| Today, more than ever, companies are competing on supply chain capabilities. Many are under intense pressure to show a coherent operations strategy for effectively deploying Internet technologies. Clearly, managers need a better understanding of the strategic ways in which the Internet enables firms to coordinate the development and exchange of goods and services among partners through B2B marketspaces. This dissertation addresses three questions: (1) What are the different archetypes of B2B marketspaces? (2) Can we operationalize a set of generic dimensions reflecting seller competence in the B2B marketspace? and (3) How does seller competence influence performance? To address these questions, we conducted an empirical study of firms currently using the Internet to interact with customer organizations by supplying direct goods and services.; We developed and tested a typology of B2B marketspaces, where the specific ways sellers use the Internet to participate in this space is called a B2B archetype. Three emergent B2B archetypes—the e-transaction, modular, and integrator archetypes—were hypothesized and then empirically validated based on their inherent operational characteristics. Seller competence was defined as a latent construct comprised of seven interrelated dimensions, including market acuity, change disposition, technical skills, knowledge channels, conflict management, fluid partnering, and logistics know-how. One dimension, technical skills, did not reflect seller competence as proposed, which suggests that operations strategy linked to performance in the B2B arena may be dominated and driven by a set of managerial soft skills. The dissertation developed and tested a seller competence-profit chain model that hypothesized the paths linking seller competence to performance in the context of B2B marketspaces. Using structural equation modeling and path analysis, we found that seller competence influences both new product development (NPD) speed and low cost capabilities. These capabilities, especially NPD speed, lead to more satisfied customers, and in turn to improved profitability. Counter to conventional wisdom, our results show that developing a low cost capability has a direct negative effect on profitability, but acts indirectly and positively through customer satisfaction. This study contributes to research and practice by demonstrating how successful firms use operations strategy to navigate B2B marketspaces when interacting with customers. |
