E-Commerce and V-Business

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Digital intermediation inelectronic commerce –the eBay model

Alina N. Chircu andRobert J. Kauffman

Introduction

Interactions between buyers and sellers in a market normally reflect the existence of a transaction process, in which goods or services are exchanged between customers and suppliers (Bakos, 1991). This process may involve none, one or several intermediaries, depending on the kind of goods or services that are involved in the transaction and other situational factors (see Figure 3.1).

New technologies for electronic commerce on the Internet dramatically change the spectrum of possibilities for making transactions in the marketplace. Such technologies also change the manner in which the various players are able to interact (Rayport ...