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Ethical Issues in Bette Ann Stead
Electronic Commerce Jackie Gilbert
ABSTRACT. This article reviews the incredible growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce) and presents ethical issues that have emerged. Security concerns, spamming, Web sites that do not carry an advertising label, cybersquatters, online marketing to children, conflicts of interest, manufacturers competing with intermediaries online, and dinosaurs are discussed. The power of the Internet to spotlight issues is noted as a significant force in providing a kind of self-regulation that supports an ethical e-commerce environment.
KEY WORDS: conflict of interest, cookie file, cybersquatter, dinosaur behavior, disintermediation, extranet, fraud, mass customization, privacy, spamming
Traditionally, companies have continually thought about how to succeed in a competitive environment. A tektonic shift seems to have occurred so that companies must now con-
tinually think about how to succeed in a competitive environment that is dominated by the Internet. Nash (2000) notes that over the next five-to-ten years, common consumer activities (including grocery and clothes shopping) will shift to the Web. The line between e-commerce and commerce is rapidly disappearing.
This major shift has also occurred in academia, with Carnegie Mellon University offering a masters degree in electronic commerce. Georgia State is working with seven European universities to develop a joint Global Electronic Commerce Masters (G.E.M.). The G.E.M. degree will displace classical marketing, accounting and law studies with e-commerce versions. There is a strong belief that this is essentially what a regular MBA will look like in five or six years (Brin, 1999).
E-commerce is a major business opportunity which merchants can ill-afford to miss (Jordan, 1999). This quote is from Visas director of e-commerce for Asia-Pacific. Like most business people, he realizes that doing business electronically will be the preferred medium in the future. By the year 2002, there will be 67 million Americans buying on-line, representing a 10 billion dollar consumer expenditure. Both e-commerce (Internet shopping) and e-business (e.g., applications such as banking) are expected to grow rapidly during the next decade. It is projected that within the next ten years the Internet will become the primary mode of communication and commerce within the United States (Waclauski, 2000). Even basic pricing is expected to change, in that consumers will determine on-line what price to pay for products such as groceries,...