دانلود رایگان مقاله مزایای استفاده از رهبری تکنولوژیک پورتال تجارت الکترونیکی

abstract

The Internet enables enterprises to sell their products via cross-border business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce portals. However, researchers know little about the early-mover advantages for such third-party platforms. The rapid, convenient, and wide market access offered by these platforms may allow early-mover exporters to enjoy advantages over late movers in terms of learning effects and switching costs. We hypothesize that early-mover advantages may diminish beyond a critical length of tenure because of the free-riding costs, resolution of technological or market uncertainty, as well as the incumbent inertia of early movers. We also argue that product price and diversity will pose different boundary conditions on how early-mover advantages are manifested. Using web search and mining methods, we collect data on approximately 300,000 B2B export transactions conducted by nearly 4000 firms in 2007–2014 through online portals. Employing panel data models, we find strong evidence supporting our hypotheses.

5. Discussion and conclusion

The number of firms using cross-border B2B e-commerce portals has tremendously increased (Chen et al., 2014); however, the extant literature has paid little attention to the EMA of these firms. To address this research gap, we have proposed a theoretical framework that argues for the existence and the curvilinear nature of this EMA. Moreover, we hypothesize the amplifying effects of product price and diversity on the dynamic nature of the EMA. The empirical study justifies the existence of EMA on the Internet and echoes the findings from conventional non-Internet markets (Lieberman & Montgomery, 1988; VanderWerf & Mahon, 1997). However, the sustainability of EMA on cross-border B2B portals is substantially weaker compared with the non-Internet markets (Makadok, 1998). After three to five years, early-mover disadvantages will counterbalance the EMA. After six to seven years, such disadvantages will even completely negate the EMA. This study is the first in the EMA literature to explicitly illustrate the rapidly fleeting nature and extremely low sustainability of EMA, exemplified by the firms on global B2B portals. Furthermore, in contrast to the extant EMA literature, this study examines how firm strategies on product pricing and diversification can prolong the EMA.