Information and communications technologies (ICT) are becoming pervasive in the residential real estate industry and affecting the work lives of real estate agents. Drawing on data from a regional study of the residential real-estate industry in the United States, we focus on the disintermediation or, more accurately, the re-intermediation of real estate agents in the sales process. We examine how real estate agents are (1) taking advantage of new ICT in their work, and (2) protecting themselves from others wishing to displace their position in the real estate value chain. Our analysis draws on two contrasting theoretical approaches to better explain the roles of agents. That is, real estate transactions are conceptualized as economic activities (buy/sell transactions) set within social structures that agents help to develop. Firstly, transaction-cost economics is used to explain the nature of a real estate transaction. From this analysis we develop a set of generic market coordination structures to profile the role of the agent in the real estate transaction process. Secondly, the concept of social capital is used to structure an analysis of ICT-induced changes to the process. Social capital is conceptualized as the set of social resources that an agent possesses that are embedded in relationships. This analysis indicates that real estate agents are using social capital and relational forms of coordination in order to protect and affirm their places within the real estate value chain. These social relationships provide structures that define both the behavior of the agent, buyer, and seller (and other contributors) and the various transactions that make up the sale of a residential property. We conclude by drawing implications for research on disintermediation and for ...

In interorganizational settings the use of information systems (IS) and networks is often not evaluated in a formal way and decisions are made by "gut feeling" rather than based on rational evidence. Since benefits depend not only on internal contingencies but also on the decisions and loyalty of business partners, issues of trust and the risk of becoming locked in with a disloyal partner become crucial. The Internet and Web-based technologies facilitate system development and the deployment of interorganizational systems (IOS) and may thus help change this picture. In times where IT use is becoming more and more important for the firm to stay competitive and efficient, system costs and benefits have to be carefully balanced in order to build systems that are perceived as being beneficial even in cases where risk-aversion makes this a difficult task. This paper examines applications that support inter-firm business transactions, in particular those that involve buying processes. We int...

The Internet offers a vision of ubiquitous electronic commerce. A particularly useful feature is the ability to automate the search for price or other information across multiple vendors by using an "agent" to retrieve relevant information. The use of agents has the potential to dramatically reduce buyers ' search costs. We develop a framework that suggests that vendors who sell products with many differentiating factors beyond price will tend to accept agents, while vendors of commodities or branded goods will tend to resist them unless they have lower costs than their competitors. Empirically, we found that agents seem to be accepted for differentiated goods, but resisted for more commoditized goods, though not universally. An analysis of prices from one agent shows that 1) a small number of vendors tended to have the lowest prices and 2) while divergence in pricing remains, price dispersion declined over the period studied.

The central premise of this paper is that collaboration, and more specifically e-collaboration, plays a major role in achieving a sustainable competitive edge. In particular, we propose here to examine the relative efficiency of electronic collaboration (e-collaboration) tools and to assess the impacts of these tools on the innovativeness and performance of individual firms positioned along an industry-specific single supply chain. Empirical data from both the upstream and downstream perspectives for firms positioned at different points of one supply chain suggest that e-collaboration and its impacts create a one-sided benefit for the upstream side of the supply chain: first, the overall relative efficiency of e-collaboration tools is higher and, second, the impacts of e-collaboration are more beneficial when used with suppliers than when used with customers. The results also point to a stage model for implementing collaboration tools in a supply chain: the level of efficiency is higher for e-collaboration tools that support more operational than strategic activities (procurement vs. capacity planning). Finally, this research suggests strongly that collaboration tools can have significant impacts on the supply chain and that these tools need to be implemented progressively, both upstream and downstream, thereby yielding different and, most probably, cumulative benefits over time.

This paper reviews the literature on interorganizational information systems. It has long been argued that information technology can have profound effects on the structure and process of inter-firm relationships. This proposition has gained additional importance with the advent of internet, and resultant forms of business to business transactions over the web. Despite the interest and volume of research on this topic few theoretical generalizations have emerged. The lack of theorization has been compounded by the fact that the literature has grown in many directions to address various technological and practitioner concerns. To date, there have not been many reviews that put this body of work in perspective. To address this gap we propose a framework to review this field of research, and provide a means to reconcile the differences and appreciate the complementarities that run through this research stream. Our framework is based on two important themes, Interorganizational information systems, and interorganizational relationships. We argue that the research in this area can be effectively analyzed by understanding the persuasion of the researchers regarding these two central themes. The review is followed by a discussion of future research directions in this area.

The adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) is spreading rapidly in supply chain management. As companies seek to improve supply chain efficiency through increased integration, ICT can be considered as a key enabler for supply chain management by supporting information-sharing. A literature review within supply chain integration and the impact of ICT indicates that there are various integration dimensions and levels, and different effects and influencing factors. Even though there is a considerable amount of research within the field, the complexity of ICT impact on integration implies that previous studies cover only a limited number of dimensions and variables at a time. In this paper, we propose a research model that can support empirical in-depth studies seeking to explore how ICT influences integration in supply chain control. The model is developed from literature and incorporates areas of control, ICT, integration dimensions, ICT effects, influencing factors and supply chain integration.

The present research proposes to investigate the factors that influence acceptance of interorganizational information sharing systems among Anti/Counter-Terrorism agencies. Based on social exchange theory, transaction cost economics, and traditional IT acceptance theory, the study examines the impacts of perceived information assurance of information sharing partners, organizational norm of inter-agency information sharing, existing IT infrastructure and utilization, legal/authoritative pressure for ACT information sharing, and availability of technical standards for information sharing systems on inter-organizational anti/counter terrorism information sharing systems acceptance. The study administers a survey questionnaire to emergency responders such as law enforcement personnel, intelligence agents, firefighters, emergency medical staffs, and other government employees in the anti/counter-terrorism area. Survey participants are recruited through a non-governmental terrorism research institute and information security workshops. This paper reports an exploratory study that analyzed the first batch of survey responses from various emergency management organizations at the station level (e.g., headquarter, local offices, base, hospital, etc.). In the paper, a revised model with preliminary test results is presented, and findings are discusses for follow-up studies. 1.

Information technology has been a central enabler in the process toward network society. Despite the critical role of computers in inter-organizational arrangements, coordination of IT decisions within these networks is a fairly unexplored area, both in research and in practice. The processes through which the orchestration of IT in networks takes place are largely hidden. In this paper we investigate the processes through which three public sector networks tried to reach collaborative agreements in the use and management of IT. We present some preliminary findings in the areas of management, vision, mission, and shared goals in the context of networks ’ IT governance.

This paper identifies and defines standards required for successful eCommerce (EC) architectures. It evaluates the strengths and limitations of current and past systems that have been developed to support EC in relation to these standards. We conclude that there remains an unfilled need for systems that can reliably locate buyers and sellers in electronic marketplaces and also facilitate automated transactions. The notion of a ubiquitous ecommerce network does not currently exist. Such a network would 1) enable sellers to choose to publish product related information in a consistent, predictable way, 2) enable automated agents working on behalf of both buyers and indexing services to find desired information published by sellers without reliance upon human intervention, and 3) enable autonomous agents, when authorized by management, to evaluate products, negotiate prices, and conduct transactions. In the context of these desirable characteristics, this paper evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the following EC architectures: EDI, company websites, B2B hubs, e-procurement systems, and web services. We identify where each of the architectures fails to provide requisite capabilities.

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 Copyright © 2002, Idea Group Publishing. 2 Pavlou & El Sawy eCommerce is discussed, and guidelines for appropriate selection of exchange type and particular B2B exchanges are proposed.