Digital Technology and its Impact on E-commerce Business

This report discusses the key trends and advantages of digital technology in e-commerce business, its implications on the global environment, and the evaluation of various digital business models. It also explores the impact of collaborative relationships, strategic alliances, and cryptocurrency on digital business models.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Key Trends of Digital Technology..............................................................................................3
Advantages of Digital Technology..............................................................................................4
Implication of E-Commerce business in global environment......................................................4
Evaluation of Business Models of Digital Business related to the key issues.............................4
Impact of Collaborative Relationship & Strategic Alliance through digital technology.............5
Impact of Cryptocurrency ...........................................................................................................7
Views on El Salvador's Legal Tender Adoption..........................................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Digital technology is defined as those use of technology and make the business run in the
market. It is very important when the businesses want to expand their operation and grab the
consumers at higher level. There are various emerging business models that companies adapt
while dealing on the online platform. ASOS is a retailer of fashion and cosmetics which runs
their business on online platform. They provide quality services to their customers so that they
can retain them with their business.
This report discusses the key trends with the advantages of the digital technology
associated businesses, it will also reflect the implication which this business have on global
environment. Further it will explain various digital business model with the key issue of ethics as
well as cyber security. Other than this it discusses impact of collaborative practices & strategic
alliance with the impact of cryptocurrencies on these businesses.
MAIN BODY
Key Trends of Digital Technology
5G
It is one of the important trend which will be followed in Internet of things. The
expectations from this trend is it will revolutionize the lives of the people. It will enable those
services which are based on the technologies which are advanced such as AR & VR, along with
this gaming services which are based on cloud will also be enabled. The expectation is that it will
be first used in the factories, where HD cameras will help the business to improve the safety as
well as manage the traffic (Adebusola, and et.al., 2020).
Cyber Security
It is not a new technology but it is constantly bringing something new in the market
which is changing the working environment of the companies. As the hackers quality of hacking
is increasing cyber security is helping the business to safeguard its information. This will be
increasing the job in the near future for those who are talented in the field of technology (Teoh,
and Mahmood, 2018).

Advantages of Digital Technology
Digital technology has changed the every aspect of the modern life (Khin, and Ho,
2018). Digital technology has provided various advantages to the organisation. Some of the
advantages are described below are as follows:
1. social connectivity: Social connectivity has made it easier for the organisation to
promote and increase the brand awareness of the product easy and attractive. With the
help of the social media such as Facebook and Instagram. The ASOS is using Facebook
page for increasing the customers of the company. It has helped the company in
increasing the loyalty of the customers. It has helped the company in informing the
individual about the events that are organised by the company. As it increases the
connectivity of the customers throughout the world.
2. Information storage: Digital technology helps in storing the massive information at one
place. It helps in keeping the data confidential, as the customers trust the company only
because of the security reasons. The ASOS uses this technique for storing the data of
their customers. It has helped the company in saving the times and efforts. It has also
helped in reducing the cost of the expenses related to the storage.
3. Communication speed: The speed of spreading the information has been increased wiyh
the help of the digital technology. Digital technology has made it easier for the
shareholders of the ASOS, to participate in the board meeting without being available at
the meeting place. As the presence of the shareholders are important for the some of the
decision-making process.
4. Versatile working: it refers to the increase in the communication process and effective
working by the employees. As under this the the employee can work from home and this
has increased the opportunities for the various employees who are not able to come to the
workplace for performing the task. The ASOS has provide this opportunity to its all
employees. So that they work with full effectiveness and efficiency.
5. Automation:automation of the working in the organisation has made it easy for every
organisation to complete their work on time. It has helped in reducing the cost of labour
as the machine installation is the one time expense. The ASOS has updated its accounting
techniques with fully automated machine that has reduced the time taken by the
employees for updating the accounts of the company.

