A Review of: “Computer Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet”

The Internet has doubled in size every year in recent years and now spans the globe, facilitating the exchange of all matter of digital data. Recent development has been categorized by an explosion in new commercial activity. Despite overwhelming coverage in the popular press, relatively little is understood regarding the impact the Internet is having on firms that use this medium to facilitate commerce. Even less is understood about the impact on small enterprises-the largest segment of U.S., Japanese, and Western European businesses. This article reports the results of an exploratory study examining critical issues surrounding the use of the Internet in emerging enterprises. The survey (1) describes how small businesses develop and use their on-line sales presence, (2) explores factors that motivate firms to invest in electronic commerce, (3) assesses the importance of the expected benefits of an on-line sales presence on the decision to go on-line, and (4) examines some of the barriers that prevent small businesses from further developing their on-line presence.     

A Review of: “The Information Revolution and Developing Countries”

There is an increasing rhetoric from politicians for universities to become more involved in policy analysis and policy research. In this article, we reflect on our experiences of the analysis we conducted into the legislation to introduce biometric identity cards in the United Kingdom. We highlight how our work had direct consequences for the ongoing policy deliberation around this controversial piece of legislation. In particular, we highlight our role in the debate surrounding the government's figures for identity fraud and the concerns about the likely cost of the scheme to the government and taxpayer. We end the article by discussing some of the practical realities of such a foray into real politik.     

A Review of “Kids Online: Opportunities and Risks for Children”

While there is no question that the commercial development of the World Wide Web is still in its infancy and growing rapidly, this development faces a serious barrier to ultimate commercialization. In this article we develop the argument that the primary barrier to the successful commercial development of the Web is the current lack of consumer trust in this new commercial medium. This lack of trust is engendered primarily by the industry's documented failure to respond satisfactorily to mounting consumer concerns over information privacy in electronic, networked environments. We examine how such concerns are affecting the growth and development of consumer-oriented commercial activity on the World Wide Web and investigate the implications of these concerns for potential industry response. In the short run, the commercial development of the Web depends on giving consumers the opportunity to be anonymous when engaging in information exchanges and online transactions. Ultimately, however, commercial Web providers must come to realize that the Internet dramatically shifts the balance of power between a business and its customers, and therefore, radical new business strategies will be required for long-term success. Because the Web offers unprecedented opportunities for interacting with customers, strategies that take advantage of the medium's unique features are likely to reap important rewards in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. Therefore, in the long run, the most effective way for commercial Web providers to develop profitable exchange relationships with online customers is to gain consumer trust by allowing the balance of power to shift toward more cooperative interactions between firms and their customers.     

A Review of: “Hacking Cyberspace’

Abstract

The efforts of other nations to develop comprehensive approaches to the development and application of information technology have given rise to concern in many quarters about the adequacy of the U.S. government's response to information issues.

A bill, H.R. 3137, was introduced in the House of Representatives in April 1981 by Congressman George E. Brown, Jr., in an attempt to stimulate movement toward a coordinated development of U.S. information policies. Hearings on this legislation elicited a wide variety of opinion concerning how best to proceed toward this development. This paper surveys the testimony presented at the hearings and some recent actions taken by Congress and by the Reagan Administration on information issues.