Exploring the Role of Social Community Within an E-Marketplace

Marketplaces have provided a meeting place for communities to socialise, exchange information and transact business for many centuries. It is perhaps a natural progression that the inclusion of social network facilities should be an intrinsic part of e-marketplace development. This exploratory study examines the concept of designing social features into an e-marketplace by considering the needs of online community members. Using TradeMe, a New Zealand horizontal intermediary e-marketplace, as an illustrative case study it was found that the use of an online community to encourage information flow, reciprocity and trust has resulted in a vibrant, successful business model. Further research is required to investigate the viability of the community model beyond the case illustrated

Identification and realisation of the benefits of participating in an electronic marketplace : An interpretive evaluation approach

Electronic marketplaces have proliferated as use of the Internet has become widespread in business. A rapid growth in the number of marketplaces, followed by a period of stringent consolidation, as market makers develop a greater understanding of effective business models, has resulted in a climate of uncertainty and confusion. As with many aspects of e-commerce the drive towards participation is fuelled less by strategy planning than by a fear of lagging behind competitors or losing first mover advantage. In this climate of uncertainty organisations often bypass effective evaluation of the benefits that can be realised from participation in e-marketplaces, thereby exacerbating the process facing them and hampering effective decision-making. Evaluation is perceived as a fraught subject within the Information System field, and particularly within the business community which adheres to tried and trusted, albeit often inappropriate, methods such as financial or technical evaluation. The difficulties involved in effective evaluation of systems are well documented; these will increase as systems become more pervasive throughout organisations and those of their trading partners. Calls for a more holistic approach to evaluation are increasing, based on a developing appreciation of interpretive methods of research within the Information Systems discipline. However, the understanding that the social, political and cultural factors affecting and organisation have an impact on the uses and advantages of systems is by no means universal, and empirical evidence of this view is only slowly emerging. This research examines the benefits that can be realised from participation in an electronic marketplace by taking an interpretive approach to the evaluation. It examines the nature of electronic marketplaces to provide clarity to a confused and dynamic environment. The study then focuses on the development of evaluation studies within the IS discipline to identify how an effective evaluation method for assessing the benefits of e-marketplace participation can be achieved. An empirical examination of an organisation’s participation in an electronic marketplace is used to identify the benefits that are realisable and the issues that impact on them. The case study is conducted through an interpretive lens, using a content, context, process (CCP) approach based on existing IS literature. This enables a crucial understanding of the internal and external environments influencing the organisation and its realisation of potential benefits. To allow for the range of interpretations and reflections required to fully address the complexity of the issues involved in such a case study, a variety of research influences such as dialect hermeneutics, critical realism and case study theory are drawn into the research model. The case study organisation’s motivation for participating in an e-marketplace was primarily cost savings. Over the two years of the study, several more potential benefits were identified, such as supply chain efficiencies, greater market awareness and a widening of the supplier base. However, the organisation’s commitments to its local and regional communities, its need to retain status and some consideration of existing relationships needed to be balanced against the gains that might be realised. In some cases the organisation chose to forgo a potential benefit in favour of socially or politically motivated actions. Cultural factors also influenced their actions, particularly as they moved towards extending participation in the marketplace to gain from a global sourcing strategy. The contribution of this research lies in two areas. Firstly, it was existing evaluation literature to development a framework for the evaluation of benefits in the complex area of electronic marketplaces, thereby extending and informing the call for more inclusive and interpretive evaluation studies. Secondly, the research contributes empirical evidence to support the recognition of benefits to be gained from electronic marketplaces and shows how the realisation of the economic benefits is impacted by the social, political and cultural factors that influence an organisation

The Barriers and Benefits of the Electronic Marketplace Environment for SMEs

Although there are many initiatives to encourage SMEs online, not all have been successful. It may therefore seem premature to discuss electronic marketplaces in the context of SMEs. However, if SMEs ignore e-marketplaces a number of problems can result. E-marketplaces present a significant threat to SMEs since they increase competition and leave nonparticipants vulnerable to more e-enabled firms. This paper examines the barriers and benefits of e-marketplaces in the context of SMEs. It first addresses the nature of emarketplaces, before identifying the benefits that may be realisable by SMEs from participation. Drawing on the literature, the barriers facing smaller firms in this environment are discussed. Identification of these barriers, such as lack of standards, supply chain integration and global trading, enables a greater understanding of how SMEs can plan effective strategies to gain from e-marketplace participation

