Customer Reviews

The Economics of Electronic Commerce

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is perhaps the best-of-breed book on e-commerce and the virtual marketplace. From begining to end, Choi, Stahl, and Whinston do a superb job of explaining what e-commerce is, isn't, and might be. Covers everything from Commerce to payment systems and security. Provides a lot to think about when considering whether or not to enter into Internet commerce or merely host a Web site offering product & service information about your company. Two shift keys up awarded to this book.

Lets start with the good. Its broad and thorough, covering a range of topics.

If you are looking for a way to understand the basic (I underscore BASIC) economics of EC then this could be for you.

If you are in the business already, and looking to get some depth to your fundemental understanding of how to make money in EC, lets say for a business plan.. You should look somewhere else.

The book covers very elementary topics, and is not appropriate unless you are an undergraduate (e.g. what is a digital certificate, what are the economies of scale in software).

My feedback to the authors would be to take some real business models and include them as case studies. Of course since there are so few companies in the black, perhaps that would just scare off all the folks that read it from starting a business :-)

The book provides some new insights and useful models for both the student and the business person. A little superficial in some of the most exciting areas like virtual processes (process re-engineering based on electronic tools and enablers). Nonetheless, some good solid basics are to be found.

I like the Authors' ability to handle the economic implications of digital versus physical products.

I recommend this book to any one who is interested in the Digital Economy. A must read for Internet Consultants!!!