A unified model of B2B E-marketplace adoption : Integrating the transactional and relational perspectives

Although B2B electronic marketplaces have been increasingly transforming the way that organizations conduct trading activities, few studies have systematically examined factors that influence organizations' adoption of such innovative business channels. Drawn on the transaction cost theory and the relational exchange theory, this paper proposes a unified model of e-marketplace adoption by integrating transactional factors (i.e., perceived benefits, readiness, network effects, and assert specificity), along with relational factors (i.e., trust in a trading partner, trust in an e-marketplace, and pressure). We conduct a Delphi study and find that the unified model can largely explain organizational buyers' adoption of e-marketplaces. © 2008 IEEE.