A Review of Research on E-Marketplaces 1997-2007

Electronic marketplaces are an important theme of research on the information systems landscape. In this paper we examine eleven years of research on electronic marketplaces in leading journals. The research articles are classified according to whether they focus on electronic markets theory; whether they take a system perspective and focus on the technology or functionality of the system; whether they investigate adoption and implementation issues, or organisational issues. The analysis of the literature highlights two distinct issues that researchers in the discipline need to address. The first is the lack of research on the fundamental questions on the nature of electronic markets and their efficiency. If information systems research does not address this question then it will not be seen as tackling critical issues by those outside of the discipline. The second is the relative lack of papers on the organisational implications of adopting and managing electronic marketplaces. These include, the organisational benefits, costs and risks of trading through e-marketplaces and strategies and methodologies for managing organisational participation. Both issues can be addressed by increasing the number of macro studies examining efficiencies in electronic markets.