ABSTRACT
The literature on e-service has by and large followed the commercial thrust of Internet marketing development. Initially the most common application by rms and use by users was through the website itself, often a basic overview of the company and more in keeping with having a public relations ‘presence’ in the e-commerce world. The next most common application was to post more detailed information about products, and conversely this was the second most common use by users. The third wave of application is the now dominant interest in e-selling – that is the use of the web to sell or buy goods. This takes us to the fourth and emerging wave, one that is still greatly under-utilised, namely e-services.
