CommerceNet: spontaneous electronic commerce on the Internet

Abstract

The Internet is evolving rapidly into a global electronic marketplace, where buyers and sellers can meet and spontaneously transact business. This market-place is an unprecedented medium for sales, marketing, distribution, customer service, and corporate communication that will fundamentally change the structure of corporations and how they do business. We will assess this phenomenon and its implications from the perspective of CommerceNet, a consortium of nearly 80 leading US companies who have come together to field the first large-scale market trial of electronic commerce on the Internet.