Digital Business Report: Global Environment and E-commerce

This report provides an in-depth analysis of digital business, examining its impact on the global environment, key trends, and advantages of digital technology. It explores various digital business models, including Freemium, Free, Subscription-based, and Marketplace models, and their relevance to key business issues. The report also discusses the implications of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology, highlighting the benefits such as synergy and financial benefits. Furthermore, it delves into how e-commerce principles can be utilized in business, providing a comprehensive overview of the digital landscape and its strategic opportunities. The report uses the example of Soap media, a digital marketing agency, to illustrate the practical application of these concepts.

Digital Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
Impact of virtual business on the global environment and also explain the key trends and
advantages of digital technology............................................................................................2
Digital business models in context with key business issues.................................................4
Impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through the digital technology6
How the e-commerce principles can be used in the business.................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
References:.....................................................................................................................................10
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
Digital business is different from the offline business which involves the use of technology
to provide better experience to the customers and also make the business look different. By the
use of Internet the use of digital business and the scope has been increased. This is the reason
why more business is coming on the online platform(Scholz, Yarime and Shiroyama, 2018). The
business owners are spending more on the online business because of the growth and the
opportunity which is provided by this business. The impact which the digital business has
provided to the success of the business is immense and the has given the strategic opportunity to
the business. The digital business has helped the business to extend their business in a larger way
and to reach to larger number of audiences. Soap media is the digital marketing agency which is
an award winning which is located in UK. The company provides integrated approach to their
clients and provides the full digital strategy in a great manner. This report will cover key trends
and advantages of digital technology and implications for managing virtual business in the global
environment. It will also cover new and emerging business models, collaborative relationships
and strategic alliances and how e-commerce principles have to be chosen.
MAIN BODY
Impact of virtual business on the global environment and also explain the key trends and
advantages of digital technology
The key trends which are taking place in the digital business is immense and for this
businesses are trying to cope up with these changes(Lewandowski, 2020). Soap media is
providing the business with great strategies and website which meets all the key trends of the
digital business. Some of the key trends has been explained below-
 The digital ready culture- Now the demand of the digital business has been increased
and customers also wants the consistent interaction with the brands. More percentage of
people are happy by the fact that business have expanded their business not just in a
traditional manner but have also digitized their work on different websites. The coming
of pandemic has forced the business to come to the online channels and communicate
with the consumers. Soap media has also been demanded as the main business of the
company is to provide the strategies which will be helpful for the marketing.
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 Contactless solutions and the digital payments- As the digital payments and
contactless solutions have been increased in the present time. So the need of digital
business has also been increased as this platform can provide the facility of contact less
payments (Arnold, 2018). Soap media helps the company in developing their business
online which creates the support to the business.
 Data analytics- Data analytics is the method of providing the useful information by the
method if inspecting and finding out the answers from that particular information. The
use of data analytics has been increased in the digital business which helps to convert the
information into the useful information.
The advantages of digital technology has been discussed in context with Soap media-
 Communication speeds- The message with the use of digital technology is fast as
compared with the traditional method of business. Internet provides the speed which
helps in reaching to the larger audience in a very less time. Soap media provide their
clients with the message and the articles which they can display on their website.
 Versatility- The digital technology helps in making the business to be versatile then
those which is used in the traditional method of business. The digital technology helps in
connecting with larger number of people and at the same time also uses less channels to
convey the message to the target people. Soap media provides the strategies which is
excellent and can beat the competitors of the client.
 Global access- The use of digital business is not just to make the connectivity with the
customers easier but also helps to access the global market easily. If the business
becomes famous then more people of different countries would like to know more about
the business and might be excited for using the products and services. This will help in
increasing the business.
Implications of digital business in the global environment-
 High competition- The business has to face the higher competition of the global
environment because there are many other businesses which are doing the same work.
The main impact is on the small business which has just started their business online and
can be impacted with the higher level of competition(Sigala and Haller, 2019). Soap
media has been established to provide the solutions for the business if they are facing
such types of issues.
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 Higher innovation- The digital business also helps in developing the new way of
innovations which makes them more creative and different from the other
business(Carvalho and Carvalho, 2020). The companies also making their digital
business to be innovative and unique in style which is appraised by the people also. Soap
media provides the strategies which will develop more innovation and the business will
also achieve the success.
 Target market- The digital business has helped the business to target the market at a
faster and at accurate rate. The digital business can analyse the target market by
providing the information to the business. As the soap media deals in providing the
digital agency service to the businesses then it also works in targeting the right market for
their clients.
Digital business models in context with key business issues
Digital business models mean the use of technology that helps in providing the value to the
customer and also aims in providing the success. The use and the development of the digital
business models as this help the business to face off the digital disruption and digitalization. The
digital business models helps in providing the structure which is useful to create and capture the
value with the use of digital technology(Geng and Li, 2020). The digital business models are
based on innovation and services and the business which uses the digital technology usually
takes the helps of digital business models. The Soap media also takes the use of some digital
business models and also takes care of the key business issues which are faced by the business
using such technology. Some of the key business models have been explained below in context
with key business issues by Soap media-
 Freemium model- The Freemium models is based on the idea that in the beginning the
companies gives the services to the consumers at free. This may be the thing of high cost
for the businesses but this also helps to bring more people to use the services. Soap media
also uses such type of model when they build the digital business of every client but the
company has to face the issue of advanced data analytics. With this the company has to
work and build on the team which majorly works for the data analytics work.
