2008. “Types of Business-to-Business E-Marketplaces: The Role of a TheoryBased, Domain-Specific Model

In this study, we seek to further our knowledge of e-marketplaces by exploring empirically the existence of different types of business-to-business e-marketplaces. We used the reference model for electronic markets [Schmid & Lindemann 1998] as the theoretical foundation for a domain-specific model, which we used to develop empirically a set of coherent types of e-marketplaces, based on data from 24 German e-marketplaces. Analysis using multi-dimensional scaling identified three types of e-marketplaces: Type I- Broad, service-oriented e-marketplaces; Type II- Broad, minimal-service marketplaces; Type III- Focused, minimal-intervention marketplaces. These three types of e-marketplaces were defined by four factors from the transaction and market service views of the reference model, and therefore of the domain-specific e-marketplace model. Those factors (industry orientation and market barriers in the transaction view and value-added services and marketing strategies in the market service view) therefore determined how our types of e-marketplaces conducted business. Interestingly, these factors are those that managers can control most readily and that they can therefore vary to produce an e-marketplace tailored to their business. Both the domain-specific model for e-marketplaces and the types of e-marketplaces derived from our empirical investigation provide a foundation for creating a cumulative tradition in e-marketplace research