The field of e-business and especially the part that deals with transactions between businesses (B2B) is expected to undergo a gradual development in the following years, overshadowing the business- to- consumer transactions (B2C). The electronic marketplaces and especially the B2B (e- marketplaces), which may appear in almost every industry, are also considered as part of the e- business development. The firms taking part in these markets gain a lot of benefits and improve their supply chain processes. The first business initiatives in the field of electronic retail commerce (B2C) began at the end of the 90’s, while the first business-to-business electronic marketplaces (B2B) appeared in 2000 and found a quick response in the Greek market. These two forms of business activities brought a revolution concerning the conduct of commerce because they changed supply chain processes, decreased significantly costs and saved valuable time by optimizing business transactions. Nevertheless, B2C and B2B commerce solutions have some significant differences, which concern the different type of users, transactions, payment processes and security level. In this changing environment, it is interesting to examine the presence of Greek companies in e-business. Although the international bibliography about the development of e- commerce and the corresponding strategies is rich, the respective Greek bibliography is limited. Especially, regarding the strategic use of electronic commerce and the possibilities offered by new technology. This thesis aims to examine issues related to the adoption of e -business. Its objective is to analyze the impact of e-business on the cooperation of companies and to examine the different types of electronic transactions that can be conducted among them. Firstly, there will be an attempt to clarify the definition of business-to-business electronic markets, as there is a general confusion regarding its definition and conceptual approach. The main goal of this research is to explore the added value to the companies (suppliers or buyers) from the adoption of e- commerce. It is also to analyze the competitive environment based on the strategic model of Porter and to examine the factors affecting the competitive advantage of an electronic market. Furthermore, the aim of this research is to develop and present a proposed model for the evaluation of the successful operation of the two types of e-markets, which is B2B and B2C e- marketplaces. For each model, there will be an analysis of the strategic factors, which affect the participation of suppliers and buyers in electronic markets, have an effect on the competitive advantage of an electronic market, as well as help to maintain it over time. All these constitute the main criteria that a company needs to take into consideration, regardless of its type and size, in order to chose the electronic marketplace that will better meet its needs and expectations.