Types of Business-to-Business e-Marketplaces: The Role of a Theory-Based, Domain-Specific Model

In this paper, the authors seek to further their knowledge of e-marketplaces by exploring empirically the existence of different types of business-to-business e-marketplaces. They used the reference model for electronic markets as the theoretical foundation for a domain-specific model that they used to develop 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 that differed on whether they were horizontal or vertical in nature, the services they provide, and whether they erect market barriers.