to assess the perceived benefits and risks of each of the payment mechanisms. It
concludes that the success of online payment mechanisms is largely due to their
perceived relative advantage, compatibility and trialability. It further concludes that
these perceived characteristics are in turn affected by consumers’, bankers’,
merchants’, and regulators’
understanding of the security and control surrounding
them.
Chapter 15 entitled, “Approaches to a Decentralized Architecture for an
Electronic Market—A Study for the Air Cargo Business” by Freimut Bodendorf and
Stefan Reinheimer of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany) proposes a
decision support model for electronic markets using software agents. The model is
based on the value chain concept applied to interorganizational information technology
(IT), and the consideration of new coordination mechanisms to increase the
efficiency of business processes. The proposed framework is used to design an
electronic air market. In recent years, the companies of the air cargo arena have
neglected to adapt to their customers’ needs in a timely manner. This chapter
suggests that the decentralized implementation of software agents to support the
transaction processes will support users and allow them to accomplish the needed
phases involved in business transactions ranging from information gathering to
negotiation.
Chapter 16 entitled, “A Web Usability Assessment Model and Automated
Toolset” by Shirley Becker, Anthony Berkemeyer and Natalie Roberts of the Florida
Institute of Technology (USA) speculates that an e-commerce site will be most useful
when consumer usability attributes (e.g., performance, design layout, navigation) drive
its development. This chapter describes a web usability assessment tool that is being
developed to provide usability feedback on a particular Web site. This tool incorporates a
set of usability attributed with user profile data and organizational goals for ongoing
assessment of the effectiveness of a Web site.
Chapter 17 entitled, “Categorizing the Supplier Content of Public Web Sites,” by
Dale Young
of Miami University of Ohio (USA), identifies the supplier
communication and supplier diversity content on public Web sites of the firms on the 2000
Fortune 500 list and creates a categorization scheme for that content. The chapter
concludes that public Web sites are largely underutilized as a means of interacting
with potential suppliers from a diverse population. The chapter also indicates the most
common supplier diversity content for prospective suppliers on Fortune 500 public
Web sites: certification requirements, online applications and a contact name/title for the
diversity manager.