● People: Sellers, buyers, intermediaries, information systems specialists and
other employees, and any other participants.
● Public policy: Legal and other policy and regulating issues, such as privacy
protection and taxation, that are determined by the government.
● Marketing and advertising: Like any other business, EC usually requires
the support of marketing and advertising. This is especially important in
B2C online transactions where the buyers and sellers usually do not know
each other.
● Support services: Many services are needed to support EC. These range from
payments to order delivery and content creation.
● Business partnerships: Joint ventures, e-marketplaces, and business
partnerships of various sorts are common in EC. These occur frequently
throughout the supply chain (i.e., the interactions between a company and
its suppliers, customers, and other partners).