Online support for commerce processes by web retailers

This paper examines the extent to which companies in various industries are using the World Wide Web and its associated technologies to conduct retail business. Using the framework of an Electronic Commerce Architecture (ECA), a variety of commercial Web sites are analyzed to determine which commerce processes are being supported online in each industry and each type of industry. The results of this study provide useful insight not only for researchers on the state of Web technology adoption and electronic commerce practices in industry, but also for companies seeking to derive competitive advantage through electronic commerce. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.