Electronic marketplaces: case studies on organizational buyers and sellers
Abstract: Electronic commerce is a hot topic that is being discussed everywhere. Until today, e-commerce has focused primarily on business-to-consumer issues, but the big boom to come is business-to-business e-commerce. A frequent prediction is that the real business-to-business revolution is taking place outside the boundaries of individual firms, namely at electronic marketplaces. Electronic marketplaces bring multiple buyers and sellers together in a single web application and becoming very important meeting and trading forums for many industries.The purpose of this thesis it to investigate which organizational buyers' and sellers' needs an electronic marketplace can satisfy. The focus for this study is on the U.S. healthcare industry. The research is qualitative and deductive. Multiple in-depth case studies were used, with data coming primarily from focused personal interviews, as well as documentation. The purposive sample included three buying organizations, three selling organizations and three electronic marketplaces. The data collected was analyzed via within-case and cross-case analysis.In answering the study's research questions, conclusion included that electronic marketplaces have great potential in the investigated industry. The organizations in the study had a very positive attitude towards electronic marketplaces and the value they could add. The need for information is central in organizational buying and selling and the electronic marketplace certainly serve a great portion of those needs. The electronic marketplaces all provide industry-specific, accurate and targeted information, which puts them in a highly competitive position. Presently buying and requisitioning is possible at the electronic marketplaces, but some are more application software oriented and have integrated more business processes within their offerings. In the end, it was felt that electronic marketplaces will continue to integrate electronic procurement and transaction solutions, linking the enterprise resource planning systems of buyers and suppliers. In the end, there remain many challenges to conquer, one of the keys perhaps focusing on how to create trust. The electronic marketplaces have to communicate their advantages to potential users and get them to abandon their old way of conducting business. Perhaps this is simply a matter of time and education.
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