Less than two years ago, businesses were being told every day they'd better jump on the Web exchange bandwagon fast or risk getting left behind in the B2B Goldrush. They heard…
Abstract
Less than two years ago, businesses were being told every day they'd better jump on the Web exchange bandwagon fast or risk getting left behind in the B2B Goldrush. They heard this from the trade press and the mainstream press, from eager‐beaver B2B exchange developers, and even from their Web‐sawy kids. The line went that B2B Web exchanges—online marketplaces where buyers in a particular market can evaluate the best offers from many vendors, and vendors can gain access to a world of new customers—promised giant leaps in efficiency so major that vendors could both lower their prices yet increase their profits.