The information environment of electronic commerce: information imperatives for the firm

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is an activity which takes place in a social context called the ‘digital information environment’. The advantage of using this concept is its emphasis on the information-intensive character of business conducted on the Web. After a brief discussion of a definition and the current state of e-commerce, the digital information environment of e-commerce is introduced and two of its constitutive elements, rules and resources, are discussed. Attention then shifts to a subset of rules, called ‘information imperatives’, that are critical for e-commerce. The paper concludes with a discussion of the organizational changes that can be expected to accompany the incorporation of these imperatives into the mission and core business processes of e-commerce firms.

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