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Globalization, liberalization of markets, internationalization and Internet has led to new open visions and business opportunities. Now, large and small businesses may have business relationships all over the world and obtain many important advantages such as: rapid transfer of information, rapid connectivity, diversity, interculturality, finding new knowledge, experiences, and values, and lower costs for communication and collaboration, anytime, anywhere. In a world where many activities are now online, why not the commercial activity to not be online? The Internet, as the newest direct marketing technique, has led to increased sales made online. The customers and the organizations, make purchase and sale online, known as e-commerce. In this article we analyse the role played by the Internet in commerce activities, implementing mathematical modeling and simulation to show their implication in commercial activities and to show there is a direct and positive relation between the Internet and the commercial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, internet has developed to a highly competitive market. The size of e-commerce market in India is worth around Rs 9,500 crore, out of which the pure play online shopping market is worth Rs 1,300 crore. While online shopping globally is growing at around 8-10%, in India the growth rate is upwards of 30%. With the growing importance of the online retail industry in India, it becomes imperative for Eretailers and internet marketers to understand the determinants of online purchase behaviour of customers to understand what is important to the Indian online customer. Purpose: The main purpose of the research is to understand the behavior of customer while purchasing online and to analyze the impact of various demographic factors that affect the behaviour of online shoppers in India. Design/methodology/approach: A broad range of published works in the field of online retail industry especially in India have been reviewed to analyze the factors behind increase in growth of the industry. The author also conducted an empirical study which uses primary data collected through survey of 220 online shoppers. A structured-non-disguised questionnaire has been employed for collecting the information from the respondents about their demographics, security and privacy concerns, technological familiarity, past online shopping experiences and intentions to buy various types of products through internet in future. The collected data was analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS18.0) for windows. Practical Implications: Study findings entail interesting implications for the marketers. They need to give adequate attention to consumer characteristics while designing their e-marketing strategies. Online marketers should target their products to young and more educated customers earning higher income and ensure about the high security of personal information of customers and financial transactions along with providing good experience of online shopping so that customer may continue purchasing online in future also. Major findings: The findings of the study indicate that customer online purchase behaviour is significantly related to their gender, education, age, and income. It is found that both the gender are likely to purchase goods/services online with same frequency. People who have higher income are more engaged in purchasing goods over internet. As per the results of the study, it is found that convenience, perceived usefulness of medium, internet expertise; product risk, security risk, convenience risk, non-delivery risk and return/shipment policy are the factors which influenced the decision of customers while purchasing online. Originality/value: The framework of the research enhances understanding of the factors affecting customer online shopping behaviour, helps in profiling typical Indian online shoppers and may help e-marketers developing more specific marketing strategies to increase e-commerce sales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Open Science (OS) movement promises nothing less than a revolution in the availability of scientific knowledge around the globe. By removing barriers to online data and encouraging publication in Open Access formats and Open Data archives, OS seeks to expand the role, reach and value of research. The promises of OS imply a set of expectations about what different publics hope to gain from research, how accountability and participation can be enhanced, and what makes science public in the first place. This paper presents empirical material from fieldwork undertaken in (bio)chemistry laboratories in Kenya and South Africa to examine the extent to which these ideals can be realized in a sub-Saharan context. To analyse the challenges African researchers face in making use of freely available data, we draw from Amartya Sen’s Capabilities Approach. His theorisations of ‘conversion factors’ helps to understand how seemingly minor economic and social contingencies can hamper the production and (re-)use of online data. In contrast to initiatives that seek to make more data available, we suggest the need to facilitate a more egalitarian engagement with online data resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: Video games are not only changing due to technical innovation, but also because of new game design and monetization approaches. Moreover, elite gamer groups with financial in-game-investments co-finance all users of free-to-play-games. Besides questions on youth protection, the growing popularity of free-to-play games has fostered discussions on supposed associations to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD).Method: