This book looks at two technological advancements in the area of e-commerce, which dramatically seem to change the way consumers shop online. In particular, they automate certain crucial tasks inherent in the 'shopping' activity, thereby relieving consumers of having to perform them. These are shopping agents (or comparison tools) and automated marketplaces. It scrutinizes their underlying processes and the way they serve the consumer, thereby highlighting risks and issues associated with their use. The ultimate aim is to ascertain whether the current EU regulatory framework relating to consumer protection, e-commerce, data protection and security adequately addresses the relevant risks and issues, thus affording a 'safe' shopping environment to the e-consumer.

This book discusses trade relations and facilitation issues at both the regional and the continental African level, highlighting the increasing business opportunities and challenges that confront Africa in the digital age. It also examines the effects of trade policies and other policy instruments on Africa's economic development and presents workable policy measures for a more business-friendly ecosystem. Discussing various topics, including trade relations between African countries, African and international trade agreements, and trade liberalization policies, the book appeals to scholars of economics, business and management as well as professionals and policymakers interested in fostering free trade and sustainable business development in Africa.

This book presents the foundations for the future of tourism in a structured and detailed format. The who-is-who of tourism intelligence has collaborated to present a definitive blueprint for tourism reflecting the role of science, market institutions, and governance in its innovation and sustainability. The book adopts a comprehensive approach, exploring recent research and the latest developments in practice to inform the reader about instruments and actions that can shape a successful future for tourism. Broad in scope, the book incorporates the perspectives of leading tourism academics, as well as the views of tourism entrepreneurs, destination managers, government officials, and civil leaders. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which addresses the scientific facets of innovation, analyzing the challenges and opportunities that technology provides for organic and disruptive developments in tourism, which will shape its future. In turn, the second part examines socio-cultural paradigms - with a view to dismantling traditional barriers to innovation. It also explores the role of heritage and the ethics of inclusiveness as drivers for sustainable tourism. The third part investigates new ways and means in governance and policy making for tourism. It introduces advances such as strategic positioning, symbiotic partnerships, and innovative management, and closes by presenting governance frameworks for an inclusive and sustainable future of tourism.

This book introduces blockchain technology applications in supply chains. Blockchain is a relatively new tool, nevertheless, there have been considerable advances over the last five years, and blockchain is now poised to revolutionize the conventional supply chains with the offering of accountability and quality to the wider complex supply networks. Based on literature reviews and original research, this book serves as an essential introduction to blockchain and its applications in supply chain. The unique features of the book are empirical studies to demonstrate the application of blockchain technology in food, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and retail sectors. Each chapter includes research framework and open research questions. Simple narration of concept and detailed insights from primary research information. Use case narrative will provoke the readers to demystify the myths in application of concepts in the supply chain . Overall, the book demystifies blockchain technology, reviews evolution and outlines its future applications by blending contents to meet the expectations of both academic and practice community.

Two of the most prolific and challenging authorities on the topic of competitive intelligence (CI) reflect on and respond to the changes in the field over the last decade. The authors point out that CI users have to change what they are doing, show why they are doing it, and provide ways of doing it. Their book reviews the problems in the development of CI since the 1980s, discusses the impact of the Internet and the rise in use of other secondary sources, and draws from and provides access to the growing body of CI information, knowledge, and literature.

Combining a scholarly approach with hands-on advice, McGonagle and Vella have written the first work to guide CI professionals through the emerging literature of their field. Among the important changes in the field the authors cover are: the radical changes in on line database searching and ways in which the Internet has fundamentally modified how we think of accessing data. Their book explores and reports the major body of work from the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, now that more businesses worldwide are using competitive intelligence and either writing about their experiences with it, or joining in new benchmarking studies. The result is newer information on what really works, what doesn't work, and who is doing what with it. The book is thus a starting point for people new to the field of CI as well as a resource to help experienced professionals do their jobs better.

