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.