Children and adolescents using free-to-play browser games were examined in a German school-based representative study (N=3967; age range 12 to 18). Based on a clinical self-report AICA-S (Wölfling et al., 2011), students were categorized into non-problematic, risky, and addicted users. Psycho-social problems (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), perceived stress (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983), coping strategies (BriefCOPE; Carver, 1997), and Average Revenue per (Paying) User (ARPU) were investigated as dependent variables. Furthermore, an industry classification (Freeloaders, Minnows, Dolphins, and Whales) for free-to-play gamers was used for additional relations regarding IGD, SDQ, PSS, BriefCOPE, and ARPU.Results: Among free-to-play gamers the prevalence of IGD amounted to 5.2%. Subjects classified with IGD displayed higher psycho-social symptoms than non-problematic users, reported higher degrees of perceived stress, and applied dysfunctional coping strategies more frequently. Additionally, we found a higher ARPU among subjects with IGD.Conclusion: ARPU is significantly associated with IGD. Whales share significant characteristics with addicted video gamers; Dolphins might be classified as risky consumers; Minnows and Freeloaders are rather non-pathological gamers. Vulnerability for stress, dysfunctional coping, and free-to-play gaming represent an unhealthy combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review essay amalgamates the economic dynamics found in the rise of the computer industry, as detailed in Martin Campbell-Kelly and Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz,From mainframes to smartphones: A history of the international computer industry(Harvard University Press, 2015), and the metamorphosis of data networks in Shane Greenstein,How the Internet became commercial: Innovation, privatization, and the birth of a new network(Princeton University Press, 2015). These developments have altered the fields of industrial organization and public policy, while shaping the economy of the future. Both books offer deep and illuminating histories that inform our understanding of markets, technology, and government regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of literature is devoted to testing the reality of the 'long-tail' phenomenon. This literature is mostly, if not exclusively, focused on the impact of Internet on the distribution of sales by product. However, the long tail also raises the issue of a possible change in the usual market structure of cultural industries: an oligopoly with a competitive fringe. To our knowledge, no paper addresses the following question: If the long-tail effect does exist, is it of more benefit to small or dominant publishers? The aim of this paper was to address this issue in the context of the French publishing industry. Our main findings are as follows: (1) the market concentration of the French book industry is lower online than offline and (2) the difference in concentration between the two channels of distribution tended to widen over the period 2004-2010. Strategies adopted by leading publishers on the Web do not allow them to maintain the market share obtained with bricks-and-mortar retailers. Furthermore, we show that the market share lost by dominant firms is captured by small publishers online and by medium-sized publishers in conventional stores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the digital economy is a challenge for companies that operate in the new electronic environment. In fact, companies that use the internet as basic infrastructure for their operations must adapt and to be ready to respond to the growing challenges who are posed from more sophisticated consumers. CRM concept includes possibilities, methodology and technology that enable companies to operate through improving relations with consumers. CRM as a strategic set of activities begins with a detailed analysis of organizational strategy and ending with measurement of value for stakeholders. CRM owes its expansion to the emergence of the Internet. Digital economy enables more effective targeting and personalization. The basic motive for the research is the fact that e-CRM is a relatively new concept and in recent years has made significant strides in companies around the world aimed at customers. Namely, e-CRM is positioned high on the priority list of today's corporate agendas. The aim of this paper is to consider the importance and benefits of the implementation of e-CRM concept in Macedonia, and to determine the factors that contribute to its successful implementation. The research results should contribute to increasing the profitability and competitiveness of Macedonian companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a review of advertising market segmentation per media, this article explains the Internet's emergence as a powerful advertising support, building on network externalities and "winner takes all" effects. The combined forces of advertising programming and "big data" are now pushing Internet advertising toward new frontiers by valuing individual data and social graphs, as the two offer a maximum coverage of potential consumers even on the smallest market niches. It is the key to conquering advertisers. For this reason, individual data and social interrelations are the Holy Grail for companies selling advertising space on the Internet. The race to collect, store and handle data is on. Because of increasing returns, only big firms can compete on the "big data" market. This explains why the worldwide market of Internet advertising is highly concentrated and why this concentration is increasing. The