Extending electronic sourcing theory: An exploratory study of electronic reverse auction outcomes

Existing electronic sourcing theory has predominantly focused on the impact of electronic reverse auctions on price savings and has proposed various factors influencing this outcome. Such price savings have been widely claimed to come at the expense of the buyer–supplier relationship. Only a few research studies, however, have investigated the impact of electronic reverse auctions on the buyer–supplier relationship. Based on an extensive literature review and multiple case study research, we extend electronic sourcing theory by developing a conceptual model that considers a broader set of outcomes, posits organizational and project antecedents that a buying firm can manipulate to impact those outcomes, and introduces supplier-related factors that moderate the antecedent–outcome relationships. In contrast to prior research, our model shows that buying organizations consider a broad set of financial, operational, as well as strategic e-sourcing outcomes, and that, under certain conditions, the traditional trade-off in electronic reverse auctions between price savings and the buyer–supplier relationship does not hold.