Significance and Impact of Internet on the Entrepreneurial Process: E-Entrepreneurship and Completely Digital Entrepreneurship

Much has been written about the affect of Information Technology (IT) and the internet on the Net Economy and the rise of E-Business. E-Entrepreneurship is typically known as the process of creating these eBusinesses. We discuss the concept of Completely Digital Entrepreneurship (CDE) where IT and the internet not only affect the E-Business, but also the entrepreneurial process of creating the E-Business as well as the way these eBusinesses are managed using Virtual Teams. We provide a Conceptual Framework for CDE and provide examples of how IT and the internet affect the entire E-Business value chain during the Pre-Seed, Seed, Startup, and Expansion phases of the entrepreneurial process. The main advantages of Completely Digital Entrepreneurship that help newly formed eBusinesses compete with established businesses include: reduced transaction and administration costs, increased agility, internationalization (CDE means that companies are born global), and enhanced customer participation in the businesses' processes. Disadvantages include difficulties with protecting Intellectual Property, creating a corporate culture, employee loyalty, and inter-company communication.