The EEE encounter model: Applying the service dominant logic to B2B e-marketplaces

Abstract

The Internet has provided tools offering marketplaces the opportunity to expand through the Web. Businesses have taken hold of these possibilities and have started to engage in online business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Still, though B2B e-marketplaces have produced early excitement, they have failed to hold transaction volumes. Though there are many reasons for failure, it is contended that the goods dominant approach used to develop these e-marketplaces is a reason why B2B systems have had difficulty in sustaining transaction volumes. The emerging service dominant logic (SDL) however addresses the problems caused by the goods dominant logic. Having an SDL-based reference model would therefore be advantageous to the B2B sector. Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-marketplaces have made moves to implement SDL. In addition, frameworks for value co-creation exist in the B2C context. However, little research has been done on its application on the B2B context. This research attempts to fill up that gap.