Participation in collaboration electronic marketplaces

Abstract

This paper reviews and assesses several theoretical perspectives on one type of business-to-business electronic marketplace - collaboration marketplaces. Whereas transaction-oriented marketplaces are characterized by catalogs, auctions or exchanges, and support for negotiated pricing, collaboration marketplaces are characterized by planning capabilities such as continuous planning, forecasting, and replenishment or product life-cycle management. Collaboration marketplaces have different benefits than transaction-oriented marketplaces and different adoption considerations. Therefore, theoretical frameworks such as transaction cost theory, which apply quite well to transaction-oriented marketplaces, provide only a partial explanation of collaboration marketplace adoption. We compare three alternative theoretical perspectives on collaboration marketplaces and discuss their implications for future research.