1. Introduction
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is
the process of buying and selling goods and
services electronically with computerised
business transactions using the Internet,
networks, and other digital technologies. It
also encompasses activities supporting those
market transactions, such as advertising,
marketing, customer support, delivery, and
payment (Laudon, et al, 2000). In the past
few years, the explosion of e-commerce has
had a profound impact on business worldwide.
The Internet marketer has a global
reach because it eliminates obstacles created
by geography, time zones, and location
(Quelch, et al., 1996). The low entry barriers
have made the global marketplace an easier
playing field for businesses which can
bypass physical networks of intermediaries
and bring goods and services directly to
customers anywhere.
1.1 Electronic Commerce in China
According to official China Internet
Network Information Centre (CNNIC)
report, China has 26.5 million Internet users
as of mid 2001 since linked to the Internet in
1994. In addition, dot-com and e-commerce
web sites have been springing up during the
past couple of years. It has been recently
reported that China ranked seventh among
non-U.S. countries in registering the
maximum number of dot-com companies in
the year ending in February 2000
(Bandyopadhyay, 2001). China now has
more than 600 on-line shopping sites,
accounting for 60% of the total number of ecommerce
websites. Most of these on-line
shops serve consumers in large cities, such
as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. A
report released at the 5th China International
E-Commerce Summit, predicted that
China’s B2C online shopping market sc ...