In this thesis I am going to investigate the trends within e-business, what it is that drive
these trends and why these drivers are of such importance. I chose this subject since I have
found it very interesting and useful in my career because of the importance it embraces in
today’s business world.
The aspect of e-commerce has changed a lot lately to in the beginning of the 1990s be
about being present on the Internet with a web site, to being about transactions, meaning
to buy or sell through digital media at the end of the 1990s, to today be about being used to
make profitability – an era that can be called e-business, because it is now that e-business
finally gets its big breakthrough and starts to be recognized as a necessity for companies to
survive. As long as e-business has existed so have trends in the same matter. What will be
the trends of e-business in the future? Impossible to say of course, but by taking today’s
major trends into consideration, and to look at what drives these trends might have, will
make it possible to get a glimpse of the future of this relatively new business phenomenon
called e-business.
To get the best result possible of my thesis I have made a wide literature study in the subject
by reading and examine accurate literature and articles as well as carried out interviews
with different IT-gurus and other persons that is thought to withhold a lot of information
about my chosen subject.
I have focused on two major trends being customer oriented trends and service digitization.
Customer oriented trends are trends which have their focus towards customers such
as customer service, offering more product choices and to have integrated solutions. Service
digitization is the transformation of paper-based transactions into the new integrated
multi-channel processes. The driver I have found of most significance and therefore focused
on is customers. Customers are important as drivers since they have adopted a new
role in the business process. Customers nowadays have found a way to let their voices to
be heard. With the help of blogs, social networks and wikis over the Internet they can express
their feelings and suggestions about products as well as companies and have so to say
gained a more active role as customers to also taking part of the development. This voice
of the customers is highly essential to listen to if you as a company want to survive in a
business world where customers get more and more power.
After finishing this study I came up with the importance of service, and especially customer
service as well of personalization and customization (to personalize the shopping experience
for the customer). Another important conclusion is the importance of customers,
both as trends to focus on, as well as drivers behind these trends.
ii
Acknowledgements
2008. , s. 36
E-business, trends, trend drivers, service digitization, customer oriented trends