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Abstract

By bringing dispersed buyers and sellers together through a business-to-business hub and allowing them to collaborate in real-time, business-to-business electronic marketplaces (B2B e-marketplaces) play an increasingly prominent role in fueling B2B e-commerce. Through the lens of institutional theory, this research investigates the critical factors motivating an organization's purchasing function in participating in B2B e-marketplaces. A cross-sectional mailed and online survey targeting high-level purchasing professionals were conducted to empirically test whether coercive, mimetic and normative pressures, as discussed in institutional theory, have a significant effect on an organization's legitimacy motive to participate in B2B e-marketplaces. The data collected were analyzed using PLS to assess measurement and structural model. Except for the "extent of adoption among suppliers", each of the institutional factors examined - perceived dominance of supplier adopters, extent of adoption among competitors, perceived success of competitor adopters and participation in industry trade or professional bodies - significantly influenced the legitimacy motive, which in turn influenced an organization's intent to adopt the use of B2B e-marketplaces. By providing strong support for institutional factors as predictors of B2B e-marketplace adoption, these findings substantiate the importance of institutional forces leading to electronic partnerships.