Cybermediaries in Electronic Marketspace- Toward Theory Building

Abstract

The in creasing importance of electronic co mm erce mali cs it essentia lto develop a theo,y of vi rtu al va lu e chains. This article conside rs theintermediation process between procluu-rs a nd consumers within elec tr onicmarlicts. We argue that, co 1Hrwy to ex isti ng wisdom, int ennecliwies ivi/1play a liey role in electronic mark ets. Drawing on channel evo lu tionlit era ture and transaction cost economics, we pr esent a set of p ropositionsregarding th e em ergence of cybermcdia ri es and the development of virtua lcha nnel sys tems. J Bus RF, 1998. 41 .2 15-22 l . © 1998 ElsevierScience Inc.