Implication of E-Commerce business in global environment
The positive impact of the e commerce of the company on the global environment is that
it has reduced the usage of the paper waste of the company (Zelizer, 2019). Paper waste by the
most of the company is common in this era. By introducing the digital technology the company
has helped in improving the sustainability of the resources in the country. The digital technology
has impacted the business in the way increasing its customers all over the world. And helps in
reducing the transportation cost, as now customers can select their product through online mode.
But digital technology has some negative impact as well on the global environment as
with reduction in the transportation cost it has reduced the economy of the country as well. The
online marketing has increased the wastage of the paper and increased the use of plastic by the
way of packaging.
Evaluation of Business Models of Digital Business related to the key issues
There are various business models which are emerging in the present environment. Some
of those business model are discussed further in the report.
Dropshipping
This type of business get the product from an organization then supply directly to the
customers. This saves the cost of inventory for these types of business which lead to them
starting the business with lesser amount of capital. The main advantage of this model of business
is that they do not have to worry about manufacturing process of the products. The risk can be
that the supplier if do not deliver the quality product then it will lead to the problem for customer
service department. The ethics of ASOS will have to follow will be securing the data of the
customers. It is because customer provides their personal information to the website which can
be misused if not secured. They should also deliver the product with safety as if the product
delivered are damaged it will not be good for the company. The cyber security team should be
capable of reducing any attack from the hackers. As the cyber attack can make them lose various
important information of the customers as well as their own. The company should also educate

their customer regarding any spam messages which will be sent by the attacker. This might affect
the consumer in a bigger way. This spam messages might ask for the bank details which will
affect the ASOS reputation (Singh, Kaur, and Singh, 2018).
Print-on-demand
It is a business model where the consumer asks the provider to print the desired image on
the products offered by the company. Here the company take various order from the customer as
well as some sort of advance money to ensure the product will be accepted when delivered.
Benefit of this type of business is that they do not need huge capital which means the start-up can
be done with lesser amount of investment. Inventory is taken care by the printer who print for the
company as per the demand of the customers. The ethics ASOS will be securing the data of the
customers. It is because customer provides their personal information to the website which can
be misused if not secured. Also, they should fulfil their part of the deal to the consumers as they
should not do the things like take money of the customer and do not deliver the product. The
cyber security team should be capable of reducing any attack from the hackers. As the cyber
attack can make them lose various important information of the customers as well as their own.
Here also customer might get spam messages which will not be beneficial for them. The
company should educate the customers regarding the same (Yu, and Wang, 2021).
Subscription services
Here the customer subscribe for some service which is for a limited period of time.
Whenever the period end they will have to renew the subscription. The advantage of this type of
business they maintain customer retention ratio at maximum. Also, the customer are loyal to the
company. The ASOS should have a cyber team who can handle the data of the consumers from
getting into the hands of hacker. It is because when the hacking is done the hackers might see
what the customer is doing. The ethics which this business model should follow is the quality
should be provided as promised by them to the customer, then only they can retain the loyal
customer into their company (Rukasha, and Bankole, 2019). Here the consumer pay whole
amount in advance so the company should not do any fraud with the customer. The type of fraud
can be the service is stopped in the middle of the period or the website is not accessible to the

consumer. This will create various problems for the company as they may have to face a legal
suit filed by the user.
Impact of Collaborative Relationship & Strategic Alliance through digital technology
Collaborative relationships and strategic alliances impose various different types of
impacts on the organization. The impact can create and implement various new different types of
strategies which will be beneficial for the organization. It will help the business to achieve its
long term goals as well as objectives which will be beneficial for the business.
Impacts of new collaborative relationships on ASOS
There are various different types of collaborative relationships which can impact the
ASOS in different ways. It will also make them change and implement the different types of
strategies which will support the company to adapt the relationship successfully. Also, it ensures
that the business grab various benefits from the collaborative relationship (Rahayuab, and et.al.,
2020).
 Network Collaboration — This collaboration is started with the action which is related
to self-interest of the person. It has various benefits as it will help the employees of
ASOS to increase the area of expertise. It is done by accessing vast information which is
provided to the individual. This will be beneficial for the ASOS as their employees will
be able to gain knowledge as well information which is provided to them by the
collaboration. This might improve the skills and confidence of the employees that they
can perform in a better way while working on the operations of the company. The
collaboration will make the employees effective and efficient as their competition is
increased.
 Cloud Collaboration — This collaboration allows various user to access, read as well as
edit the documents in real-time. It will also have positive impact on the ASOS by helping
them achieve the sustainable growth in the market. This allows the employees of the
organization to access various written document which will increase the knowledge base
of the employees. This ensures that every employee have every information related to the
organization. It will be beneficial for the ASOS that their employees are collaborating
with each other for understanding the information effectively as it is available on the
cloud.