article finishes with how these points impact the advertising market and could impact media content dependent on advertising revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Internet-based interventions for depression in comparison with usual care. However, evidence on the cost-effectiveness of these interventions when delivered in outpatient clinics is lacking. The aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of an Internet-based problem-solving guided self-help intervention in comparison with enhanced usual care for outpatients on a waiting list for face-to-face treatment for major depression. After the waiting list period, participants from both groups received the same treatment at outpatient clinics.Methods: An economic evaluation was performed alongside a randomized controlled trial with 12 months follow-up. Outcomes were improvement in depressive symptom severity (measured by CES-D), response to treatment and Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALYs). Statistical uncertainty around cost differences and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were estimated using bootstrapping.Results: Mean societal costs for the intervention group were €1579 higher than in usual care, but this was not statistically significant (95% CI - 1395 to 4382). Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves showed that the maximum probability of the intervention being cost-effective in comparison with usual care was 0.57 at a ceiling ratio of €15,000/additional point of improvement in CES-D, and 0.25 and 0.30 for an additional response to treatment and an extra QALY respectively, at a ceiling ratio of €30,000. Sensitivity analysis showed that from a mental healthcare provider perspective the probability of the intervention being cost-effective was 0.68 for a ceiling ratio of 0 €/additional unit of effect for the CES-D score, response to treatment and QALYs. As the ceiling ratio increased this probability decreased, because the mean costs in the intervention group were lower than the mean costs in the usual care group.Limitations: The patients in the intervention group showed low adherence to the Internet-based treatment. It is possible that greater adherence would have led to larger clinical effects.Conclusions: Offering an Internet-based intervention to depressed outpatients on waiting list for face-to-face treatment was not considered cost-effective in comparison with enhanced usual care from a societal perspective. There was a high probability of the intervention being cost-effective in comparison with enhanced usual care from the perspective of the mental healthcare provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread prevalence of the Internet has led to the increasing dependence of customers on online travel agencies (OTAs) in their making purchasing decisions. OTAs that aim to increase market share and obtain higher profits need to find ways of maintaining loyal customers and at the same time attracting new ones. This study examines customer loyalty from the perspective of online engagement investment of OTAs. Although many studies in the marketing literature have described the influence of customer engagement on customer loyalty, the majority of these studies rely on theoretical conceptual frameworks or empirical research, and do not provide any solutions for optimizing engagement investment. Thus, in this study, we examined how OTAs make investment decisions with regard to encouraging online engagement of customers. In addition, we analyzed the market evolution and game equilibrium of a given online travel market with respect to the results of the optimal decisions. We believe that the findings of this study have important implications for e-commerce researchers and practitioners, particularly for operators of OTAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a gravity model framework, this paper examines the relationship between bilateral trade and the degree of Internet adoption in an economy. The study distinguishes between agricultural and non-agricultural commodities while analyzing the effect of the Internet adoption on bilateral exports. The study uses panel data from 2006 to 2010 and uses the fixed-effects method to estimate the gravity equation. Moreover, to correct for the sample selection bias arising from missing trade values, this study uses the Heckman sample selection method. The results suggest that a higher degree of internet adoption stimulates both agricultural and non-agricultural exports, though the impact is stronger for non-agricultural commodities. Furthermore, the study found the degree of Internet adoption in the exporting country to have a more prominent effect than the degree of Internet adoption in the importing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to underline how companies work and how they run on their favorite fuel, money. The financial side of management represents a tool through which we understand the costs and financial benefits of adopting a style of management and expecting some given results, especially when it comes to how project future financial results from core businesses and new businesses. The research underlines a clear path between to position where the management should be developed and highlighted and the financial flow that is connected to it, and also includes the streamlined idea that the globalization process represents a powerful economic connector for businesses worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports on topics including the featured scholarship of Association of Internet Researchers, the uncover issue on how Internet influenced people to different intersecting ways and the status of Internet Research as discipline.

