Abstract—There has been a rapid increase in the number of firms undertaking business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce) initiatives. Although there are various benefits to B2B e-commerce, there are also inhibitors to its deployment. This study empirically investigates the inhibitors for deploying Web-based B2B e-commerce applications in organizations. A field survey of senior IT executives was conducted to examine the key problems that inhibit the deployment of Web-based B2B e-commerce. A comprehensive list of inhibitors was derived from an extensive review of the literature and pretested with senior IT executives. Data from 249 firms were factor analyzed to yield the underlying structural dimensions of inhibitors impacting the deployment of Web-based B2B e-commerce. Univariate t-test and multivariate discriminant analysis were carried out on the resulting ten dimensions to compare B2B (i.e., firms who have deployed B2B) and non-B2B firms (i.e., firms who have not deployed B2B). The results suggest that key inhibitors in B2B deployment are the lack of top management support, unresolved technical issues, the lack of e-commerce strategy, and the difficulties in cost-benefit assessment of e-commerce investments. Implications of the results for researchers and IT/engineering management executives are discussed. Index Terms—Business-to-business e-commerce, deployment, inhibitors, problems, web.

New technological innovations have made it possible for new intermediaries to create value in business processes that involve the procurement of manufacturing and services supplies. Associated with these innovations is the emergence of business-to-business (B2B) electronic markets. These act as digital intermediaries that aim to reduce the transaction costs and mitigate the risks inherent in procurement. They improve buyers ’ capabilities to search for attractive prices, and also serve to increase the liquidity of sellers ’ products. In this chapter, the authors explore the evolution of B2B e-market firms in terms of the strategies they employ to “perfect” their value propositions and business processes for the firms. This is a critical aspect of their attractiveness as business partners for the buyers and sellers that participate in their electronic marketplaces. The key theoretical perspectives of this work are adapted from economics and strategic management. They enable the authors to construct a “partnering for perfection ” theory of strategic alliances in e-procurement markets. This perspective is captured in a series of inquiries about “why ” and “when ” B2B e-markets are observed to form alliances. The authors carry out an innovative econometric analysis that delivers empirical results to show the efficacy

Abstract: A number of regional Internet electronic marketplaces (REMs) have failed or are floundering, partly due to the lack of proper evaluation of their costs and benefits. This paper uses a conceptual REM Success Model to examine the costs and benefits of a REM in Western Australia. The model has been derived from an extension to the Updated DeLone & McClean IS Success Model. The findings from the case study indicate that the REM Success Model, which includes cognisance of SME-profile and motivation of the market maker, allows up-front identification of the costs and benefits to all stakeholders.

This paper examines codewords of length 2m in Z8 with envelope power maxima of 3 ∗ 2m. Using the general form for Golay pairs as a base, a general form is derived for the set of coset leaders that generate these codewords. From this general form it will be proven that there exists at least one element in the coset that achieves a power of 3 ∗ 2m for each m-even and m-odd case. 1

Regional electronic marketplaces (REMs) are currently one of the measures adopted by some local governments and regional organizations to improve uptake of e-commerce by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The rationale behind this move is to ensure SMEs do not fall on the wrong side of a digital divide. REMs are also viewed as a way to improve business efficiency and increase trade within the locality, expand into new markets and develop the region generally. However, while the development and management of REMs can be advised by a number of theoretical frameworks and models, there is no one definitive framework that can be used to comprehensively examine the factors that facilitate and inhibit the successful implementation of such e-marketplaces. This paper reviews the literature on e-marketplaces and IT/IS / e-commerce adoption by SMEs and discusses how the constructs of existing theories and models can be used to examine REM success. It demonstrates how the constructs can be combined, refined and extended with insights from involvement in a REM in Western Australia and from content analysis of published case studies of e-marketplaces and emarketplace participation, to form an integrated theoretical framework upon which the assessment of REM success can be grounded.

The role that information technology plays in today’s business activities has led to an increase in firms using and/or deploying e-markets online. This development undoubt-edly affects the agri-food sector, since a large number of agricultural firms are demon-strating or are expected to demonstrate e-commerce activities. This paper aims to pro-vide an overview of the current status of agricultural e-markets in Greece, by present-ing results from an analysis of 100 cases. Results indicate that Greek e-markets may still have a rather low degree of sophistication, but they demonstrate a strong B2B ori-entation, as well as an outreach for international customer bases.