Towards the formulation of a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of investments in sell-side e-commerce

In recent years, whilst considerable attention has been focussed on the Internet, and in particular its potential as a sales medium, little research has been conducted into how such investments can be objectively evaluated. Based upon a review of the literature and a series of exploratory interviews, a provisional framework for evaluating e-commerce investments is presented. It is shown that in addition to considering generic issues such as flexibility and implementabilty, an e-commerce evaluation framework should address specifics, such as customer management, marketing and logistics. ''The key question is not whether to deploy Internet technology-companies have little choice if they want to remain competitive but how to deploy it" [Porter 2001] (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.