Structuration Theory

This chapter argues that the three most commonly used perspectives in conducting research on business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce-transaction cost economics, electronic market hypothesis, and network analysis-have inadequately explained the unfolding nature of how B2B intermediaries are being employed in industry today. We argue that these perspectives are insufficient because they assume that technology is deterministic and thus not worthy of critical analysis. This chapter proposes structuration theory as an alternative perspective, which differs from the traditional perspectives in several ways: a) structuration theory examines the impact of B2B intermediaries not just on economic indicators of business success but on such process outcomes as mutual trust, coordination, innovation, and utilization of shared knowledge; b) it examines not just technology, but the alignment between technology, the interorganizational structure, and the nature of the task (e.g., basic procurement vs. collaboration); and c) it recognizes that no technology is simply installed, but rather brought into an organization through a series of adaptations that affect both the technology and the organization over time.

Supply-Chain Challenges for B2B eCommerce with Examples from the Chemical Industry

In this chapter, I examine supply-chain-related challenges that eMarketplaces and existing companies face as business-to-business eCommerce increases. Although the Internet is increasingly attractive for B2B commerce and for supply-chain management, eCommerce is more likely to reveal the inefficiencies in supply chain and to increase customer expectations relative to offline trade. Therefore, managers must understand the supply-chain management challenges associated with B2B eCommerce, especially in light of the fulfillment failures already experienced in business-to-consumer eCommerce.

From EDI to Internet Commerce in Supply Chain Management

This chapter provides an overview on the use of business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce by Singapore companies as a means of streamlining their procurement and transportation activities. Specifically, it addresses how Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Internet have proliferated in Singapore from 1990 to the present, and the efforts needed to sustain its growth. Challenges in implementing B2B eCommerce in procurement and transportation are also discussed, so that companies can avoid similar pitfalls when planning to implement these technologies with their business partners.

B2B Applications to Support Business Transactions

The use of Internet and Web technologies between organizations has gained much attention in recent years. Termed business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce, the linking and integration of inter-organizational business processes and systems promises cost and time savings, as well as new business opportunities. The many examples of B2B applications cover a broad range of sales and purchasing processes, business models, industries, and products and services. Complexity ranges from simple message switchboards to sophisticated marketplaces handling a multitude of real-time transactions, integrated closely with the backend systems of the participants. Using information technology (IT) to connect organizations is by no means a new phenomenon, but reaches back several decades to include electronic data interchange (EDI) systems and remote terminal applications. Still, systems based on Internet standards seem to be easier to set up technically and cheaper to interconnect. They might thus reach wider adoption and acceptance than many of the earlier initiatives, and as a result give smaller players a realistic opportunity to join in and reap benefits similar to their larger partners.

Dynamic Digital Process Integration in Business-to-Business Networks

Transparent end-to-end business process integration is the leading edge of today’s business-to-business electronic commerce revolution. Firms enter into electronic inter-organizational networks not only to conduct procurement-oriented transactions (supply chain management), but increasingly, they are strategically outsourcing business processes and activities which are not part of the their distinctive competence (strategically core activities) and provided by a new breed of digital process specialists. The evolution of agent-based inter-organizational systems enables complex direct interaction between heterogeneous information systems, which allow Web-based eServices to act autonomously, communicate independently, discover each other, provide dynamically configured services to one another, and establish composite business systems.

A Classification Scheme for B2B Exchanges and Implications for Interorganizational eCommerce

The Internet is transforming and reshaping the nature of interorganizational commerce by enabling many new types of interfirm electronic exchanges. A B2B exchange is defined as a new organizational form residing in digital space that acts as an interfirm intermediary that enables firms to conduct and engage in any-to-any online relations. This chapter proposes a classification scheme for B2B exchanges that attempts to capture the chaos and complexity of today’s online B2B relations. This typology integrates several theories of interfirm relations from the information systems, marketing, and organizational economics literatures to propose a parsimonious but comprehensive taxonomy that encompasses neutral markets (many-to-many) and dyadic relations (few-to-few), and also the concept of biased relations, monopolies (few-to-many) and monopsonies (many-to-few). This chapter discusses the implications of the proposed taxonomy for interorganizational eCommerce that ensue from the alternative types of B2B exchanges. Furthermore, the influence of product, organizational, and market characteristics on B2B eCommerce is discussed, and guidelines for appropriate selection of exchange type and particular B2B exchanges are proposed.

Agent Technologies and Business Models for Electronic Commerce

Agent technologies have proved to provide adequate solutions to some of the challenges posed by the new business models that are arising in the field of electronic commerce. In this chapter, we present some of the key challenges in turning agents’ research into commercial applications, provide an overview of the electronic commerce business models, and discuss how they can benefit from the new developments in agent technologies. We illustrate the discussion with examples of the work that is being developed by projects from the IST research program of the European Union.

Impersonal Trust in B2B Electronic Commerce

Although the notion of impersonal trust is not new, its significance has dramatically increased with the emergence of interorganizational eCommerce. Two types of trust are usually distinguished in interfirm exchange relations–an impersonal type created by structural arrangements, and a familiarity type arising from repeated interaction. This chapter contributes to the emerging body of knowledge regarding the role of trust in B2B eCommerce, which is primarily impersonal. The nature of trust is examined, and credibility and benevolence are defined as its distinct dimensions. Impersonal trust-primarily arising from credibility-focuses on institutional structures that B2B exchanges enable through signals and incentives to facilitate interfirm relations. Following the economic, sociological and marketing literature on the sources and processes under which trust engenders, a set of three cognitive processes that generate impersonal trust is determined. Applied to B2B exchanges, four antecedents of impersonal trust are proposed to trigger these processes: accreditation, feedback, monitoring and legal bonds. In addition, impersonal trust is proposed to increase satisfaction, reduce risk, encourage anticipated continuity and promote favorable pricing. A theoretical framework is then proposed that specifies the interrelationships between the antecedents, underlying processes and consequences of impersonal trust in B2B eCommerce. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study on B2B eCommerce are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed.

Online Exchanges and Beyond

This chapter provides an overview of critical issues associated with crafting a valuable and sustainable electronic marketplace. In order to provide a foundation for examples and discussion, the first section reviews B2B markets and provides a simple classification mechanism. Next, the issues of price presentation and price setting are introduced as they relate to the classification framework. The second half of the chapter explores factors associated with participant motivation regarding the key issues of liquidity formation and maintenance, exchange ownership and governance, and the delivery of value-added services.

The Role of eServices and Transactions for Integrated Value Chains

eCommerce has been well established for several years, particularly using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) over private or value-added networks. The advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web has given a further push to eCommerce and has been dramatically changing the way business is conducted. Enterprises, in order to be competitive, form powerful business alliances that offer services and products by utilizing the autonomous and heterogeneous infrastructure provided by the independent partners. Such extended corporations reach out not only with business relationships. They also integrate their business processes and information systems with company value chains being transformed to integrated value chains for efficiently supporting this new model of extended enterprises. This chapter gives an overview of the technological challenges for B2B eCommerce and integrated value chains. It explains how adaptive business objects and controlled interoperability on one hand, and e-services on the other, are the key enabling technologies to the challenge of integrated value chains and then discusses how business transactions can be combined with eServices to provide flexible electronic business solutions.