Recognition and Use of Key Success Factors in Electronic Marketplaces

This study examines the critical success factors previously identified as contributing to the development and success of e-marketplaces. An analysis of twelve e-marketplaces found that they were sensitive to the needs of their target market and offered services appropriate to that market. However, although each of the critical success factors were addressed by the e-marketplaces there remained areas of concern, particularly in the areas of security, technological infrastructure and neutrality. One success factor, that of meeting participants’ needs through value-add, was identified as being key in establishing competitive advantage

Challenging The Global, Rediscovering The Local: Voluntary Market Restriction In C2C E-Marketplaces

The current age of networked information systems brings concerns that in an increasingly global world the dominance of multinational corporations overrides regional and national identities. This view is challenged by the concept of glocalisation where ideas in the global environment are adapted to take account of local cultures. Many organisations operating globally seek to adapt their business strategies to fit with local environments. However, in an increasingly glocalized world organisations may curtail their market by forming boundaries around their online presence; in essence making local what is potentially global. We have identified this strategy of boundedness as ‘voluntary market restriction’. This study aims to examine voluntary market restriction in the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) space where online marketplaces are differentiating themselves by creating boundaries within which they embed communities. This paper examines three C2C e-marketplaces with strong similarities in their market mechanisms that have the potential to operate globally, although two have chosen not to do so. These two market makers have put boundaries around their markets; one by language and one by geography. They have succeeded in wresting considerable local market share from the global e-marketplace. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the research and suggestions for future study

Generating a Gender Balance: Making Introductory Information Systems Courses a Positive Experience

There is a growing shortfall of graduates entering the IT profession. The situation is exacerbated by the continuing decline in the number of women undertaking IT related degrees. However, there are an increasing number of students taking business degrees that have a small information systems component, although few students choose to major in IS. Using a qualitative reflective approach we identify the perceptions and experiences of female undergraduates taking introductory IS courses in two universities, one in Australia and one in New Zealand. We discuss ways of improving the delivery of introductory IS courses in order to make information systems more interesting to women undergraduates, thus enhancing their learning experiences and encouraging further uptake of IS majors. The paper concludes with some reflections on other influences that impact on the ability of IS departments to deliver appropriate introductory courses

Developing a positive experience of introductory information systems for women at two Australasian universities

This paper examines how academics can contribute to encouraging greater uptake of IS majors by women. Using a qualitative reflective approach we identify the perceptions and experiences of female undergraduates taking introductory IS courses in two universities, one in Australia and one in New Zealand, and discuss ways in which to improve their learning experience. We examine ways to improve the delivery of introductory IS courses in order to make information systems more relevant and less dreary to women undergraduates. The paper concludes with some recommendations for marketing courses and areas of further research

Agile in Wonderland: Implementing a Virtual World Workshop Activity

For immersive 3D environments to be useful for specialist teaching, their programming facilities must be powerful enough to enable educators to create flexible learning tools. In this paper we describe the creation of a virtual environment designed to be used to host a workshop activity based on agile software development. Following an initial assessment of some available virtual world tools, the Java-based ‘Project Wonderland’ was used to create a proof of concept for running the workshop. We discuss the features that were implemented and a number of significant issues encountered during the process. In the light of our experiences, we assess the utility of Project Wonderland as a tool for creating an immersive workshop activity and describe the future work that would be needed to enable a robust and useable environment to be developed

Increasing the adoption of electronic commerce by SMEs: Reflections from an empirical study

This paper examines the perceptions of SMEs, local business associations and government workers in four regions of Western Australia regarding the adoption of electronic commerce. It first discusses the drivers and barriers that affect SME participation in e-commerce as identified by the literature, before offering an alternative to the notion oj SMEs as a homogenous group, The authors reflect on the concerns raised in a recent empirical study and offer some conclusions and recommendations