Optimizing Collaborative E-Commerce Websites for Rural Production Using Multi Criteria Analysis

Abstract

In this chapter, we will discuss the website features to be accounted while designing a collaborative website for e-commerce purposes, making the website useful and attractive to revisit. Since the sector of rural production holds difficulties while adopting e-commerce models, the aim of this chapter is to present a methodology aiming to optimize the conceptual content model used in collaborative e-commerce websites promoting rural production. The methodology approach concerns the retrieval of the relative websites in the Internet. Qualitative and quantitative content characteristics are identified and discussed in the retrieved websites to be used as criteria. Websites are further ranked according to 13 criteria using the multicriteria analysis method. Finally, the retrieved websites are classified in groups concerning the above criteria and collaborative Web tools included, aiming to identify the optimum group of websites. The optimum group can be used to benchmark the Web design of e-commerce websites concerning rural production aiming to incorporate collaborative Web tools and become more appealing to Web users accustomed to the Internet culture.