Ecommerce: a social action view

We aim to study the social dimension of business-to-customer electronic commerce (B2C eCommerce) and propose a critical social-theoretic approach that equates commercial transactions with social actions undertaken by buyers and sellers who are conceived of as social actors. The critical socialtheoretic approach enables analyzing and interpreting empirical evidence of automobile sellers and buyers. By comparing and contrasting social actions of actors in traditional, face-to-face and electronically mediated automotive sales, we discuss how eCommerce affects social conditions of trade and buyer-seller behaviour. Our motive is explain unintended and unexpected consequences arising from eCommernce, including decreasing prices, power redistribution among sellers and buyer, emancipated and empowered buyers, and increasing fairness of trade practices.