"PREFACE" [2017] ELECD 648; in Lodder, R. Arno; Murray, D. Andrew (eds), "EU Regulation of E-Commerce" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) xv

Book Title: EU Regulation of E-Commerce

Editor(s): Lodder, R. Arno; Murray, D. Andrew

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781785369339

Section Title: PREFACE

Number of pages: 3

Extract:

PREFACE




The Preface to eDirectives: Guide to European Union Law on E-commerce (2002)
opened with the words:

In literature still no consensus has been reached about the question whether
e-commerce and newconomy should be qualified as a hype or that indeed a new age has
come with serious opportunities for further economic growth. In the short term the
former may be true but in the long term the latter will prove to be true too, as is at least
the opinion of the editors. It should be admitted that the initial expectations of
enterprises and the stock market for a prosperous growth were not met, but the tokens
are there that it is a matter of time before enterprises and consumers will fully discover
the advantages of doing business electronically.

This Preface was written in September 2001, at the time the internet bubble had just
burst. The years 1997­2000 had shown immense growth for dot.com companies.
Many companies obtained money without knowing how to make a profit, but
everyone believed that the mere possession of a domain name would guarantee money
pouring in. It was easy to get money from investors, in some cases not even a business
plan was required. It took some time before the online market recovered after 2000,
but over the last ten years there has been a general migration of business models from
the offline to the online. Today consumers are as, or more, likely to buy groceries,
clothes, electronics or ...