The 4W framework for B2B E-contracting

Contracts are fundamental for the engagement of companies in commerce relations. B2B electronic contracting aims at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the contracting process and at providing new opportunities to the contracting parties. Virtual enterprises, for example, can be dynamically formed on the basis of e-contracts. For the implementation of e-contracting in practice, an integral understanding of the contracting field must be established. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for business-to-business econtracting support. The framework provides a complete view of the econtracting concepts. The framework is the basis for specifying requirements to contracting systems. We use it to position research efforts in the e-contracting domain and to analyse them. Based on the framework, we discuss future research issues in e-contracting.