This essay examines the importance of e-commerce in the global economy. It introduces the special issue on global e-commerce by providing a guide to the six papers contained in the special isse, and it offers the guest editors perspectives on the growing trends in global e-commerce as well as potential challenges and opportunities that multinationals practicing e-commerce on a gobal scale face. The essay notes the dire need for a scholastic framework within which the several facets of global e-commerce are organized and addressed. Contributions from each of the papers of this issue are also indicated