A framework for the sustainability of e‐marketplaces

Electronic marketplaces have promised many benefits to participants, and hence have aroused considerable interest in the business community. However, the failure of some marketplaces and the success of others have led business managers to question which marketplaces will be successful in the future, and even whether the entire idea is viable. This question is particularly pressing for those considering sponsoring or participating in a marketplace. This exploratory study seeks to address these issues by proposing a framework of the factors that help explain the sustainability of e‐marketplaces. The framework proposed is based upon the findings of interviews carried out with 14 managers based in 11 companies active in the field of e‐marketplaces, and findings from the current literature from this domain. The framework proposed identifies seven factors that can be categorised according to three levels of influence, i.e. the macroeconomic/regulatory level, the industry level, and the firm level. Further work to validate the proposed framework would provide practitioners with additional insight to apply to their e‐marketplace strategies.