Conceptual Approaches to Defining «E-commerce»

Abstract

At the present stage of rapid formation of the digital space, the problems of e-commerce development are becoming relevant. The article aims at generalizing and systematizing the existing scientific approaches to the interpretation of the "e-commerce" concept, and substantiating the author’s approach to defining the essence and content of this term. To achieve this goal, methods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, structural and logical generalization, and classification are used. It has been found out that most researchers identify e-commerce with such concepts as e-business, Internet business, IT business, e-marketing, e-trading, digital marketing, Internet-marketing, Internet-trading, Internet-commerce, e-retail, virtual trading, distance trading, electronic trading. Scientific approaches to formulating the term "e-commerce" can be systematized according to classification groups: part of e-business; type of economic activity; economic activity; commercial activity; type of electronic commercial activity; type of entrepreneurship; specific type of trade; marketing strategy; type of business process; electronic interaction of economic entities; type of trade through information and communication technologies; electronic commercial agreement; type of public relations for the sale of goods; a set of rules for the implementation of electronic relations for the purchase and sale of goods. Summing up the results of scientific research on the conceptual framework, the author interprets the term "e-commerce" as a component of e-business, the essence of which is to strengthen partnerships in buying and selling products using digital technologies and information systems; as an effective form of organizing logistics activities of enterprises by using information and communication technologies and systems; as a tool for promoting products in the market using digital technologies.