1. INTRODUCTION
Three closely related information technology disciplines have emerged during the past
decade. They are collaborative computing, knowledge management, and electronic commerce (ecommerce).
Collaborative computing enables people, groups of individuals, and organizations to
work together with one another in order to accomplish a task or a collection of tasks. These tasks
could vary from participating in conferences, solving a specific problem, or working on the
design of a system. With the advent of the web, it is now possible for organizations to effectively
manage their knowledge and experiences. That is, knowledge management is about using
knowledge as a resource for an organization and subsequently creating a knowledge organization
with knowledge workers. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is one of the fastest growing
application area for the World Wide Web. Essentially, it is about carrying out transactions on the
web such as buying and selling products, as well as carrying out various activities such as
training, procurement, and supply chain management.
While the three disciplines have evolved somewhat independently over the past decade, they
have a lot to contribute to each other. Effective collaboration is key to knowledge management
and good knowledge management practices are essential for a successful e-business
organization. More recently, organizations are going beyond collaboration, knowledge
management and e-commerce. These organizations are collaboratively carrying out transactions
on the web and going beyond organizational boundaries. That is, the organizations are
autonomous and yet cooperate with each other. This form of collaboration has come to be known
as c-commerce (or collaborative commerce) [CHEN00]. Essentially, organizations have to work
across international boundaries, collaboratively carry out transactions, as well as share and
collaborate on multiple activities and projects. Such collaborations can span across not only
organizations, but also multiple continents. The participants must be able to share information,
but at the same time protect their privacy as well as sensitive information. Disparate
heterogeneous information systems have to be integrated to form federations and subsequently
work effectively within as well as across organizations for c-commerce.
This paper focuses on models and architectures for c-commerce, and then analyzes the role
of knowledge management. In Section 2, we first discuss the building blocks for c-commerce.
Next, in Section 3, we discuss business models for c-commerce and introduce an example, which
we will use throughout the paper. In Section 4, we describe how c-commerce enables
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organizations to work across boundaries of various types. In particular, federated architectures
for c-commerce will be discussed. The role of knowledge management will be stressed in
Section 5. We also briefly address business and managerial implications for knowledge
management and c-commerce in section 5. Finally, in section 6, we discuss the directions and
challenges for c-commerce.
1. INTRODUCTIONThree closely related information technology disciplines have emerged during the pastdecade. They are collaborative computing, knowledge management, and electronic commerce (ecommerce).Collaborative computing enables people, groups of individuals, and organizations towork together with one another in order to accomplish a task or a collection of tasks. These taskscould vary from participating in conferences, solving a specific problem, or working on thedesign of a system. With the advent of the web, it is now possible for organizations to effectivelymanage their knowledge and experiences. That is, knowledge management is about usingknowledge as a resource for an organization and subsequently creating a knowledge organizationwith knowledge workers. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is one of the fastest growingapplication area for the World Wide Web. Essentially, it is about carrying out transactions on theweb such as buying and selling products, as well as carrying out various activities such astraining, procurement, and supply chain management.While the three disciplines have evolved somewhat independently over the past decade, theyhave a lot to contribute to each other. Effective collaboration is key to knowledge managementand good knowledge management practices are essential for a successful e-businessorganization. More recently, organizations are going beyond collaboration, knowledgemanagement and e-commerce. These organizations are collaboratively carrying out transactionson the web and going beyond organizational boundaries. That is, the organizations areautonomous and yet cooperate with each other. This form of collaboration has come to be knownas c-commerce (or collaborative commerce) [CHEN00]. Essentially, organizations have to workacross international boundaries, collaboratively carry out transactions, as well as share andcollaborate on multiple activities and projects. Such collaborations can span across not onlyorganizations, but also multiple continents. The participants must be able to share information,but at the same time protect their privacy as well as sensitive information. Disparateheterogeneous information systems have to be integrated to form federations and subsequentlywork effectively within as well as across organizations for c-commerce.This paper focuses on models and architectures for c-commerce, and then analyzes the roleof knowledge management. In Section 2, we first discuss the building blocks for c-commerce.Next, in Section 3, we discuss business models for c-commerce and introduce an example, whichwe will use throughout the paper. In Section 4, we describe how c-commerce enables 1organizations to work across boundaries of various types. In particular, federated architecturesfor c-commerce will be discussed. The role of knowledge management will be stressed inSection 5. We also briefly address business and managerial implications for knowledge
management and c-commerce in section 5. Finally, in section 6, we discuss the directions and
challenges for c-commerce.
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