 Video Collaboration — It is a common way of collaborating with the other on the online
mode. It is considered to be a successful method in an organization. As it make the
employees of the organization and other related people to reach and understand various
types of information which is related to the operation as well as strategies of the
company. This is completed by making sure that employees attend various video
conferences as well as meetings. It provides them with various information related to the
company also, it allows the company to get opinions of the employees which will benefit
the company. It allows the various people of the organization to attend those conferences
as well as meeting even if they are at home.
 External Collaboration — This collaboration covers sharing of information which takes
place outside the organization. It is beneficial for ASOS because it improves the
relationship with the customers. This collaboration will also increase the revenue,
research is decreased, development of the product and various other which is beneficial
for the business. It also motivates the employees towards innovation, as innovation is
necessary for the business to stand in the market. It is done by accessing the knowledge
of the other companies which will improve learning of the employees of ASOS.
Impact of Strategic Alliance on ASOS
In this alliance 2 companies enter into a project which is mutually beneficial as well as it
retain the independence of both the companies. This alliance is entered into by the companies to
fulfil and get a particular project. This has positive impact on the ASOS as it helps the company
to achieve success when they expand their services. It helps the business to gain effectiveness as
well as efficiency as digital technology support the organization to get access to various projects
and the employees work towards achieving the goals of the company. This will eventually help
the company to achieve success in their work and improve the financial position of the business
(Bamel, and et.al., 2021).
Impact of Cryptocurrency
There are various types cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, ethereum, etc. which have both
positive and negative impact on the ASOS business. Those impact will be discussed further in
the report.
Positive impact

There are various positive impact of cryptocurrencies some of them are listed below:
 Market Expansion — The users of bitcoins and various other cryptocurrencies are
increasing constantly and huge number of people are holding cryptocurrencies. If the
ASOS adapt the cryptocurrency, it will improve the target market of the company which
will improve the customer traffic on the website. If some e-commerce businesses are the
first mover then they will get the advantage upon their competitors. Here the business can
also get the loyalty factor of customers as they will be the first one to use cryptocurrency
(Khan, and et.al., 2021).
 International Transactions — These cryptocurrencies help the business in their
international transaction because it can be stored on the cloud systems which the
organization has. This is beneficial as the ASOS can trade without any problem on the
international platform. This will improve the financial position of the company as they
are able to capture large market (Chandrasekaran, Neethidevan, and Murugachandravel,
2019).
 Low Transaction Fees — The effectiveness and cost saving medium of transaction are
considered to have low costs on their transaction. This will eventually help the ASOS in
saving the cost on every transaction which will be invested in improving the quality of
business as well as services of the organization. This allows the businesses to generate
more profit by are able to save the cost of transaction.
Negative Impact
If there are positive impact then it will also have various negative impact. Those negative
impact are discussed below:
 Price Volatility — Bitcoins and various other cryptocurrencies have less reliability when
compared to fiat currency, as the market value is highly Volatile. This can create
problems for both the party that is ASOS and consumers. As if the person enter into an
agreement and the value of cryptocurrencies have reduced than it will a loss to the
receiver (Almasri,).
 Scepticism — The Cryptocurrencies doesn't have trust of the public, one of the reason is
inaccessibility to the technical mechanisms. This means that even if the ASOS adapts the
cryptocurrencies it will not get them access to the large market.

