The adoption of consortium B2B e-marketplaces: An exploratory study

Despite the considerable number of electronic B2B marketplaces formed and the benefits cited as arising from their use, many have gone out of business. This exploratory study seeks to provide a qualitative exposition of the specific factors influencing the adoption of consortium-owned B2B e-marketplaces. The study is based upon case studies of twelve companies trading through three different consortium B2B e-marketplaces. Twenty-six specific factors are identified and their impact on adoption is discussed. The identification of a significant number of factors specific to this domain provides real meaning and depth to those interested in the future of e-marketplaces. In particular, the factors identified provide those that operate such e-marketplaces with a detailed and actionable understanding of the issues they should address in order to survive, and provide users or potential users of consortium marketplaces with a practical framework with which to assess individual marketplaces. The factors can also form the basis of future studies of other types of marketplaces and of quantitative studies of adoption.     

The trust model of enterprise purchasing for B2B e-marketplaces

Electronic commerce and online marketplaces have rapidly become critical transaction channels. Many studies of online marketing have focused on the purchasing behaviors of general buyers. However, many business to business (B2B) e-marketplaces allow professional procurement personnel from various businesses to electronically search for and purchase commodities; this facilitates price referencing and helps procurement personnel complete the tasks associated with direct purchasing functionalities. Despite this trend, few studies have examined the purchasing behavior of procurement personnel in B2B e-marketplaces. To fill this research gap, this study examines the relationships between trust in intermediaries and sellers; trust in commodity information; and the online purchase intentions of the procurement personnel in B2B e-marketplaces. This study also investigates the mediating effect of perceived value on the relationship between trust in commodity information and online purchase intention. The results indicate that the relationship between trust in commodity information and online purchase is mediated by perceived value. In addition, both intermediary trust and seller trust positively and significantly influence trust in commodity information, and intermediary trust positively influences seller trust. This finding is a valuable reference for professionals working in B2B e-marketplaces.     

Routinisation of B2B E-commerce by small firms: A process perspective

Prior research on e-business based on the TOE framework and the factor based variance approach have yielded mixed results in that differences exist in terms of the identified technology, organisation and environmental factors and their influence at different steps of the routinisation trajectory. In this research we probe deeper into the routinisation phenomenon and investigate the process in a bid to understand ??when?? and ??why?? certain TOE factors become crucial determinants at different stages of the routinisation process. The context of our study is integration of B2B e-markets by four small firms. Our findings from interpretive case studies indicate that changes in organisational characteristic (such as IT infrastructure), environmental characteristics (such as e-business usage in the industry), and perceptions of e-business (risk and benefit) over time influenced movement along the routinisation trajectory. There is evidence that in high risk e-business, the ability to conduct trials with controlled risk is a crucial determinant of progression from initial to continued usage. Also, contrary to the independent effects of the organisation, environment and technology characteristics assumed in prior research, we found that it is the interaction effect of the three factors that determined initial attitude, initial usage and continued usage. Based on our findings we develop a process model of e-business routinisation and discuss the theoretical and practical implications.     

A study of B2B e-market in China: E-commerce process perspective

In China, B2B electronic markets are still in their early stages of development. The lack of basic business infrastructures has delayed the development of e-markets. The intervention and support of government and IT firms was needed to provide technical support and services to e-markets. We developed a conceptual model to aid in evaluating value creation strategy in B2B e-market; it can also be used to determine the complexity of such activities in Chinese B2B e-markets. Based on a case study of two Chinese e-markets, a process-oriented approach was found to be more suitable in modeling the value creation and therefore was selected. The model addressed two major factors: the transaction process and controlling complexity. The crucial value creation activities and strategies in the four phases of the transaction process are identified, and the controlling complexity of these activities is evaluated in the model. Our results offer an approach for studying the dynamic structure of e-commerce processes while focusing on the special issues of e-market development in China.     

OCCAM 2: an overview from a software engineering perspective

The programming language OCCAM has been developed for the design and implementation of systems of concurrent processes communicating over channels. It is primarily intended for use as a programming language for the Inmos transputer. This paper has two aims: to review the major features of OCCAM, and to show how the language relates to various stages of the software development process. It also reviews some of the decisions in the design of the language in the light of the criteria outlined in the introductory paper to this series on high-level languages.     

B2B e-commerce supply chain integration and performance: A contingency fit perspective on the role of environment

Drawing upon contingency theory “fit” research in the IT and supply chain management literature, we applied the “fit” concept to the relationship between B2B e-commerce supply chain integration and performance. The results demonstrated that the effect of B2B supply chain integration on financial, market, and operational performance decreased as product turbulence and demand unpredictability jointly increased. Managerial implications include the conditions under which IT investments yield performance improvement and the need for firms to actively manage demand uncertainty.     

