Towards Sustainability of eMarketplaces

The growth of eMarketplaces has attracted interest from researchers in recent years and their low survival rates have also been reported in the literature. The success of some eMarketplaces and the failure of others raised the question as to what factors lead to eMarketplace sustainability. Much of the existing research has focused on transactional cost, supply chain management and hierarchical structure. Applying the theory of service science and value co–creation (both of which have been applied and tested in other business fields) to the study of eMarketplaces, this paper proposes a framework for eMarketplace sustainability. The framework is tested on a dataset of 85 eMarketplaces in Saudi Arabia, which plays a leadership role in information and communication (ICT) development in the Middle East region. Saudi Arabia’s experience with eMarketplaces is expected to influence other countries in the region and beyond. Eight factors were tested and only five were found to be statistically significant in influencing eMarketplace sustainability. The results suggest that service science factors are the major factors influencing eMarketplace sustainability. This paper makes two significant contributions: (1) it provides an initial framework for eMarketplace sustainability; and (2) it enhances the understanding of eMarketplaces in Saudi Arabia, particularly in terms of factors that ensure their sustainability.