Abstract
When we talk about business, especially e-business and major firms which are well established in this sector, we mostly end up talking about American companies, because most people consider America as ‘the land of opportunity'. I definitely agree with this, because majority of the well established firms have their origin in the U.S. However, the same can be said for China these days. In fact, the Internet is playing a huge role in small businesses, because it facilitates economic growth. For example, one of the earliest attractions about the Internet was the global interest for retailers and wholesalers, in terms of market place. The modus operandi is simple: buyers and sellers could meet online (there is no store location), they can conduct a business, and exchange a product for money through websites.
The first company that made it possible to sell products on the internet was eBay. In fact, in this online auction house (like taobao.com and alibaba.com in China), buyers and sellers never meet, they exchange money for goods and eBay doesn't have to be involved in the most important and expensive part of the e-commerce (or e-business) which is shipping the product (this part is the responsibility of the seller). eBay, and in general, all the online auction sites that we have nowadays, are the true embodiment of a ‘frictionless marketplace'.