 Sustainability — Computers needs huge amount of energy when they have to “mine”
coins. It will increase the carbon footprint for the ASOS which will give negative
impression to the consumers who are conscious of environment.
 High Mining Cost — The mining cost of various cryptocurrencies are high and can
make the businesses in spending more on the process of mining of the cryptocurrencies.
This is also a time-consuming process as the focus of organization shift towards the
mining of the cryptocurrencies. This eventually lower the operation speed of the
organization.
Views on El Salvador's Legal Tender Adoption
EL Salvador's adopted bitcoin as the legal tender in its country's economy because he
wanted to equalize the monetary situation of the country. The national currency of the country
was failing for a very long period which made him to take the decision of adapting the Bitcoin as
legal tender. There are both negative and positive implication of this decision. The positive
impact of the adapting bitcoin will increase the usage of digital currencies in the country which
will help to make the monetary condition of the country stable. The user of bitcoin is constantly
increasing in the market which is a benefit as it will not work as a barrier in the transaction.
Whereas there are various disadvantage of the bitcoin such as it requires huge electricity when
the mining of bitcoin will be done. This will result in scarcity of electricity in the country
because of which the people will have to make various adjustments related to the needs of
electricity which will eventually affect the economic conditions of the country. Also, bitcoin is
volatile as it keeps changing from time to time, which makes the fluctuation in the value result is
loss for the holder. The international transaction will be affected as there are some people who
do not trust bitcoin which may result in losing the chance of collaborating with them.
Conclusion
From this report it can be analysed that digitalization is an important term when it is
related to the business. The company can have various advantages when they will adapt the e-
commerce businesses. The business model of e-commerce will help the business to achieve their
aims and objectives effectively and efficiently. There are various business models who have to
consider the various factors which is beneficial for the company as well as customers. It is also
analysed that there are various importance of collaborating the company with various features.

This also ensures that the employee of the company can do something innovative and creative
for the products of the company. It will help the business to expand its operation with
effectiveness. The report also disclose the various advantages and disadvantage of
cryptocurrencies which the business will be facing. It also discusses the decision of El Salvador's
upon its country as well as its citizens.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Adebusola, J.A. and et.al., 2020, March. An Overview of 5G Technology. In 2020 International
Conference in Mathematics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science (ICMCECS) (pp. 1-
4). IEEE.
Almasri, A.M.F., The effect of Bitcoin on E-Commerce.
Bamel, and et.al., 2021. Knowledge management within a strategic alliances context: past,
present and future. Journal of Knowledge Management.
Chandrasekaran, G., Neethidevan, V. and Murugachandravel, J., 2019. Impact of Digital
Currency in E-commerce. Global Research and Development Journal for Engineering.
4(7). pp.2455-5703.
Khan, K. and et.al., 2021. Revisiting bitcoin price behavior under global economic uncertainty.
SAGE Open. 11(3). p.21582440211040411.
Khin, S. and Ho, T.C., 2018. Digital technology, digital capability and organizational
performance: A mediating role of digital innovation. International Journal of Innovation
Science.
Rahayuab, S.B. and et.al., 2020, August. Preliminary study: Knowledge sharing in collaborative
e-commerce. In 2020 8th International Conference on Information Technology and
Multimedia (ICIMU) (pp. 78-83). IEEE.
Rukasha, M. and Bankole, F.O., 2019, March. Impact of e-Commerce on Corporate Governance
and Ethics. In CONF-IRM (p. 40).
Singh, G., Kaur, H. and Singh, A., 2018, August. Dropshipping in e-commerce: A perspective.
In Proceedings of the 2018 9th International Conference on E-business, Management
and Economics (pp. 7-14).
Teoh, C.S. and Mahmood, A.K., 2018. Cybersecurity workforce development for digital
economy. The Educational Review, USA. 2(1). pp.136-146.
Yu, L. and Wang, T., 2021. Emerging E-Business Models and Their Impact. In Encyclopedia of
Organizational Knowledge, Administration, and Technology (pp. 1286-1296). IGI
Global.
Zelizer, B., 2019. Why journalism is about more than digital technology. Digital
journalism.7(3). pp.343-350.
1