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Electronic Marketplaces as Market System Intermediaries: An Exploratory Study and Characteristics Framework

The literature on electronic marketplaces reveals much confusion around matters of definition and description. In particular, there is a lack of consensus on what an electronic marketplace is, and the inter-organisational processes which they support. Despite the disparate, and often contradictory, perceptions of electronic marketplaces in the literature, electronic marketplaces operating as intermediaries in the market system, are observable in practice. This paper explores the characteristics of eight electronic marketplaces operating as market intermediaries in various business sectors. It builds on existing research to develop and refine a characteristics framework by examining the value proposition, product-market focus, market value activities, management value activities and technology / information value activities, ownership, revenue model and market structure of the eight marketplaces. The paper concludes that the key characteristic of marketplaces is their ability to aggregate and disseminate knowledge to their participants, a task facilitated by their market, management, and technology value activities.