'Work hard, have fun, make history' proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon's warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers' desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon's warehouses to show how technological advancements and managerial techniques subdue the workers rather than empower them, as seen in the sensors that track workers' every movement around the floor and algorithmic systems that re-route orders to circumvent worker sabotage. He looks at new technologies including robotic arms trained by humans and augmented reality goggles, showing that their aim is to standardise, measure and discipline human work rather than replace it. Despite its innovation, Amazon will always need living labour's flexibility and low cost. And as the warehouse is increasingly automated, worker discontent increases. Striking under the banner 'we are not robots', employees have shown that they are acutely aware of such contradictions. The only question remains: how long will it be until Amazon's empire collapses?

**Winner of the UALE Book Award 2021** Amazon is the most powerful corporation on the planet and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, has become the richest person in history, and one of the few people to profit from a global pandemic. Its dominance has reshaped the global economy itself: we live in the age of 'Amazon Capitalism'. 'One-click' instant consumerism and its immense variety of products has made Amazon a worldwide household name, with over 60% of US households subscribing to Amazon Prime. In turn, these subscribers are surveilled by the corporation. Amazon is also one of the world's largest logistics companies, resulting in weakened unions and lowered labor standards. The company has also become the largest provider of cloud-computing services and home surveillance systems, not to mention the ubiquitous Alexa. With cutting-edge analyses, this book looks at the many dark facets of the corporation, including automation, surveillance, tech work, workers' struggles, algorithmic challenges, the disruption of local democracy and much more. The Cost of Free Shipping shows how Amazon represents a fundamental shift in global capitalism that we should name, interrogate and be primed to resist.

Most of the literature covering electronic business focused on the developed world. Electronic Business in Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges provides a chance to get to know more electronic business applications, successes, failures, challenges and opportunities in the developing world. These studies are gaining importance for future development of globalization, global trade and cultural dissemination. Electronic Business in Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges tackles these issues with a vision to the future on how to bridge these gaps and the barriers between the different corners of the world.

• Describes machine learning in plain language to a non-technical audience • Explains how to manage machine learning projects to deliver value • Highlights important considerations when deploying machine learning systems in organisations

Make friends and sell things to people through social media Social media technology is restlessly inventive, providing thousands of awesome ways for you to market your business inexpensively and on a large scale--often directly into the pockets of consumers. But in the proliferating, ever-changing world of tweets, influencers, handles, and alerts, it can be hard to know where to begin and then to evaluate what's actually working for you. In the new edition of Social Media Marketing for Dummies, leading SMM voices Shiv Singh and Stephanie Diamond clear away the confusion and show you the smartest, most effective ways to plan, launch, manage, and assess your campaigns--and then iterate and optimize for increased success. Incorporating the latest trends and presented in a friendly, easily digestible step-by-step style, you'll find the ultimate blueprint for developing your best SMM strategy. In no time, you'll find out how to line up with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Google, develop a unique and compelling voice, and influence your key audience all the way to the bank. Choose the best SMM combination for you Avoid common mistakes and pitfalls Track your customers from awareness to retention Try out the latest stuff that really works Whether your organization is large or small, it simply doesn't pay to be shy. Find your voice, get social, and chat your way to attracting and keeping new customers today!

This book is about the rise of data as a driver of innovation and economic growth. It charts the evolution of business data as a valuable resource and explores some of the key business, economic and social issues surrounding the data-driven revolution we are currently going through. Readers will gain an understanding of the historical underpinnings of the data business and why the collection and use of data has been driven by commercial needs. Readers will also gain insights into the rise of the modern data-driven technology giants, their business models and the reasons for their success. Alongside this, some of the key social issues including privacy are considered and the challenges these pose to policymakers and regulators. Finally, the impact of pervasive computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) is explored in the context of the new sources of data that are being generated. This book is useful for students and practitioners wanting to better understand the origins and drivers of the current technological revolution and the key role that data plays in innovation and business success.

The change from old to new technologies has fundamentally changed the relationship between the consumer and the firm. This book is at the frontier of behavioural research into how these new commercial realities are borne out in practice, examining the adoption of e-commerce by small firms and the transactional phenomenon that entails access to the Internet. In analyzing the process of e-commerce adoption and why e-commerce actors behave as they do, its coverage includes the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) by small firms; the use of ICT applications to support marketing and sales transactions; and the factors that influence consumers' online purchasing decisions.

