| The thesis examines three issues that are important to managers in the execution of their electronic commerce strategies. The first study identifies some of the factors that guide managerial choice in the selection of a sourcing mode for electronic commerce initiatives. The second study examines the influence of characteristics of electronic commerce initiatives on the reaction of the stock market. The third study examines the profitability of intermediaries in a market where clients and vendors choose between direct and mediated search.; It is found that multiple factors including the expectations of cost savings, business potential, anticipated co-ordination concerns and prior outsourcing experience influence the choice of the sourcing mode for eCommerce initiatives. The research also finds that announcements of electronic commerce sourcing initiatives affect the reactions of the stock markets, which are influenced mainly by the business potential, time pressures and the interaction of size and sourcing mode.; In the case of intermediaries, we find that the possibility of direct search significantly affects the profitability of an intermediary even under the best of circumstances. When no direct search is possible, the intermediary's profits increase monotonously with matching fees for all but the smallest vendor populations. However, when direct search is allowed, there is an optimal matching fee that maximizes the intermediary's profits. We also find that intermediaries can achieve dominating advantage over direct search when there lack of perfect transfer of information between successive direct searches. |
