Electronic commerce and the Internet: Issues, problems, and perspectives

There is considerable interest in conducting electronic commerce (EC) on the Internet. This paper identifies pertinent issues and problems that are critical to establishing EC on the Internet, Perspectives on those issues are formulated by conducting personal interviews with ten executives in as many organizations. While there is agreement on the potential payoff for EC on the Internet, concerns center on security, costs, legality of transactions, uncertainty, and lack of reliable information on the effectiveness of this paradigm for conducting business. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.