Forum on E-Commerce Centers:
The following key issues related to the establishment and
operation of e-commerce centers are open for debate:
The Positioning:
Should e-commerce centers be affiliated with the department,
school, or university? Which approach more effectively generates
interdisciplinary synergies for e-commerce research?
The Objective:
Should CRECs be established to focus on high impact and cutting
edge academic research, to develop the next generation electronic
commerce technologies and management schemes, or to facilitate
government policy formulation such as supporting the establishment
of international standards in electronic commerce?
The organization:
Who should approach such a center and suggest courses of action?
Who should sit on the board, academic scholars, industry and
business leaders, IT technicians, and/or government officers?
How can they collaborate to create an integrated Web-environment
for the progress of e-commerce?
The operation:
How can CRECs strike the optimal balance between theory and
practice? A "theory-driven" approach considers research
on e-commerce must be based upon solid theoretical and methodological
academic foundations. Alternatively, a "practice-driven"
approach embraces the philosophy that the best research is
motivated by critical problems faced by real-world firms.
The alliance:
E-commerce research centers in various countries have been
required to establish alliances with each other and with relevant
centers in order to assert and maintain nationally accepted
standards for e-commerce research. The extent to which e-commerce
centers should establish such alliances, or operate independently,
or in coordination with other research centers, should probably
be decided by each research center on the basis of local circumstances.
The Center for Research on
E-Commerce (CREC)
Electronic Commerce is a challenging new development-both
intellectually and commercially-that will shape our future
global evolution. The Center for Research on Electronic Commerce
(CREC) at the National Chung Hsing University is devoted to
supporting e-commerce research and the general development
of the area. |
