Paper Number

ICIS2025-1638

Paper Type

Short

Abstract

Research predicted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in electronic commerce long before electronic commerce and AI became ubiquitous in everyday life. AI was envisioned to reduce the effort of participating in electronic commerce (i.e., transaction costs), so that buyers could benefit from the ever-expanding exchange opportunities in a digitalized world. The existing literature, however, has focused on developing performant AI technologies, and given their business function less attention. We therefore know much about the potential and little about the actual AI use in electronic commerce. This qualitative research-in-progress addresses this issue by delineating 66 AI use cases at Germany’s leading hybrid retail platform (OTTO) along relational, processual, and functional context dimensions. Preliminary results indicate that AI is used primarily to reduce search & information costs in consumer-oriented and policing & enforcement costs in business-oriented segments. Moreover, AI is used to manage dynamics between consumer- and business-oriented segments in hybrid retail platforms.

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Dec 14th, 12:00 AM

Towards Understanding the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hybrid Retail Platforms: Insights from 66 Use Cases

Research predicted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in electronic commerce long before electronic commerce and AI became ubiquitous in everyday life. AI was envisioned to reduce the effort of participating in electronic commerce (i.e., transaction costs), so that buyers could benefit from the ever-expanding exchange opportunities in a digitalized world. The existing literature, however, has focused on developing performant AI technologies, and given their business function less attention. We therefore know much about the potential and little about the actual AI use in electronic commerce. This qualitative research-in-progress addresses this issue by delineating 66 AI use cases at Germany’s leading hybrid retail platform (OTTO) along relational, processual, and functional context dimensions. Preliminary results indicate that AI is used primarily to reduce search & information costs in consumer-oriented and policing & enforcement costs in business-oriented segments. Moreover, AI is used to manage dynamics between consumer- and business-oriented segments in hybrid retail platforms.

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