New edition of Ebusiness Ecommerce Management Book

I announced the publication of the 4th edition of my Ebusiness and Ecommerce management book via Twitter recently and a couple of people asked me what was new. Fair question! So, here from the preface is a chapter-by-chapter summary list.

If you're not familiar with the book, I have also included this figure which provides a framework for managing resources needed for sell-side E-commerce in a large organisation. It gives an idea of most the ebusiness management issues that I tackle in the book.

OK, so on to the changes. The chapter structure of previous editions has been retained, but many other changes have been incorporated based on lecturer and student feedback.

There are two main new features. First, new case studies in boxes "Real-world E-business experiences - The E-consultancy interview" are introduced at the start of most chapters. These are interviews with E-commerce managers at a range of UK, European and US-based organizations concerning the strategies they have adopted and their approaches to strategy implementation. Second there are numbered boxes which explore a concept in more detail or give an example of a principle discussed in the text. There are also 3 major new case studies to enable learning from brands that will be well-known personally to students in different countries: Dell, Facebook and Google. To help accommodate these less reference is given to the running "B2C and B2B Company" case.

The main updates for the fourth edition on a chapter by chapter basis are:

• Chapter 1 starts with a look at the amazing innovation in business model that the web has facilitated. The introduction to different E-commerce concepts now covers different Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 concepts in more detail including a new case study on the Facebook business model.
• Chapter 2 is structured around a new approach to online marketplace analysis for e-business which can be used by students working on case studies or practitioners in business is described with new diagrams and links to information sources. Coverage of evaluation of business and revenue models has been extended with a spreadsheet activity on web ad revenue model.
• Chapter 3. The simple introduction removed with more detailed coverage on the advantages and disadvantages of the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. The tools section has been updated to include concept of Web 2.0 and atomization / widgets. Coverage on Mobile commerce and IPTV extended (these are also covered throughout the book). Chapter 3 includes a new case study on Google technology and innovation.
• Chapter 4. Increased focus on the adoption of different web services and social media rather than Internet adoption. Legal implications for E-commerce in different countries and regions updated. Section on green and environmental issues added.
• Chapter 5. Incorporates the strategy models and latest research completed by Dave Chaffey for Econsultancy on managing digital channels.
• Chapter 6. Incorporates new research on SCM from PMP Research. New content on the challenges of managing supply chains and the Information Supply Chain concept.
• Chapter 7. Update to content on adoption of B2B marketplaces.
• Chapter 8. Management of customer acquisition, conversion and retention incorporated into strategy process. Marketing mix section updated to include new content on customer insight, long tail, tipping point and digital product options. New case study on how Dell varies its marketing mix.
• Chapter 9. Increased depth on search engine marketing, Email marketing and social media.
• Chapter 10. Scrum and agile methodologies introduced. Use of Web 2.0 for knowledge management through a case study on Janssen Cilag.
• Chapter 11. Section on user-centred design extended with additional commentary and mini-case studies. New section on common security threats and solutions for the e-business.
• Chapter 12. Removed basic introduction to HTML and scripting languages as recommended by reviewers. Introduced section on Application Frameworks and servers  added. Updated section on web analytics with new example of online retailer benchmarking.