The Impact of B2B Exchanges on Brick and Mortar Intermediaries: The ELEMICA Case

The launch of B2B exchanges in brick and mortar industries has inspired the study of the potential impacts on business models of this shift from offline into online trade. Among market parties, intermediaries form a very interesting group, since electronic marketplaces could be seen as their direct competitors. We argue that the emergence of electronic marketplaces both creates opportunities and threats for brick and mortar intermediaries. This paper presents an analysis of the theoretical impacts of electronic marketplaces on brick and mortar intermediaries and both illustrates and extends the theoretical findings with the Elemica case. Elemica is an initiative of several major chemical companies, which aims to reduce supply chain costs by providing one-stop shopping. We conclude this paper with some fundamental implications of the emergence of electronic marketplaces for intermediaries in the chemical industry, which are applicable to more general settings as well. 

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2001
• Where: ECIS
• Authors: Ellen Christiaanse, Ruben Sinnecker, Marco Mossinkoff
• Keywords: ECIS 2001, ECIS 2004, Electronic Marketplaces, Mortar Industries, Mortar Intermediaries