 Free model- This model is also similar with that of the Freemium model and this model
is quite important and used by different business. Under this, that the products or the
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services are provided for free to the people. The main hope is that free services spread at
a faster rate than the charges services. So when the business will be spread on the basis of
the free service provider than more people will be connected with the business after
which the issue of cots will not be a major issue(Yichen and et. al., 2018). In this the
companies can provide the free services to the user but with that they have to focus on the
marketing level to maintain their monetary. Soap media helps and use this model for their
clients as this model helps in providing more customers to the businesses.
 Subscription based model- Many business rely on the fact that some services should be
provided to the people for free but if they have to use the products and services of the
company in a larger way then they have to pay the money for taking the subscriptions.
This is because subscriptions open the way for many new features which can be used by
the people if they are satisfied with the things which is provided by the company. This
helps in generating the income on a regular and in a sustainable manner(Pieczka and et.
al., 2018). But this concept cannot be developed on a easy basis but the company have to
make effective strategies as it requires good amount of investment with the excellent
marketing strategies. Soap media helps the clients in providing the ultimate idea with the
help of this model but with that they have to face the issue of customer needs
identification which takes their much time and also have to provide the strategies to
protect form cyber security.
 Market place model- This is the most common and evolving business model used by the
business to build their business. In this model the two parties have to interlink with one
other either for the products or for the services. This means the main party is the seller
who will provide the product or the service to the buyer that is the customer. But if the
sellers are not there are there are less sellers for providing the products and services then
the company might lose their buyers(Ezennia and Marimuthu, 2020). Soap media feels
that this model is quite complex and dynamic in which they have to identify the demand
for the company products and services and have to see that the ethics of the business are
also present while doing the digital business.
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Impact of collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through the digital technology
Collaborative relationship is that relationship in which at least two parties or might be
more than two parties come together and agree to share the resources, profits and losses together.
On the other hand, Strategic alliance means also means the same like collaborative relationship
in which more than two parties or companies comes together with the motive of sharing the
resources together (Zhang Yuan and Lu, 2020). The implications of collaborative and strategic
alliances includes both the negative and the positive factors which are explained below in context
with the digital technology-
Advantages-
 Synergy- The collaboration and strategic alliance helps in working together and also
works to promote the things together. When the different ideas work together it helps in
achieving the objectives in a productive manner and also brings innovation by the
business.
 Financial benefits- If the two companies or parties are working together at one time if
any company faces the loss then the other company can help the company financially.
The business is not just established very easily but it requires the efforts and the most
important is the money which has been invested in the business. The collaborative
relationship helps in providing the business who is facing the financially losses. This is
because as the business is going with alliance and all the things are going strategically but
if in case some business faces the issue then they have to help the other business.
 Help to grow network- If the business works in collaboration then it can help both the
parties to grow their network. The main idea behind this is that if some people or
businesses are known by the one party it automatically develops the network of the other
party as they are doing their business in collaboration(Du and et. al., 2018). Similarly the
other business must be having the network with different people and business and this
will also build the relation of the other party. So that also helps the business to grown in
an efficient manner.
Disadvantages-
 Conflicts in working style- When two parties work together then the working style of
both the parties is different and this is the reason why conflict can arise. The coming of
different companies when they come together always wanted that their style of work has
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to be adopted and with that only they want to do the work. This makes the start of the
conflict as both the parties have made the good amount of investment so not one wants to
adopt the style of the other company.
 Lack of trust among staff- The collaboration does not only bring the owners together
but it also brings the staff of both the companies. So because of the collaboration it
becomes difficult for the employees to work with the different people and with their
different strategy and rules(Choi, 2021). Thus, the issue of trust also arises because the
company rules, regulations, policies are different and the staff of both the companies
cannot trust on the employee of another company until some time.
 Clashes in work culture- It is a well known fact that the work culture of every company
is different and with the collaboration the large impact is placed on the employees as they
have to adopt to the different environment. Work culture also plays an important factors
for the employee engagement and if the employees are not satisfied then it might be
possible that the turnover of the employees are at higher rate.
How the e-commerce principles can be used in the business
The e-commerce principles can be used in the business in variety of ways which has been
explained below in context with Soap Media-
 User friendly- The website which the company has developed for the consumers must be
user friendly. User friendly basically means that the website must be easy to open and
should be easy in navigating the things for the products and services which the consumer
wants to buy. This helps in providing the details and information about the company and
the products and services in which they are dealing. Soap media always develop the
websites of the company and their clients in that manner which is easily accessible by the
users.
