Business models for e-commerce in India

Abstract

Electronic commerce (E-commerce) has been broadly defined as “doing business electronically”i . E-commerce, defined in the context of most of the countries of the developed world, includes electronic trading of physical goods as well as of intangibles such as information. This encompasses “all trading steps” from online marketing to electronic provision of services such as online legal service. However, when the impact of Internet technologies is discussed in the context of India, case studies undertakenii seem to suggest that the exchange of physical goods and information do not follow the same steps as those mentioned above. For example, the ways in which Internet technologies are being deployed in India across various e-initiatives (e.g., Bhoomi project, e-chaupal, Akshaya project), the exchange of information takes place more than exchange of physical goods. Therefore, the “e-commerce” moniker, as it exists in extant literature, does not quite describe the types of e-initiatives that are evolving in the country. There is a need to examine the types and natures of these e-initiatives. Researchers in the social sciences and business have been fairly interested and active in exploring the role of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in the context of India, which, however, is restricted to the specific domain of ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development). ICT4D deals with the use of information communication technologies that are being deployed to achieve developmental goals (mainly government initiatives). Research under ICT4D focus on studying the use of ICTs to achieve developmental objectives like, income growth, health, education, government service delivery, and microfinance.