Evaluating the trustworthiness of advice about seller agents in e-marketplaces: A personalized approach

In this paper, we present a model for evaluating the trustworthiness of advice about seller agents in electronic marketplaces. In particular, we propose a novel personalized approach for effectively handling unfair ratings of sellers provided to buyer agents from other buyers (called advisors). Our approach offers flexibility for buyers to weight their value for private and public knowledge about advisors. A personalized approach is proposed as well for buyers to model the trustworthiness of sellers, based on the advice provided. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach can effectively model trustworthiness for both advisors and sellers, even when there are large numbers of unfair ratings.     

Manufacturing networks in the era of digital production and operations: A socio-cyber-physical perspective

The performance of manufacturing networks relies on interactions. Digitalization supports an evidence-based understanding of partners’ idiosyncrasies and behaviours, so that proper decision-making takes place. Indeed, context uncertainty and flexible problem solving demand human involvement in cyber-physical systems. Therefore, to materialize systems efficiency along with flexibility and robustness, human aspects and limitations need to be properly considered in the planning and control of manufacturing networks. This vision paper aims to address distributed decision-making in digital and integrated manufacturing networks under a socio-cyber-physical systems perspective. Therefore, this exploratory study presents a narrative review of current research literature, followed by a research framework proposition. Manufacturing and control research communities need to embrace a convergent vision addressing (i) how manufacturing networks can be planned and controlled in the future, (ii) which are the proper decision-making methods and approaches, as well as (iii) which are the technology drivers fostering new research opportunities with practical impact. In this context, the proposed framework indicates potential research avenues and offers an agenda for future work.     

Information transfer in B2B procurement: an empirical analysis and measurement

Inter-organizational relationships employing IT may be the most important technological breakthrough in B2B partnerships, since it is likely to alter the competitive landscape of industries radically. Electronic integration (EI) may be defined as the integration of business processes of two or more independent organizations through the exploitation of the capabilities of computer and communication technologies. Prior research has primarily used the adoption of electronic data interchange (EDI) as a surrogate measure for EI. While researchers have called for the assessment of the degree of EI instead of presence/absence of EDI between two firms, a measure was still to be developed. Conceptualizing EI as a multi-dimensional construct, our research focused on developing a measure for a crucial component: electronic information transfer (EIT). Four dimensions of it (decision and operation integration (DOI), mutual investment in relationship-specific assets (MIRSA), information sharing (IS), and monitoring and control (MAC)) were analyzed and an instrument for EIT measurement was developed. Data collected from two major corporations in the U.S. were used to verify the instrument's ability to measure EIT effectively.     

Warning research: an integrative perspective

We developed an integrative perspective on the empirical evidence supporting the influence of particular variables on the warning process based on a broad review of the warning literature. The warning process is described in terms of the following four components: notice, encode, comprehend, and comply. Relevant variables are classified as person variables (characteristics of the individual interacting with the warning) and warning variables (characteristics of the warning itself or the context in which the warning appears). This integrative perspective yields general principles about the variables that influence the warning process and serves as a resource for warning developers and as a guide to facilitate effective analysis of warnings. We also identify aspects of the warning process that are not well understood, directions for effective methods of intervention, and a research agenda for future efforts. Actual or potential applications of this research include improving the design of warnings.     

Winner's regret in online C2C Auctions: an automatic thinking perspective

While human beings embody a unique ability for planned behaviour, they also often act automatically. In this study, we draw on the automatic thinking perspective as a meta‐theoretic lens to explain why online auction bidders succumb to both trait impulsiveness and sunk cost, ultimately leading them to experience winner's regret. Based on a survey of 301 online auction participants, we demonstrate that both trait impulsiveness as an emotional trigger and sunk cost as a cognitive trigger promote winner's regret. By grounding our research model in the automatic thinking view, we provide an alternative meta‐theoretical lens from which to view online bidder behaviour, thus bolstering our current understanding of winner's regret. We also investigate the moderating effects of competition intensity on the relationships between the triggers of automatic thinking and winner's regret. Our results show that both trait impulsiveness and sunk cost have significant impacts on winner's regret. We also found that the relationship between these two triggers and winner's regret is moderated by competition intensity.     

