The aim of this chapter was to review the researches which were conducted on success of electronic commerce web sites. In particular, for the electronic commerce companies operating in the field of B2C, the main determinants of success are the attitudes and perceptions of customers regarding the website. In the literature, researchers suggested different models to explain the relationships among dimensions which are determining the success of information system. Some of them also adopted these models into the B2C area. These attempts enlighten the managerial problems encountered by the executives of the B2C enterprises. Consequently, in this study, in the light of compiled models, some suggestions have been made to guide the executives.
TopAdvent Of The Internet
The internet, which emerged in the sixties as a military communication system in the U.S., has turned into a communication revolution that surrounds the whole world with the spread of web technology developed at CERN in the nineties. The fact that the emergence of the Internet as a revolution is the reason why it lifts the geographical boundaries that restrict communication between people and pushes for a serious change on the economic and social systems around the world. With the emergence of the Web, the Internet, which is monopolized by state institutions and universities, has become available to everyone in the mid-nineties. Therefore, there is only a period of twenty years of the entrance of the internet into our life. But those twenty years are not enough to predict the changes that the Internet will bring to the future. Indeed, when we consider the internet in terms of the cognitive development of the humanity, it is expected to have more influence than the invention of printing press. However, due to the ongoing debate over whether these effects will be positive or negative, it is still early to make a judgment on the consequences that will arise. When we look at the economic and social effects of the Internet from the business and commercial micro perspective, it is seen that the internet has caused serious changes in the structures and cultures of business organizations. The two basic pressures on contemporary companies are strengthening of consumer and increasing competition (Sözer, 2009).
Especially since the beginning of 2000, the introduction of web 2.0 sites has caused the consumer to be more informed, more conscious and demanding. Consumers' comments and complaints about their products and services on social media sites reveal threatens for companies. Besides, it also offers opportunities for companies to get ahead of their competitors. (Sözer, 2009).
The second fundamental pressure on today’s companies is the increasing competition. Competition has been steadily increasing since free market model has been adopted by many countries around the world, especially since the nineties when the eastern bloc collapsed. The structure of the market has evolved into a structure in which supply is higher than demand. In this environment, many companies are stuck in the current competition (Sözer, 2009).