THE EMERGENCE OF BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER E-COMMERCE REVISITED: A MULTI-SECTOR STUDY OF RETAIL INDUSTRY

摘要

We revisited the examination of the emergence of B2C e-commerce, using the data from multiple retail sectors and two widely known organization theories: new niche formation and creative destruction. The overall findings in this study provided mixed supports for the argument of new niche formation theory in characterizing the emergence of B2C e-commerce. Nevertheless, in certain sectors, e-commerce segments arguably started to cannibalize traditional segments, suggesting the possible beginning of the creative destruction process.