This book is about the rise of data as a driver of innovation and economic growth. It charts the evolution of business data as a valuable resource and explores some of the key business, economic and social issues surrounding the data-driven revolution we are currently going through. Readers will gain an understanding of the historical underpinnings of the data business and why the collection and use of data has been driven by commercial needs. Readers will also gain insights into the rise of the modern data-driven technology giants, their business models and the reasons for their success. Alongside this, some of the key social issues including privacy are considered and the challenges these pose to policymakers and regulators. Finally, the impact of pervasive computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) is explored in the context of the new sources of data that are being generated. This book is useful for students and practitioners wanting to better understand the origins and drivers of the current technological revolution and the key role that data plays in innovation and business success.

This book introduces computational advertising, and Internet monetization. It provides a macroscopic understanding of how consumer products in the Internet era push user experience and monetization to the limit. Part One of the book focuses on the basic problems and background knowledge of online advertising. Part Two targets the product, operations, and sales staff, as well as high-level decision makers of the Internet products. It explains the market structure, trading models, and the main products in computational advertising. Part Three targets systems, algorithms, and architects, and focuses on the key technical challenges of different advertising products. Features * Introduces computational advertising and Internet monetization * Covers data processing, utilization, and trading * Uses business logic as the driving force to explain online advertising products and technology advancement * Explores the products and the technologies of computational advertising, to provide insights on the realization of personalization systems, constrained optimization, data monetization and trading, and other practical industry problems * Includes case studies and code snippets

Master the evergreen traffic strategies to fill your website and funnels with your dream customers in this timeless book from the $100M entrepreneur and co-founder of the software company ClickFunnels. The biggest problem that most entrepreneurs have isn't creating an amazing product or service; it's getting their future customers to discover that they even exist. Every year, tens of thousands of businesses start and fail because the entrepreneurs don't understand this one essential skill: the art and science of getting tra­ffic (or people) to find you. And that is a tragedy. Traffic Secrets was written to help you get your message out to the world about your products and services. I strongly believe that entrepreneurs are the only people on earth who can actually change the world. It won't happen in government, and I don't think it will happen in schools. It'll happen because of entrepreneurs like you, who are crazy enough to build products and services that will actually change the world. It'll happen because we are crazy enough to risk everything to try and make that dream become a reality. To all the entrepreneurs who fail in their first year of business, what a tragedy it is when the one thing they risked everything for never fully gets to see the light of day. Waiting for people to come to you is not a strategy. Understanding exactly WHO your dream customer is, discovering where they're congregating, and throwing out the hooks that will grab their attention to pull them into your funnels (where you can tell them a story and make them an offer) is the strategy. That's the big secret. Traffic is just people. This book will help you find YOUR people, so you can focus on changing their world with the products and services that you sell.

Electronic commerce technologies and applications have changed the way information technology is used in business and society, allowing organizations worldwide to expand their market reach and their customer service. ""Cases on Electronic Commerce Technologies and Applications"" presents a wide range of real-life cases that describe the successful and unsuccessful adoption of e-commerce, e-business, e-government, mobile commerce, and Web services technologies. This collection provides significant insight on the successful implementation of these areas.

Information technologies (IT) shape economic space, but we have no clear map of the cyber economy since the "digital revolution" began in the early 1970s.

The Digital Economy offers an up-to-date, critical synthesis that links the various aspects of the digital or cyber economy from the perspective of real firms. A geographic approach emphasizes how IT has made businesses less dependent on locational constraints, and the tangible effects on places and regions are placed at the core of the analysis. Case studies of companies, including Amazon, Dell, Li & Fung, and Volvo, demonstrate that the geography of digitally-driven production is the outcome of both dispersion and agglomeration dynamics. Global corporations are shown to have footprints that ignore to some degree distance and time, yet creative and coordinating activities remain anchored in urban innovative ecosystems such as Silicon Valley and Bangalore. These trends have been made possible by the development of a worldwide and integrated telecommunications network, whose unequal presence dictates the capabilities of places and communities to be connected to the global economy. However, the threat of the digital divide must not be overstated. In cities, rural areas, and emerging countries, local development is wrapped up in human capital, rather than technology.

