Exploring Strategic Choices in Marketplace Positioning

摘要

We examine B2B e-marketplace designs and how these strategic choices affect both operating and financial performance. A theory-driven framework conceptualizes e-marketplaces as network orchestra tors that create value by creating exchange opportunities, and facilitating economic and social exchanges. The locus of impact of e-marketplaces ranges from the network, where it accrues to all firms potentially participating in the exchange; to firm dyads, where the impact is based on specific transactions or relationships; to primarily impacting an individual firm. B2B e-marketplaces may impact information linkages (communication), value linkages (electronic integration and brokerage) or relational (social integration) linkages. Findings based on an analysis of 194 surviving B2B e-marketplaces considered best in class suggest positioning on either transactional lines emphasizing scale, or relational lines emphasizing depth. E-marketplaces with a transactional focus are associated with greater prominence. As expected, horizontal (process) marketplaces draw higher traffic compared to more-focused vertical (industry) marketplaces, and e-marketplaces with resourceful sponsors also attract greater traffic. First-mover advantage was found to be significantly associated with both higher traffic as well as prominence. We also find that a relational positioning is more likely for e-marketplaces dealing with complex products while a transactional positioning is more likely for commodity products.