Worlds of E-Commerce
Economic, Geographical and Social Dimensions
THOMAS R. LEINBACH and STANLEY D. BRUNN, both of the University of Kentucky, USA
Worlds of Electronic Commerce attempts to capture the enormous international impact of the recent explosion in information and communication technologies. It stands alone as the first book to tackle the major economic, social, and political issues that electronic commerce raises from interdisciplinary and international perspectives.
Including contributions from leading international scholars from geography, economics, and public policy, it addresses theoretical and conceptual issues and presents case studies on how retailing, job searches, banking and finance, telecommunications, and government regulation are changing with the introduction and diffusion of the Internet and various electronic services. References to rapid developments in these fields are drawn from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Russia, and the developing world. The implications of these developments on consumer behaviour, existing and new firms, regulatory agencies, and interstate economic development are also discussed.
In summary, the book presents an excellent background for those wanting scholarly treatments of (a) the background of e-commerce, (b) the growing importance of Information and Communication Technologies, and (c) case studies related to specific services making use of e-commerce.
READERSHIP: Academics and Students in Information Economies, Information and Communications Technologies, Economics, Marketing, Retailing, Advertising, Communications, Technology Diffusion, Geography Dealing with Electronic Commerce
Author Biography:
Professor Stanley D. Brunn and Professor Thomas R. Leinbach are based at the departtment of Geography at the University of Kentucky. Their joint experience in this field represents three decades of scholarship on critical themes in economic, political and social aspects of geography. Between them, they have presented over 300 papers at national and international conferences and have published over 200 articles, book chapters, and monographs. Their interests in the geographies of communication, information, and electronic commerce emanate from previous research in the geographies of services in urban and rural areas of North America, Asia, and Europe. During their careers, they have lectured and taught in a variety of universities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Prof. Leinbach served as Director of the Geography and Regional Science Program in the Division of Social, Behavioural and Economic Research at the National Science Foundation from 1995 to 1998. He has been invited to become a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore for part of 2001. He is editor of Growth and Change: A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Transport Research Board's Committee on the Social and Economic Impacts of Transport, past Chair of the Asian Geography Speciality Group of the Association of American Geographers, and an occasional consultant to the ILO, USAID, and the World Bank. An ongoing effort involves the encouragement of co-operative and collaborative research on the theme of Social Change and Sustainable Transport (SCAST), a joint program between the National Science Foundation and the European Science Foundation.
Prof. Brunn served as Chair of the Department from 1980-88 and was appointed by the Governor to serve as State Geographer from 1988-89. He was the University of Kentucky Distinguished Research professor in 1989-90. Prof. Brunn is a former editor of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers. His teaching and research interests are in political, social, and urban geography, the human geographies of the 21st century, and the geographies of knowledge. His research record includes numerous books and articles in geography and interdisciplinary journals. In recent years, he has worked with educators to promote geography and train teachers in the state's schools.
