Unmet adoption expectation as the key to e-marketplace failure: A case of Taiwan's steel industry

Many e-marketplaces rose and fell in recent years. In this study, we argue that unmet expectation was the main reason why Taiwan's steel emarketplaces failed. To confirm this statement, we examined the discrepancy between the original adoption factors and the factors that lead to the current satisfaction as perceived by e-marketplace participants. Adoption factors were identified by the factor analysis using data collected from medium-sized steel enterprises via a questionnaire based on a preliminary literature review and a focus group interview. The importance rank of the nine adoption factors suggested that the customers desired a safe and secured transaction-oriented platform and that they were less concerned on the cost-saving or management efficiency for steel e-marketplaces. However, Taiwan's steel e-marketplaces failed to meet users' expectations as negative scores appeared on all but “industry information” satisfaction indicators. In other words, more efforts are needed to focus on transforming the visionary e-marketplace into a practical and secured trading environment to earn the user's satisfaction and support. An implication drawn from concerns regarding security to privacy and trust is also discussed. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.