The Internet has lead to the birth and evolution of electronic commerce or E-commerce. E-commerce has now become a key component of many organizations in the daily running of their business. E-commerce challenges traditional organizational practices, and it opens up a vast array of issues that the organizations must address. By focusing on the varying levels of an organization, it soon becomes apparent what effect E-commerce can have. An understanding of the implication E-commerce has on such organizational divisions can help businesses gain understanding hence plan for its inevitable continuing evolution. .
In terms of marketing, the modern organization must be critically aware of the development of E-commerce and the implications it entails. In assessing the implications of E-commerce in terms of marketing, it is important to understand its impact with respect to the marketing strategy formula. As the Internet and in turn E-commerce has developed, and continues to evolve and grow, it is vital that any organization, in any particular industry, must base its strategic planning around such a rapidly growing medium. The growth of the Internet is an environmental influence that must be embraced and understood so to successfully plan for future marketing implementation. As most of the issues that arise in terms of E-commerce represent organizations entering the environment, it seems natural to base discussion around this. Therefore, the bulk of the literature review relates existing organizations entering into the E-commerce market environment. In successfully identifying the relationship between E-commerce and strategy, the issues are categorized as follows: .
Strategic analysis - Understanding the environment.
Identifying the strategic options - Strategic Advantages/Disadvantages.
Advertising - Electronic cost cutting/publishing/process Corporate level, Business level, and Marketing level.