Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Issues: B2C and B2B Sites

Introduction

The following paper highlights the differences that are present for the ethical issues in for a b2c site and a b2b site. A b2b site is essentially on which is created for trade and interacts with another business. The products and services that are promoted and sold through the b2b site are meant for other businesses that are the main target market of the b2b sites. The b2c sites on the other hand are sites which conduct transaction with the general public and consumers. The b2c site has it’s the consumers in the market as their target market and sell their products and services to them for consumption. The nature of the customers and the audience is the main difference that exists between the b2b and the b2c sites on the internet.

Ethical Issues

The ethical issues that faced by the b2b and the b2c sites on the internet are essentially the same and the intonation of the ethical issues are taken differently due to the different characteristics of the audience and the target customers of the two types of business sites. Honesty, integrity and trustworthiness are the main ethical issue that is associated with the b2c site. The customers of the b2c site require guarantees and seals of approval regarding the authenticity of the b2c site and the business.

This is to avoid interaction with internet based scam business operations. Moreover when it comes to marketing of products, services and conditions of purchase and use, the b2c are often targeted more as compared to the b2b sites. This is mostly because of the fact that the customers of the b2b sites undergo personal selling interactions with the b2b business that increased their knowledge of the products/ service and provides them support about then legality of the b2b business. The b2c business on the other and deals with the masses of consumers and therefore no personal selling takes place.

This reduces the reliability of the company and its integrity which needs to be ensured by the business through certification to provide their authenticity as well as legal warranties. “For example, if you sell electrical fixtures B2C, you have to assume that a non-trained person may be installing it, so need to make it extra safe and fool proof. But if you sell the same fixture for use in an Industrial Plant (B2B), it is safer to assume that a trained electrician will be installing it.” (Robertdjones, 2004)

Legal Issues

There extensive legal laws present that protect the consumers which makes the b2sities a target of rigorous laws. The laws pertaining to security specifically those dealing with the storage and the protection of the customer data and transaction particulars are extensively applicable on the b2c sites. The reason for this is largely due to the more public nature of the b2c sites which are accessible by the general public and therefore open to access for malicious parties.

On the other hand the legal issues that are associated with the b2b business pertain to issues with the contract law where the contract between the two businesses is protected by legal constructs. The other legal issue that is faced by the b2b sites on the internet is the issue of competition law where the pro or anti competitive arrangements have to be made. Other legal issues for b2b pertain to those of corporate governance, the equity structure of the b2b and those associated with the licensing of technology (‘B2B: management and legal issues’).

When talking about b2c operations, the b2c companies are held more liable for legal action when consumers voice their complaints against the company and therefore the penalty can be much higher for a b2c as opposed to the case where the b2b is targeted with the same complaint. This is because of the potential liability difference between the b2b and the b2c sites.

Regulatory Issues

The regulatory issues that are associated with the b2b and the b2c sites on the internet deal with issues of security the impact of globalization and the developing nature of the internet which imposes threats for both b2b and b2c sites. When it comes to b2b sites the regulation pertain to authenticity of the products and services that are provide by the company to other businesses, and the legal relationship between the business entities.

For the b2c sites however the regulatory issues are more abundant as they deal with the product and service provision by the b2c company to the mass consumers and the regulation of the transaction between these parties. The security of the operations and transactions over the internet through the EDI is the main target of the regulations that aim to provide protection to both the customers as well as the corporations operated b2c sites.

References

Robertdjones, (2004), Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory B2c and B2b Differences, Marketing Profs. Web.

B2B: Management and Legal Issues. Web.

Moreno, C., (2001), Brief Overview of Selective Legal and Regulatory Issues in Electronic Commerce. Web.

Find out your order's cost