Contents -- Contributors -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Context -- 1.2 Structure of the book -- References -- 2 Fundamentals of e-Business -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 e-Business and e-commerce definitions -- 2.3 Taxonomy for e-business -- 2.4 The four faces of e-business -- 2.5 e-Business models -- 2.6 e-Business in construction -- 2.7 Summary and conclusions -- References -- 3 e-Business: The Construction Context -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 e-Business and the construction business processes -- 3.3 e-Business applications and end-user construction companies -- 3.4 Summary -- References -- 4 Organizational Readiness for e-Business -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Methodology for e-readiness -- 4.3 Review of readiness assessment models -- 4.4 Verify end-user e-readiness using a diagnostic tool -- 4.5 Verdict: System architecture and operation -- 4.6 End-user case study -- 4.7 Conclusions and future work -- Acknowledgements -- Notes -- References -- 5 Integrated Multi-Disciplinary e-Business Infrastructure Framework -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Integrated construction e-business infrastructure framework -- 5.3 The importance of e-construction infrastructure -- 5.4 Summary and status of e-construction challenges -- 5.5 Conclusions -- Note -- References -- 6 The Role of Extranets in Construction e-Business -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Defining construction collaboration technologies -- 6.3 Uptake of construction collaboration technologies -- 6.4 Benefits of construction collaboration technologies -- 6.5 Human aspects of collaboration -- 6.6 Moving beyond collaboration -- 6.7 Conclusions -- References -- 7 Agent-Based Systems: The Competitive Advantage for AEC-Specific e-Business -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 The current context -- 7.3 Understanding agent-based systems -- 7.4 A roadmap of agent-based systems in e-business.

7.5 APRON: An agent-based prototype system for AEC-specific e-business -- 7.6 APRON's conceptual design -- 7.7 The implemented APRON architecture -- 7.8 Discussion and conclusions -- References -- 8 The Role of e-Hubs in e-Commerce -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 e-Hub concept -- 8.3 e-Hubs' services -- 8.4 Engineering e-Hub -- 8.5 Engineering services -- 8.6 Problems and challenges -- 8.7 Conclusions -- Acknowledgements -- References -- 9 Web Services and aecXML-Based e-Business System for Construction Products Procurement -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 The need for e-procurement of construction products -- 9.3 Existing e-business systems for construction products procurement -- 9.4 Limitations of existing e-business systems -- 9.5 The E-Union concept -- 9.6 Standardization of construction products information -- 9.7 The Web Services model of interoperable construction products catalogues -- 9.8 The E-Union Web Services prototypical implementation -- 9.9 Conclusions -- References -- 10 Using Next Generation Web Technologies in Construction e-Business -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 The construction context -- 10.3 The need for the Semantic Web -- 10.4 The Semantic Web -- 10.5 Evolution of the Semantic Web in the construction sector -- 10.6 Semantic Web-based construction e-business -- 10.7 Summary -- References -- 11 Trust in e-Commerce -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Trust and trust building -- 11.3 Trust building in e-commerce -- 11.4 Conclusions -- References -- 12 Legal Issues in Construction e-Business -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Types of legal risks in construction e-business -- 12.3 Contract formation, validity and errors -- 12.4 Jurisdiction -- 12.5 Privacy -- 12.6 Authentication, attribution and non-repudiation -- 12.7 Agency -- 12.8 Conclusions -- References -- 13 Knowledge Management for Improved Construction e-Business Performance -- 13.1 Introduction.

13.2 Knowledge management in context -- 13.3 Exploiting opportunities in the fast-changing environment of e-business: A knowledge management perspective? -- 13.4 Organizational challenges in using the internet to commercialize knowledge assets -- 13.5 Knowledge assets employed by construction organizations in e-business initiatives -- 13.6 Organizational readiness to launch a knowledge-business (k-business) -- 13.7 Conclusions and recommendations -- References -- 14 e-Commerce in Construction: Industrial Case Study -- 14.1 Introduction -- 14.2 Background -- 14.3 A historic perspective -- 14.4 e-Commerce implementation: Practical issues and benefits -- 14.5 The first adopters -- 14.6 Implementation issues: Case study examples -- 14.7 Specific case study examples -- 14.8 Summary -- References -- 15 Assessment of e-Business Implementation in the US Construction Industry -- 15.1 Introduction -- 15.2 US construction industry -- 15.3 e-Business assessment survey findings -- 15.4 Conclusions -- References -- 16 Concluding Notes -- 16.1 Introduction -- 16.2 Summary -- 16.3 Benefits of e-business in construction -- 16.4 Considerations in construction e-business implementation -- 16.5 Future directions -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X.