Assessing the performance of an electronic marketplace: a conceptual model and case study

Theories of inter-organisational co-ordination propose that information processing capabilities (structure, process and technology) must be aligned with information processing needs (environmental, partnership and task uncertainty), and that the fit between both is a strong determinant of performance. Electronic marketplaces dominate new developments in electronic commerce. While traditional models predominately deal with one-to-one relationships, electronic marketplaces are mainly characterised as being one-to-many and many-to-many in nature. Such developments have meant performance is based on more than just the fit between information processing needs and information processing capabilities. A conceptual model is developed. This argues that the performance of an electronic marketplace is dependent on not only the fit between (a) information processing needs / information processing capabilities but also between the (b) value added / value demanded (c) governance / investment and (d) trust / security based mechanisms constructs. This paper will utilise a case studying the cotton industry to empirically test this model.