The Emergence of Electronic Trading in Global Financial Markets: Envisioning the Role of Futures Exchanges in the Next Millennium

∗ The authors names are given in alphabetical order, both authors contributed equally to this paper. Abstract: This paper presents a preliminary analysis of case study based research exploring the shift from traditional ‘open-outcry’ to electronic trading in the major futures Markets in London and Chicago. We outline the emergence of electronic trading in these Markets, with the aim of examining the influences that will shape the operation and interaction between major global futures exchanges in the electronic markets of the new millennium. Our empirical work has sensitised us to the usefulness of conceptual ideas on the local/global dialectic in the process of globalization, and the shifting nature of risk in analysing the emergence of electronic trading in major global futures markets. In our discussion of the current status of the project we seek to connect the local issues concerning electronic trading to their broader social, economic and political context. We conclude by suggesting how our findings can be expected to contribute to IS theory and practice.