This engaging and accessible text describes and explains the patterns and dynamics of today s digital economic space. The effects on places and regions and the people in them are at the core of the authors analysis, illustrated by many real examples. This book will be useful to anyone studying business and management, geography and information and communication studies.

The rise of the internet as a global trading platform has focused increased attention on trust in business relations. Ebay is just one example of the thousands of online auctions and exchanges that facilitate transactions among parties who may not be able to directly communicate. In these exchanges, trust is facilitated through the use of rating systems. Research indicates that trust is positively related to consumer willingness to pay higher prices and disclose information. This pioneering study shows that in addition to trust, a value congruence strategy can be employed to charge higher prices and increase disclosure of personal information. Value congruence reflects shared beliefs between the firm and the consumer. In fact, the author finds that value congruence is more powerful than trust in fostering these desired outcomes. Value Congruence and Trust Online is must reading for any business scholar or executive concerned with pricing, privacy issues, and marketing strategy online. Marketing academics will also find great value in the rigorous and detailed method and model employed. The results are a significant advance in our understanding of how to effectively market online.

This concise and current guidebook to the legal issues involved with conducting e-business is a one-stop source for both domestic and cross-border laws and regulations. Any business that conducts commerce via a Web site must deal with these issues with regard to numerous situations. This book addresses the legal ramifications of developing and hosting websites, explains how to minimize liability through the use of website Terms of Use and user agreements, explicates specific international issues arising from the conduct of e-commerce, examines online marketing and advertising, online privacy issues, and online intellectual property rights.

Entrepreneurs, executives, and corporate counsel from enterprises of all sizes and in all industries will benefit from this useful legal roadmap.

Digital Media and Wireless Communication in Developing Nations: Agriculture, Education, and the Economic Sector explores how digital media and wireless communication, especially mobile phones and social media platforms, offer concrete opportunities for developing countries to transform different sectors of their economies. The volume focuses on the agricultural, economic, and education sectors. The chapter authors, mostly from Africa and India, provide a wealth of information on recent innovations, the opportunities they provide, challenges faced, and the direction of future research in digital media and wireless communication to leverage transformation in developing countries. The volume provides important research on digital media and wireless communication within the context of developing countries that will be very useful for professionals from academia, government agencies, NGOs, technologists, entrepreneurs and investors, and others.

Internet marketing is leading the massive wave of electronic commerce, but contrary to what people think, the internet has been a hard sell right from the start. What were the first critical decisions for marketers and advertisers that locked internet marketing on its current path? Steinbock interviewed dozens of the early key players and finds that the internet had to sell the idea of itself as not just a new media but an entirely new marketspace--that is, a space in the consumer and business-to-business markets both. Covering the entire field, Steinbock's unique study proves that regardless of what may come next, it is crucial to understand what came first. His book will be essential for today's marketing, advertising, and internet decision makers, and a fascinating read for business and media watchers everywhere.

Steinbock shows the obstacle and barriers that faced the initial entrepreneurs and user companies, reconstructing the progression of internet marketing from the campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s, and in fact as far back as the 1940s and mid-1950s. He shows that internet marketing really began in business-to-business marketing, and only after AT&T and the Telcos argued that the internet was theoretically impossible and that it would crush American telecommunications if it ever did arrive. Ad agency execs? They hardly noticed the internet until the mid-1990s. Steinbock digs into the proliferation of marketing channels and the details of browsers, home pages, and web sites. He examines technology marketing, relationship marketing, and the connection between the internet, intranets, and marketing channels. In Chapter 4 he lays out the promise of internet marketing, the story of Zima and banner advertising, moving from there to the problems of online branding, online and offline advertising, broadcast hybrids, and online access to community providers. Steinbock ends with a look toward global markets and the war for eyeballs--the similarities and differences between television and the internet. His book is meticulously researched, authoritative, and well illustrated and will have special value for students and teachers in college courses in advertising, marketing, and media studies.