 Unique design elements- The elements or the structure which is used in the website must
be unique and different form the competitors (Rehse and Fettke, 2018). As this is the
most important elements which helps the users to be attracted with the website and this
also helps the business to be known by the name of uniqueness. The users gets attracted
when something different has been shown on the websites which can either be the
product or the services in which the company is dealing. Soap media always helps its
clients to make their website different form that of its competitors.
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 Focus on security- The development of the digital business has also made the
importance of the security as the security is most important for the external threats. The
threats are the major factor which hampers the performance of the website and with that
the users information are also in danger(Severini and et. al., 2019). Some companies
when the user enters on the website asks for the small details about the person who is
visiting the site. Thus, user security becomes the prior importance of the company to
provide them.
 Technology- The technology is the most dynamic tool which keeps on changing
according to the development and the needs in the market. If the technology is not
updated in the website of the company then no user would like to use and visit the site of
the business. The website and other digital business is not just developed easily but the
use of technology is also taken under consideration. Soap media develops the website
which is high on technology and which attracts the attention of the user.
 Knowing target audience- It becomes utmost important for the business to target their
right consumers and market so that the success and the objective of the business can be
achieved. The website targets or the products and the services are launched according to
the requirement of the target audience which they want. Soap media conducts the
research for it to find out the target audience.
 Have effective products descriptions- Customers are attracted only to those business
which provide them the products and services which are of quality. No user would
purchase the products without checking the quality and the availability of the other
products in the market (Kim, Wong and Lee, 2018). Thus, ecommerce website provides
the product and the descriptions of the product in a very simple manner which can be
understood by the user and helps in differentiating with the other products. Soap media
works on this thing and provides the excellent services to their clients.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that the use of digital business has been increased
and more people are coming on such platforms to make the growth of the business. As the use of
Internet is higher in today’s time so the companies also prefer to make their business online. This
helps them to reach to the target audience and also to connect to many people significantly. The
customer experience would be enhanced and the collection of data will be higher and more
appropriate as the consumer can provide their reviews on the website of the company.
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References:
Books and Journals
Arnold, M.G., 2018. Sustainability value creation in frugal contexts to foster Sustainable
Development Goals. Business Strategy & Development. 1(4). pp.265-275.
Carvalho, S. and Carvalho, J.V., 2020. The Implications of Digital Marketing and e-Commerce
in the Tourism Sector Growth. In Advances in Tourism, Technology and Smart
Systems (pp. 161-170). Springer, Singapore.
Choi, Y., 2021. An Investigation of Collaborative Consumption Engagement and the Interaction
With Self-Identity. In Collaborative Convergence and Virtual Teamwork for
Organizational Transformation (pp. 147-159). IGI Global.
Du, W. and et. al., 2018. From a marketplace of electronics to a digital entrepreneurial ecosystem
(DEE): The emergence of a meta‐organization in Zhongguancun, China. Information
Systems Journal. 28(6). pp.1158-1175.
Ezennia, C.S. and Marimuthu, M., 2020. Factors that positively influence e-commerce adoption
among professionals in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. African Journal of Science, Technology,
Innovation and Development, pp.1-13.
Geng, J. and Li, C., 2020. Empirical Research on the Spatial Distribution and Determinants of
Regional E-Commerce in China: Evidence from Chinese Provinces. Emerging Markets
Finance and Trade. 56(13).pp.3117-3133.
Kim, J., Wong, C.Y. and Lee, Y., 2018. Transformative learning through an online global class
project in teacher education. The Teacher Educato. 53(2). pp.190-207.
Lewandowski, M., 2020. Public organizations and business model innovation: The role of public
service design. In Open Government: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and
Applications (pp. 767-791). IGI Global.
Pieczka, I. and et. al., 2018. Future temperature projections for Hungary based on RegCM4. 3
simulations using new Representative Concentration Pathways scenarios. International
Journal of Global Warming. 15(3). pp.277-292.
Rehse, J.R. and Fettke, P., 2018, September. Clustering business process activities for identifying
reference model components. In International Conference on Business Process
Management (pp. 5-17). Springer, Cham.
Scholz, R.W., Yarime, M. and Shiroyama, H., 2018. Global leadership for social design:
theoretical and educational perspectives. Sustainability Science. 13(2). pp.447-464.
Severini, M.D.F. and et. al., 2019. Microplastics in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and water at the
Bahía Blanca Estuary (Southwestern Atlantic): An emerging issue of global
concern. Regional Studies in Marine Science. 32.p.100829.
Sigala, M. and Haller, C., 2019. The impact of social media on the behavior of wine tourists: A
typology of power sources. In Management and Marketing of Wine Tourism
Business (pp. 139-154). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Yichen, L. and et. al., 2018. Enhanced collaborative filtering algorithm adopting trust
network. Application Research of Computers.p.01.
Zhang, Y., Yuan, Y. and Lu, K., 2020. E-commerce information system data analytics by
advanced ACO for asymmetric capacitated vehicle delivery routing. Information Systems
and e-Business Management. 18(4). pp.911-929.
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