Amazon on the Internet – but not the one you are thinking of

Citation

Schwartz, D.G. (2002), "Amazon on the Internet – but not the one you are thinking of", Internet Research, Vol. 12 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.2002.17212daa.001

Amazon on the Internet – but not the one you are thinking of

Amazon on the Internet – but not the one you are thinking of

This issue of Internet Research takes us around the world from Brazil to Belgium, from Nigeria to The Netherlands.

We begin our journey with Walker who, taking a European perspective, presents a comparative analysis of Internet training in Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, and Austria in "Internet training in trade unions: a comparison of four European confederations". His analysis clearly shows how perceptions of Internet use in trade union training differ across geographies.

We then join Joia, who takes us into the far reaches of the Amazon jungle (yes, finally the real place and not the online bookstore), in "Analysing a Web-based e-commerce learning community: a case study in Brazil". This study of an online learning community provides us new insights into the design of collaborative environments; the effects of physical location on participation; and the influence of moderators.

In "Consumer response to Web sites and their influence on advertising effectiveness" Goldsmith and Lafferty bring us back to Madison Avenue, to examine the fundamentals of corporate American branding and how the Internet may or may not alter the effects of advertising. Their study is unique in that it not only addresses the Internet aspects, but also studies the impact of Internet advertising on offline traditional media advertising.

Finally, Ngini, Furnell and Ghita, in "Assessing the global accessibility of the Internet", present a profile of Internet access and use from 19 countries, across five geographic regions. They investigate the levels of Internet connectivity and usage in different countries, and attempt to determine the extent of Internet access, as well as perceptions of benefit in different areas.

Of course no round the world tour is complete without a stop in Canada. Internet Research is also pleased to present two of the best papers selected from the 3rd World Congress on the Management of Electronic Commerce, sponsored by the Management of Innovation and New Technology Research Centre at McMaster University, held 16-18 January 2002, in Hamilton, Canada. The World Congress brings both academic researchers and professional practitioners together to present, discuss and review the latest issues and trends in the area of electronic commerce. This year's conference was an international forum that attracted over 425 delegates from 35 countries. The conference explored e-commerce topics including new business models; critical success factors; e-government initiatives; trust and long-term customer and trading partner relationships; integration with traditional business models; impacts of new technologies; impacts on corporate culture; mobile commerce; and the impacts of strategic planning.

The two papers appearing in this issue, Simons, Steinfield, and Bouwman on "Strategic positioning of the Web in a multi-channel market approach", and McLaren, Head, and Yuan on "Supply chain collaboration alternatives: understanding the expected costs and benefits", represent different streams of research presented at the World Congress and provide important insights into their respective fields.

David G. Schwartz