Global E-Commerce: Impacts of National Environment and Policy, edited by Kenneth L. Kraemer, Jason Dedrick, Nigel P. Melville, and Kevin Zhu. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. xxii + 444 pp. $75.00 cloth. ISBN 0-521-84822-9

摘要

A quick search on almost any database will show that over the past 5 years or so there has been a surge of book, not to mention journal article, publications related to e-commerce. These publications range widely in their emphases, from technology and supply-chain management to modeling strategies and e-business applications. In browsing these titles it is actually encouraging to see the expansion of published work related to the impact of e-commerce on and in the developing and transitional economies, specific industry sectors, and sizes of business, for example, small and medium-sized industries. There are several older book length treatments of this theme (e.g., Leinbach & Brunn, 2001; Schiller, 1999; Westland & Clark, 1999). Perhaps the volume most comparable to the one under review is that by Westland and Clark (1999), where the authors provide a balance of theoretical perspectives and case studies from seven countries. The basic theme that is emphasized is the shift in wealth creation and redistribution as brought about by information technology and e-commerce. In this book, global e-commerce is discussed within the context of four major issues: electronic channels, technology infrastructure, electronic markets, and e-commerce business process supporting functions. The value of this 1999 volume lies in the attempt to provide new knowledge and experiences on and about e-commerce while the tool was still in its infancy. The theoretical perspectives, while interesting, do not offer dramatically new insights.