Best for IIBSM Ecommerce Solved Assignment and others
Answer:
All of the organizations operate within an environment that influences the way in which they conduct their businesses. Development of the strategy of business is deeply influenced by the macro-environment it works in. To review all these macro-environmental factors SLEPT frame work is adopted widely. Here we’ve used SLEPT since it is useful to stress importance of law in influencing internet marketing practices. The SLEPT factors are as under:-
- Social Factors: these include influence of customers view in determining uses of internet for different activities.
- Legal, Ethical and taxation: it is to determine the methods which can be used to promote and sell products online. Basically these are determined by law on behalf of customers.
- Economic factors: difference in the economic conditions of various countries and between the different regions of the nation.
- Political: impact of governments and the rules that are used to govern marketing organizations.
- Technological: the technology which is being offered at present to the consumer by the marketer.
Here we’ve observed that for each factors a new issue has been raised for the managers who are looking after e-commerce trading.
For e-commerce, most significant influences are those of the market place in which it operates. It is shaped by the need of customers, competitors, intermediaries and suppliers. There are influences by government, national and international economic conditions and legislation together. In the end, technology and innovations influence the environment of the e-commerce. The main question arises is that are the environmental influences important? The answer is yes. These influences have major impact on success of a company. It is important for a company that current environment needs to be monitored and future environmental trends to be anticipated. A company should give charge to monitor all these changes to an employee.
1. Social and Legal factors
E-commerce is generally governed by the factor that how internet is adopted by the consumer. If a consumer is internet savvy or we can say frequent user of internet. It is also affecting the business externally thus becoming a part of the e-commerce environment. Following are the factors governing internet adaptation:
- Accessing Cost: if the accessing cost of internet is high customers will be reluctant to use internet and it will also affect the e-commerce activity. Accessing cost implies to the cost of connecting to the internet through DSL cables, broadband and wireless networks.
- Value Proposition: there is need to perceive by the consumers, what is being offered online that is not available in normal market. E.g. At flipkart.com latest mobile set of Samsung is available at lower price than the market and it being delivered free of cost at doorsteps of customer. This creates value preposition.
- Easy to Use: is it easy connecting to the internet at the first time using ISP.
- Security: whether the web site with which the transactions would be made is secure or not. I.e. are there any chances of phishing, account hacking, use of credit card details by hacker etc.
2. Economical and Competitive Factors
The economy and competition is different in different countries. Most developed countries are initially targeted by the managers who develop e-commerce strategies. A framework was developed by Booz Allen Hamilton (2002), for assessment of an e-economy1. The knowledge of different economies is important for manager of e-commerce website. We can take example of African economy; most of the African countries are under developed economies where it would become difficult for e-commerce website manager to promote their goods and services due to disparities in income. Roussel (2000), stated that economic, regulatory, and cultural issues among factors that affect use of internet for commercial transactions.
