41 Electronic Business and Education - Semantic Scholar

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Summary. In this chapter, we present the basic concepts of electronic business in general and in the context of educational settings. Individuals and ...
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Electronic Business and Education

Jan M. Pawlowski and Heimo H. Adelsberger University of Essen Germany Email: j an. pawlowski@wi- i n f . uni -essen. de [email protected] Summary. In this chapter, we present the basic concepts of electronic business in general and in the context of educational settings. Individuals and organizations entering Electronic Education Markets must perform a careful analysis of needs, requirements, and potential benefits. We identify critical success factors and decision criteria for such projects. From a technological perspective, the main success factor is the interoperability of Electronic Markets and the participants' systems. We provide a solution using XML-based standard specifications for trade processes and educational processes. The proposed architecture ensures the interchange of data and processes on Electronic Education Markets resulting in a framework for future developments.

41.1 Introduction Electronic business can be described as the support and automation of business processes and transactions through information and communication technologies. In this chapter, we will present different architectures, business models, applications, and the corresponding support mechanisms in the field of Electronic Business. We focus on electronic business systems for educational purposes showing opportunities for organizations and individuals. The need of businesses and institutions to compete on a globally distributed market and the rapidly growing use and acceptance of the Internet have influenced commercial activities dramatically. New forms of commercial transactions and new organizational concepts have evolved in the past decade. In this chapter, we show how individuals and organizations are affected by these developments. In the first part, we define the terminology and explain basic concepts in the field of Electronic Business. We provide a classification of concepts and applications. In the second part, we map different concepts and applications to the educational context. We show how the actors in educational processes will benefit from using and implementing different concepts. We will show how traditional concepts are adapted to new developments. The success of electronic education markets (EEMs) highly depends on the interoperability of systems involved. To ensure the interoperability for data and process interchange, standard specifications for both trade and educational processes should be used. In the last section, we present a scenario of a future electronic education market based on XML standards, such as Electronic Business XML (Electronic Business XML, 2000a). We describe the architecture and processes of tbis concept resulting in a framework for future developments.

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J. M Pawlowski, H H. Adelsberger

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Electronic Business and Education

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41.2 Electronic Business 41.2.1 Concepts

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Due to the enormous amount of research and publications in the field of Electronic Business the terminology varies significantly. Different instances of EEM are discussed in (Hamalainen, Whinston, & Vishik, 1996; Hamalainen, 1997; Hamalainen, 1999; Kraemer, 1999; Langenbach & Bodendorf, 1998; Langenbach & Bodendorf, 2000). We provide a survey of terms used in order to clearly distinguish between concepts. Electronic Business (E-Business) can be defined as the concepts, methodologies, and processes for the suppfrrt and automation of business transactions through information and communication technologies (ICT). This term covers ICT support for all processes related to the development, production, and distribution of goods and services. Other terms used include Digital Business and Online Economy. Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) can be defined as the concepts, methodologies, and processes for the support and automation of commercial transactions through information and communication technologies. This term is often used synonymously with E-Business. Clark (1999) notes that transactions such as licensing processes, research and development processes, and court administration are not directly related to the trade of goods and services. Therefore, the term E-Business covers a broader range of transactions. The Electronic market (E-market) is an interorganizational information system allowing actors to perform business transactions. Other terms used synonymously are Electronic Market Place, Market Space (Rayport & Sviokla, 1995), and Automated/Electronic Trade. The E-market gives a new version of the concept of a traditional market, matching buyers and sellers of goods and services. It provides the infrastructure, a legal and regulatory framework, and technologies for typical business transactions, for further discussion see (Bakos, 1998; Strader & Shaw, 2000). An Electronic Education Market (EEM) is an interorganizational information system allowing actors to perform processes related to an educational context. The kind of processes supported differs significantly depending on the purpose of the EEM. We will present different types of EEM in the second part of this chapter. 41.2.2 Classification In the last few years a variety of E-markets have emerged on the WWW supporting specialized needs of participants. The terminology currently in use does not represent the functionality of an E-market accurately. Therefore, we define six classification dimensions, representing perspectives on E-markets, respectively showing different viewpoints on business on the Internet. Fig. 41.1 shows these classification dimensions. The functional perspective characterizes the types of transactions (functions) supported. Fig. 41.1 shows examples of transactions. Originally, E-markets were designed to provide a platform for information and marketing purposes: Electronic

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