B2B E-Commerce Revisited: Leading Perspectives on the Key Issues and Research Directions

The application of Internet technologies for the conduct of interfirm business transactions has given rise to a boom in business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce. Yet, although there are many success stories that have been reported over the past several years, the progress of B2B e-commerce has been hindered by unanticipated technical, organizational, economic and legal challenges that diminish value. In this article, we report on a series of interviews with leading academic researchers and industry senior managers who are in a unique position to make sense of key issues and offer useful insights. The respondents provide their views on the efficacy of different business models in B2B e-commerce, the problems associated with B2B technology platform adoption and implementation, new ways of thinking about interorganizational information sharing and e-procurement business process design, investment decisionmaking and financial returns for e-business infrastructure, international and regional issues, and research directions.