The growth of users connected to the Internet with a high bandwidth connection hasfavored the increase of multimedia services. As many of these services are provided by means of SIP, adding support for payment to SIP might benefit vendors. Payments in SIP have been proposed for accessing services, for microbilling and even as a solution to SPAM in VoIP systems. Current proposals have some limitations such as either not being suitable for low payments or micropayments, or not supporting the use of different payment protocols or the payment is always made for the whole session or they do not take into account that streams of different quality could have different prices. In response to these limitations, we propose a new SIP extension for supporting any kind of payments (both micropayments and macropayments) on SIP. In addition to being payment-independent, our proposal solves interoperability problems. Our proposal is based in an standard extension of SDP and SIP in order to maximize the compatibility. This facilitates the deployment of payment in SIP-based services. Moreover, our SIP extension supports an offer/answer model that allows the choice of the quality of the streams as well as the payment options to use. Furthermore, it is flexible and not only supports payment but also more complex business models such as loyalty models, credentials and subscriptions. In this paper, we provide a generic way to incorporate new payment methods and business models in the vendor's software. Using some application scenarios, we make a comparison between our proposal and previous work to show some of the advantages of using our proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the author's contention that law reviews should transition to an Internet-based electronic format, and it mentions the potential elimination of all hard copy versions of legal journals. Several historic developments involving publishing and printing are examined, along with cost control, environmentalism, and the economical aspects of digital-only publications. Publishing speed, flexibility, and efficiency are assessed, along with the Lexis and Westlaw research services.

Background: Substance misuse and excessive alcohol consumption are major public health issues. Internet-based interventions for substance use disorders (SUDs) are a relatively new method for addressing barriers to access and supplementing existing care. This study examines cost-effectiveness in a multisite, randomized trial of an internet-based version of the community reinforcement approach (CRA) with contingency management (CM) known as the Therapeutic Education System (TES). Methods: Economic evaluation of the 12-week trial with follow-up at 24 and 36 weeks. 507 individuals who were seeking therapy for alcohol or other substance use disorders at 10 outpatient community-based treatment programs were recruited and randomized to either treatment as usual (TAU) or TES+TAU. Sub-analyses were completed on participants with a poorer prognosis (i.e., those not abstinent at study entry). Results: From the provider's perspective, TES+TAU as it was implemented in this study costs $278 (SE=87) more than TAU alone after 12 weeks. The quality-adjusted life years gained by TES+TAU and TAU were similar; however, TES+TAU has at least a 95% chance of being considered cost-effective for providers and payers with willingness-to-pay thresholds as low as $20,000 per abstinent year. Findings for the subgroup not abstinent at study entry are slightly more favorable. Conclusions: With regard to the clinical outcome of abstinence, our cost-effectiveness findings of TES+TAU compare favorably to those found elsewhere in the CM literature. The analyses performed here serve as an initial economic framework for future studies integrating technology into SUD therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article acknowledges the evolution of the Internet and how it affects the economy in areas such as business and industrial transformation. It emphasizes the importance of digital revolution in the field of medicine, transportation, and education. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is acknowledged for his views on Internet evolution and humanity. A concern is raised regarding its negative effect on workforce.

