Towards a Taxonomy of B2B e-Commerce Schemes

Many commentators on business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce implicitly assume that such systems are relatively homogeneous. Existing theories of information systems and markets, and the practice of procurement are used in order to explain the nature and dimensions of B2B schemes, and the dimensions across which they differ. This provides a basis for more effective conception of systems to serve the needs of organisations and the industry sectors in which they operate, and, ultimately, consumers of their output. It is concluded that a principle of requisite variety needs to be applied, that organisations' varied needs demand multiple, diverse forms of marketspace, and that many flowers need to bloom before the surviving patterns will be determined.