Strategic Partnerships and Competitiveness of Business-to-Business E-Marketplaces: Preliminary Evidence from Europe

Abstract

Business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces offer the potential of substantial increases in efficiency and transparency in their target industries. We argue that to realize this potential they must form strategic partnerships. While the need to partner with companies in their target industries has been coming to the forefront with the rise of industry-sponsored marketplaces, firms find that there is a further need to partner with other organizations to create more extensive and adaptive service offerings. The goal of this research is to support the view that forming strategic partnerships with specialized service providers and other marketplaces is an important means for marketplaces to create successful business models and to improve their competitive position. We examine the relevant theory and explore the status of partnering activities of European B2B marketplaces, which we surveyed from April to May 2001. Additionally, we report on a set of in-depth interviews with the management of a number of major B2B marketplaces. The results support our view that partnering skills are critical for B2B marketplaces to improve their competitive position.

Keywords: Strategic Partnerships, Business-to-Business Marketplaces, Service Provider, Competitiveness, electronic markets