Understanding overbidding behavior in C2C auctions: an escalation theory perspective

With millions of online auctions per day, sites such as eBay have revolutionized how consumers buy and sell goods. Despite the benefits associated with online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) auctions, there can be drawbacks. Consumers who purchase goods in online auctions may get caught up in auction fever, causing them to engage in overbidding, and sometimes leading to what has been referred to as the winner's curse. While several theoretical explanations have been proposed to explain overbidding behavior (OB), there has been little empirical work in this area. Drawing on escalation theory, this study develops and tests a model of the OB exhibited by individuals in online auction settings. Our model posits that certain escalation drivers such as sunk cost (SC), the completion effect (CE), and self-justification affect an individual's willingness to continue bidding (WCB) which, in turn, influences OB. Survey data collected from 250 online auction participants were used to test the model using partial least squares analysis. SC and CE were found to have significant impacts on OB that were either partially or fully mediated by WCB. We also found that competition intensity moderates the relationship between willingness to continue and OB such that when competition is more intense, the relationship becomes even stronger. The implications of these findings for both research and practice are discussed.     

A growth theory perspective on B2C e-commerce growth in Europe: An exploratory study

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) continue to have a profound effect on the economies and societies where they are used. In this article, we propose three related theories to describe the underlying mechanism for growth in e-commerce revenues at the national level. Endogenous growth theory posits that the primary drivers of e-commerce growth are internal to a country. Exogenous growth theory suggests that the primary drivers of e-commerce growth are external to an economic system, and reflect the forces of the regional economy. A blend of these, a mixed endogenous–exogenous growth theory, incorporates drivers from both the economy and the region of a country. We test a number of hypotheses about e-commerce growth in the context of these theories. The key variables include Internet penetration, telecommunication investment intensity, venture capital and credit card availability, and education level. The data are drawn from 17 European countries over a five-year period from 2000 to 2004, and are analyzed using panel data regression with robust error terms, a variant of weighted least squares. The results show the differential efficacy of internal and external drivers as endogenous and exogenous precursors of e-commerce growth across the countries for a number of different modeling specifications. We conclude with a discussion of alternative approaches to model e-commerce growth in a country. The results also suggest the appropriateness of exploring models of regional contagion for e-commerce growth.     

Adaptive sorting: an information theoretic perspective

We present two algorithms that are near optimal with respect to the number of inversions present in the input. One of the algorithms is a variation of insertion sort, and the other is a variation of merge sort. The number of comparisons performed by our algorithms, on an input sequence of length n that has I inversions, is at most . Moreover, both algorithms have implementations that run in time . All previously published algorithms require at least comparisons for some c > 1. M. L. Fredman was supported in part by NSF grant CCR-9732689.     

Teachers' computer anxiety: an international perspective

Computer anxiety was investigated among 308 teachers in Lebanese schools known to use computers in their regular educational programs using the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale. The scale's performance is discussed in light of the findings of other studies that used the same scale in international settings. Tendencies in teachers' anxiety are discussed in relation to teachers' educational attributes and their computer background.     

Repurchase intention in B2C e-commerce—A relationship quality perspective

Information systems professionals must pay attention to online customer retention. Drawing on the relationship marketing literature, we formulated and tested a model to explain B2C user repurchase intention from the perspective of relationship quality. The model was empirically tested through a survey conducted in Northern Ireland. Results showed that online relationship quality and perceived website usability positively impacted customer repurchase intention. Moreover, online relationship quality was positively influenced by perceived vendor expertise in order fulfillment, perceived vendor reputation, and perceived website usability, whereas distrust in vendor behavior negatively influenced online relationship quality. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

IT-enabled change: evaluating an improvisational perspective

This paper presents an empirical study into a hierarchical organization's experience with the adoption and use of an adaptive information technology, in this case a workflow application. The paper takes an improvisational perspective on the change process and assesses it through a case study which examines the organization's experiences in terms of anticipated, opportunity-based and emergent changes to their processes, structure and culture that were enabled by the introduction of the workflow application. The findings build upon Orlikowski and Hofman's improvisational change model by evaluating the model in a different organizational context to that of the original study. The findings reveal that ongoing improvisational changes can occur in hierarchical organizations and that improvisations and adaptations can occur in organizations which adopt adaptive IT provided that ongoing support for change management is forthcoming. The findings also suggest that there is a correlation between the level of customer dissatisfaction and the emergence of any local improvisations regardless of the organization type. This implies that an improvisational perspective may be useful for hierarchical organizations which introduce new technology as the local improvisations which can occur may be leveraged for advantage. The study also raises important questions about the categorisation of technologies as adaptive and critically reflects on this aspect of the improvisational change model.