Impacts of E-Commerce on Firm and Industry Organization

互联网上电子商务的迅速增长提出了一个问题，即互联网是否将主要促进大公司的市场整合，还是也将成为中小企业增长的动力。 这一点很重要，因为电子商务可能导致竞争加剧、消费者选择增多和创新增多，也可能导致竞争减少、消费者选择减少和创新减少，这取决于电子商务对公司和产业组织的影响。 关于这个问题的早期证据是混合的，主要是轶事。因此，本研究的目的是为这一问题提供科学依据。 它使用关于公司和产业组织的理论作为假设的概念基础，即电子商务将导致更多地利用市场交易而不是内部等级制度来组织经济活动，从而增加竞争和新的商业机会。本项目通过对PC行业四家企业的延伸价值链进行系统、详细的案例研究来检验这一假设。 选择计算机行业是因为它是电子商务的主要用户，它包括制造业，服务业和信息部门，从而提供了国民经济的缩影。研究结果不仅将提供新的知识，还将为公众讨论电子商务的社会和经济影响提供科学依据，并导致更广泛的实证研究。

The rapid growth of e-commerce on the Internet has raised a question of whether the Internet will mainly facilitate market consolidation by large companies, or whether it will be a driver of growth for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well. This is significant because e-commerce could lead to increased competition, greater consumer choice and more innovation, or it could lead to reduced competition, consumer choice and innovation, depending on the impacts of e-commerce on firm and industry organization. The early evidence on the question is mixed and largely anecdotal. Therefore, the objective of this research to provide scientific evidence on the question. It uses theory on firm and industry organization as the conceptual basis for hypothesizing that e-commerce will lead to greater use of market transactions, as opposed to internal hierarchies, to organize economic activities, leading to increased competition and new business opportunities. This project examines the hypothesis through systematic, detailed case studies of the extended value chains of four firms in the PC industry. The computer industry is chosen because it is the leading user of e-commerce and it includes manufacturing, service, and information sectors, thus providing a microcosm of the national economy. The results will not only contribute new knowledge, but also provide a scientific basis for public discussion about the social and economic impacts of e-commerce, and lead to a more extended empirical study.