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The potential of the World Wide Web on the Internet as a commercial medium and market has been widely documented in a variety of media. However, a critical examination of its commercial development has received little attention. Therefore, in this paper we propose a structural framework for examining the explosion in commercial activity on the Web. First, we explore the role of the Web as a distribution channel and a medium for marketing communications. Second, we examine the factors that have led to the development of the Web as a commercial medium, evaluating the benefits it provides to both consumers and firms and its attractive size and demographic characteristics. Third, we discuss the barriers to commercial growth of the Web from both the supply and demand side perspectives. This analysis leads to a new classification of commercialization efforts that categorizes commercial Web sites into six distinct types including 1) Online Storefront, 2) Internet Presence, 3) Content, 4) Mall, 5) Incentive Site, and, 6) Search Agent. The first three comprise the "Integrated Destination Site," and the latter three represent forms of "Web Traffic Control." Our framework, argued in the context of integrated marketing, facilitates greater understanding of the Web as a commercial medium, and allows examination of commercial Web sites in terms of the opportunities and challenges firms face in the rush towards commercialization.

Electronic commerce, particularly as it may emerge on the National Information Infrastructure (NII), holds the potential for immense efficiency gains up and down industry value chains. In this paper, various categories of efficiencies are derived from previous research on transaction cost theory and electronic markets and corresponding benefits and costs are examined. Among the outcomes, intermediaries between manufacturer and consumer may be threatened as electronic commerce and the NII diffuse to the consumer; profit margins may be substantially reduced; the consumer is likely to gain access to a broad selection of lower-priced goods; and there will be many opportunities to restrict consumers' access to the potentially vast amount of commerce. An NII model of electronic commerce is laid out where a variety of stakeholders co-exist including producers of information and of physical goods organized in single source sales channels, electronic retailers, electronic markets and consumers. The electronic channels, physical distribution network and a "market choice" box with a primary graphical user interface (GUI) also play integral roles in the model. Finally, suggestions for policy makers are offered to mitigate risks associated with market access and value chain reconfiguration.

The advent of nearly ubiquitous information infrastructures has led many to predict that one effect of electronic markets will be the bypassing of intermediaries in electronic markets. The ability of electronic networks to reduce transaction costs is the theoretical cause of this supposed trend. We suggest that, on the contrary, not only is it likely that widely available information infrastructures will reinforce the position of traditional intermediaries, but that networks will also promote the growth of a new generation of intermediaries. These new players, which we term "Cybermediaries" are organizations that perform the mediating tasks in the world of electronic commerce. We illustrate that the case for the elimination of intermediaries in the move to create direct producer to consumer links is based on questionable assumptions. We then examine functions of intermediaries that are not easily absorbed by producers. We describe some of the new forms of cybermediaries, noting the new needs that electronic commerce imposes on producers and consumers. We note that usinga rational, economic logic rooted in transaction cost theory, it is equally plausible to conclude that more, rather than fewer intermediaries will be involved in electronic markets. Finally, we briefly highlight several social and institutional factors that also may mitigate against the elimination of intermediaries. This broader perspective of the role of intermediaries in the exchange process calls for incorporating consumer-centric and institutional perspectives into the discussion of the evolution of electronic market structures.

The use of networked information technologies by both consumers and organizations has received considerable attention in recent research. In this paper, attention is focused on the impact such use will have on the development and maintenance of interorganizational coordination. The question is framed in two ways. First, the benefits of such coordination are presented in a theoretical framework. This framework uses the concept of "network" to describe both organizations and telecommunications and to show their interrelatedness. It is argued that the traditional dichotomy between electronic markets and hierarchies will be nuanced by a third option: the development of network-organizations. Secondly, it is suggested that the way telecommunications networks and services are implemented will have significant impact on the way these networks are used. Evidence from case studies of four Dutch industries, retail prerecorded music, construction, agriculture and hotel services, is examined to elaborate on this conclusion.

The aim of the research project EMIWA (elektronische Märkte und institutioneller Wandel) is to achieve a better understanding of technology- induced changes of markets. For this purpose, the capital market and its exchanges are studied as one of the most prominent installations of electronic markets. A remarkable gap between the postulated rationalization potential of computer exchanges on the one hand and the existing technological support on the other can be observed. Reasons for this installation gap are supplied and conclusions are drawn for a more differentiated discussion of the impact of information technology on the market as a coordination mechanism.

With the rapid expansion of the Internet, there are a number of initiatives underway for the creation of a secure cost-effective payment system which will be able to support growing commercial activities on the network. Although electronic payment systems for large payments have been in operation for some time, rapidly expanding volumes of foreign exchange and securities trading are increasingly at variance with the requirements for a cost-effective and efficient electronic payment systems for making low value payments. Current progress in establishing such payment systems on the Internet is examined. The paper argues that the ultimate vision could be for a truly global and virtual marketplace, requiring completely new institutional and legal structures and having a profound impact on economic life similar to that of the medieval trade fairs which emerged in Europe in the 12th century.

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JCMC Editors:
Margaret McLaughlin
Sheizaf Rafaeli