One of the key attempts towards a collective African vision is the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). Barnard and Vonk (2003) report that "53 countries have been urged to implement ICTs in three crucial development arenas: education, health and trade". While NEPAD and other initiatives have contributed to the provision of ICT infrastructure with positive results as seen in the growth of Internet uses, the disparities in development across Africa are enormous. The challenge to Higher Education Institutions in Africa has been summarised by Colle (2005): "central to creating digital resources and academic infrastructure is the question of universities' relevance to the world around them, and especially to the challenge of being an active player - 'an anchor of a broad-based poverty alleviation strategy' in an increasingly knowledge-based economy". It can be inferred from Colle that the activities of HEIs in Africa ought to be geared towards contributing to the realisation of the Millennium development goals. In 2003, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) adopted a declaration of principles aimed at enabling everyone to create access, utilise, and share information and knowledge. In this declaration, member states affirmed their commitment to aggressive investment in ICT for social and economic development (Ngwenyama, Andoh-Baidoo, Bollou, & Morawecynski, 2006). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims at examining the factors governing business benefits of moving to Enterprise 2.0. Web 2.0 has been around for more than a decade, and has been exploited by a lot of business organizations for improving their operations and profitability. However, the success rate has not been uniform. Design/methodology/approach – Is there a pattern behind this successful adoption has been a matter of curiosity for most top management personnel. This paper goes into analyzing what factors govern this movement from Enterprise 1.0 to Enterprise 2.0 and uses structured equation modeling to predict the possibilities. Findings – It concludes by demonstrating that business benefits to the organization are significantly linked to the usage of Web 2.0 tools. Research limitations/implications – The paper has been done in India, and the authors expect that similar studies around the world will result in similar results. Practical implications – Results of this paper emphasize the strong correlation between the use of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 tools with business benefits obtained in terms of improved productivity of resources used and a higher level of information quality leading to better decision-making. Thus, transition to the Enterprise 2.0 state should be strived by all business organizations. Originality/value – This is an original work of the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a structured overview of the quantitative research on the economic impacts of broadband internet. Differentiating between wireline and wireless technologies as well as broadband availability and broadband adoption, respectively, we review studies investigating the impacts on economic growth, employment and regional development as well as productivity and firm performance. Eventually, the survey does not only allow the identification of main research gaps but also provides useful information for policy makers on the significance and importance of communication networks for social welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Problematic alcohol consumption is associated with a high disease burden for affected individuals and has a detrimental impact on companies and society due to direct and indirect health costs. This protocol describes a study design to evaluate the (cost)-effectiveness of a guided and unguided Internet-based self-help intervention for employees called "GET.ON Clever weniger trinken" (be smart - drink less) compared to a waiting list control group.Methods: In a three-arm randomized controlled trial, 528 German adults who are currently members of the workforce will be recruited by occupational health departments of major health insurance companies. Employees aged 18 and older displaying problematic drinking patterns (>21/14 drinks per week and an AUDIT score > 8/6 for men/women) will be randomly assigned to one of three following study conditions: 1. unguided web-based self-help for problematic drinking, 2. adherence-focused guided self-help, and 3. waiting list control. Self-report data will be collected at baseline (T1), 6 weeks (T2), and 6 months (T3) after randomization. The primary outcome will be the reduction of alcohol standard units during the 7 days prior to T2, using the Timeline Followback method. Cost-effectiveness analyses to determine direct and indirect costs will be conducted from the perspectives of employers and the society. Data will be analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis and per protocol.Discussion: There is a need to identify effective low-threshold solutions to improve ill-health and reduce the negative economic consequences due to problematic alcohol drinking in workforces. If the proposed web-based intervention proves both to be efficacious and cost-effective, it may be a useful tool to increase utilization rates of interventions for problematic drinking in occupational settings.Trial Registration: German Register of Clinical Studies (DRKS): DRKS00006105 , date of registration: 2014-07-07. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the hybrid nature of material and digital spaces, more decisions are being made online that have a direct effect on offline actions. This is increasingly true for the locations where people are choosing to consume goods and services such as restaurants or retail outlets. The growth of the GeoWeb-personal data uploaded to certain Internet sites such as social media platforms-has established large databases showing the locations where people go during their daily lives for the purposes of consumption. One such repository is the social network, Foursquare, which people use to display their physical location to their friends, digitally. In looking more closely at datasets from Foursquare overlaid with information on racial characteristics in census tracts, a pattern emerges: predominantly African-American tracts are increasingly left out of this type of online participation. This paper will compare Foursquare data from several U.S. cities to discuss the implications of being left off of social media platforms tied to economic activity. It is likely that these virtually invisible areas will have a direct impact on the economic vitality of their physical counterparts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]