This white paper focuses on the myths that are widely held about e-commerce. It recognizes that the growth of e-commerce has been enormous over the past few years, and it has given businesses the opportunities to achieve competitive advantage. Indeed, e-business has been accredited for providing low-cost methods of offering products and services. However, people have developed some myths that this white paper has established to be untrue and gave alternative truths. The five common myths identified by the white paper include: e-commerce is primarily about technology; e-commerce will replace purchasing; it is a zero-sum game; presents opportunities for distant future; and it is concerned with exchanges only. The white paper refutes these claims by suggesting that e-commerce is more about business than technology; it has made purchasing easier and more convenient; businesses will benefit from e-commerce through automation; e-business is a competitive opportunity as well as a threat; and it is concerned with all business processes and exchanges.
This white paper is effective in presenting ideas right from the beginning. The researcher starts with a clearly stated objective – to educate readers and reject some of the common myths that are widely held about e-business; hence preparing businesses to embrace the new technology to their advantage. This research question is interesting because it challenges the myths about e-commerce, and importantly disputes false claims about e-commerce. It is interesting to know a different view of something than the one that is ordinarily known. Therefore, this white paper is important for businesses to understand the need for adopting e-commerce, and how to do it.
The white paper is original paper produced by the IPC E-business and Supply Chain Committee for IPC. It contains original research, thoughts and experience of the authors. The background research is also clear and relevant. The researchers introduce the white paper with a background research about the growth of e-business and how it has changed the business processes and competition. The researchers are also aware of ethical issues, so they cite the sources of their information, especially the myths. The authors also give evidence based on ethical ways of collecting information. There is no issue of privacy violation or harm caused to anyone.
The method used in this white paper is a qualitative and descriptive research method. The researchers look for myths from various secondary sources and analyse them by raising questions and using descriptive approach to answer the questions using evidence from the business world. This method is appropriate for the research question because it fulfils its objective to dispel the myths about the e-commerce. However, the researchers have not really described their methods adequately. While they show a clear method of asking qualitative questions and describing providing descriptive answers, they do not explicitly state their sources of information and the methods they used to access it. The analysis was done correctly by addressing all the questions about each myth adequately and successfully, with conclusive evidence to support the position of the authors.
Concerning presentation, this white paper was presented successfully using a simple language, a good structure that is easy to follow, and well-defined concepts. The paper is structured with topics and at least one sub-topic for each myth. It starts with a summary, a main body that addresses each myth in depth with evidence, and a conclusion that sums up all the findings. The white paper has also provided tables and figures to present the main ideas more effectively and achieve its objectives. Therefore, the paper qualifies to be a good and educative white paper that the readers can rely on for decision making and policy implementation.
References
IPC E-Business and Supply Chain Committee (September 2000), The Myths of E-Commerce. An IPC White Paper. IT-WP-001. Source: https://www.ipc.org/4.0_Knowledge/4.1_Standards/E-CommerceWhitePaper.pdf
