Worlds of E-Commerce

Worlds of E-Commerce
Economic, Geographical and Social Dimensions
THOMAS R. LEINBACH and STANLEY D. BRUNN, both of the University of Kentucky, USA
Worlds of Electronic Commerce attempts to capture the enormous international impact of the recent explosion in information and communication technologies. It stands alone as the first book to tackle the major economic, social, and political issues that electronic commerce raises from interdisciplinary and international perspectives.
Including contributions from leading international scholars from geography, economics, and public policy, it addresses theoretical and conceptual issues and presents case studies on how retailing, job searches, banking and finance, telecommunications, and government regulation are changing with the introduction and diffusion of the Internet and various electronic services. References to rapid developments in these fields are drawn from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Russia, and the developing world. The implications of these developments on consumer behaviour, existing and new firms, regulatory agencies, and interstate economic development are also discussed.
In summary, the book presents an excellent background for those wanting scholarly treatments of (a) the background of e-commerce, (b) the growing importance of Information and Communication Technologies, and (c) case studies related to specific services making use of e-commerce.
READERSHIP: Academics and Students in Information Economies, Information and Communications Technologies, Economics, Marketing, Retailing, Advertising, Communications, Technology Diffusion, Geography Dealing with Electronic CommerceWelche Auswirkungen hat die gegenwartige Explosion der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnik auf die Weltwirtschaft? Erstmals wird mit diesem Buch versucht, alle okonomischen, sozialen und politischen Aspekte des E-Commerce von einem interdisziplinaren und internationalen Standpunkt aus zu beleuchten. Theoretische und konzeptuelle Fragen werden von Experten aus Geographie, Wirtschaft und Politik beantwortet; einschlagige Beispiele stammen aus den USA, Gro?britannien, Japan, Singapur, Australien, Ru?land und den Entwicklungslandern. Eine hervorragende Informationsquelle fur alle, die eine ausfuhrliche wissenschaftliche Diskussion erwarten zum Hintergrund des E-Commerce, zur wachsenden Bedeutung der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie und zuFallstudien uber spezifische Dienstleistungen im E-Commerce Bereich! (01/01)

List of Contributors vii

Preface and Acknowledgements ix

Introduction E-Commerce Definition, Dimensions and Constraints xi
Thomas R. Leinbach and Stanley D. Brunn

Part 1 E-commerce: Meaning, Theory, and Impacts

Chapter 1 Emergence of the Digital Economy and E-Commerce 3
Thomas R. Leinbach

Chapter 2 Towards an Economics of the Internet and E-Commerce 27
Kenneth Button and Samantha Taylor

Chapter 3 Beyond Transaction Costs: E-Commerce and the Power of the Internet Dataspace 45
Martin Kenney and James Curry

Chapter 4 Towards a Location Theory of Distributed Computing and E-Commerce 67
Michael F. Goodchild

Chapter 5 Maybe the Death of Distance, but not the End of Geography: the Internet as a Network 87
Edward J. Malecki and Sean P. Gorman

Part II E-Commerce in Firm, Regional, and International Context

Chapter 6 The Information Society, Japanese Style: Corner Stores as Hubs for E-Commerce Access 109
Yuko Aoyama

Chapter 7 Internet Economics and the Outline Recruiting Industry 129
Sharon Cobb

Chapter 8 Grounding Global Flows: Constructing an E-Commerce Hub in Singapore 145
Neil M. Coe and Henry Wai-chung Yeung

Chapter 9 Finding the Source of Amazon.com: Examining the Store with the ‘Earth’s Biggest Selection’
Martin Dodge

Chapter 10 Electronic Banking and the City System in the Netherlands 181
Marina van Geenhuizen and Peter Nijkamp

Chapter 11 Global Electronic Spaces: Singapore’s Role in the Foreign Exchange Market in the Asia Pacific Region 203
John Langdale

Part III E-commerce: Financial, Legal, and State Dimensions

Chapter 12 The Currency of Currency: Speed, Sovereignty, and Electronic Finance 223
Barney Warf and Darren Purcell

Chapter 13 Information and Communication Technologies and the Integration of European Derivatives Markets 241
Dominic Power

Chapter 14 ‘Dry Counties’ in Cyberspace: Governance and Enforcement without Geographic Borders 257
Priscilla M. Regan

Chapter 15 Dot com Development: Are IT Lines Better than Tractors? 277
Mark I. Wilson

Chapter 16 Corporate Nations: The Emergence of New sovereignties 293
Thomas M. Edwards

References 315

Index 345

Professor Stanley D. Brunn and Professor Thomas R. Leinbach are based at the departtment of Geography at the University of Kentucky. Their joint experience in this field represents three decades of scholarship on critical themes in economic, political and social aspects of geography. Between them, they have presented over 300 papers at national and international conferences and have published over 200 articles, book chapters, and monographs. Their interests in the geographies of communication, information, and electronic commerce emanate from previous research in the geographies of services in urban and rural areas of North America, Asia, and Europe. During their careers, they have lectured and taught in a variety of universities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Prof. Leinbach served as Director of the Geography and Regional Science Program in the Division of Social, Behavioural and Economic Research at the National Science Foundation from 1995 to 1998. He has been invited to become a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore for part of 2001. He is editor of Growth and Change: A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Transport Research Board's Committee on the Social and Economic Impacts of Transport, past Chair of the Asian Geography Speciality Group of the Association of American Geographers, and an occasional consultant to the ILO, USAID, and the World Bank. An ongoing effort involves the encouragement of co-operative and collaborative research on the theme of Social Change and Sustainable Transport (SCAST), a joint program between the National Science Foundation and the European Science Foundation.
Prof. Brunn served as Chair of the Department from 1980-88 and was appointed by the Governor to serve as State Geographer from 1988-89. He was the University of Kentucky Distinguished Research professor in 1989-90. Prof. Brunn is a former editor of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers. His teaching and research interests are in political, social, and urban geography, the human geographies of the 21st century, and the geographies of knowledge. His research record includes numerous books and articles in geography and interdisciplinary journals. In recent years, he has worked with educators to promote geography and train teachers in the state's schools. Electronic Commerce is a rapidly expanding field where technology and information are enhancing business practices. New and multiple uses of E-Commerce are appearing regularly and the cultural, social and political ramifications of these developments remain unknown.
This is the first book to be devoted entirely the important and wide-ranging social science dimensions of E-Commerce. It tackles a variety of major economic, geographical, social and political issues from interdisciplinary and international perspectives. In this volume leading international scholars from geography, economics, and public policy address theoretical and conceptual issues, and present case studies on how retailing, job searches, banking and finance, telecommunications, and government regulations are changing with the introduction and diffusion of the Internet and other electronic services.
Worlds of E-Commerce addresses major issues and presents evidence and implications through case studies of the growth of ICT (information and communication technologies). Examples are drawn from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Russia and the developing world.
This book will appeal to readers from business and the social sciences as well as those enrolled in or teaching courses on information economies, information and communications technologies, economics, marketing, retailing, advertising, communications, technology diffusion, economic and social geography, as well as, cyber-law, banking, electronic auctions and e-tailing, international development and electronic commerce, high tech innovations, and intellectual property.