An Empirical Study of Business-to-Business Electronic Marketplace Usage from Buyer Perspective

摘要

Electronic marketplaces (EMs) have been expected to grow significantly in several years. Both buyers and sellers benefit from using EMs for accomplishing their business transactions. However, the failure of some marketplaces, including high profile players such as Chemdex, MetalSpectrum, GoFish, and E-Chemicals, raised the question regarding the extent of EM usage. This study examines the extent of current and planned EM usage from the buyer perspective with extensive comparisons regarding EM types, company size, and industry sectors. The data from a Web-based survey of 359 purchasing professionals in the United States suggests that larger companies use EMs at a greater extent since they are capable of exploiting EMs' benefits. In addition, among three EM types, private trading networks (PTNs) promise a potential growth in the future. Finally, electronics, transportation, and communication are found as three dominant industries in using EMs for purchasing.