B2b Emarketplace Announcements and Shareholder Wealth

Abstract

In the business-to-business (B2B) sector, new supply-chain models within electronic marketplaces (eMarketplaces) offer firms significantly lower procurement costs, increased operating efficiencies, and expanded market opportunities. Using event-study methodology to look at the period July 1999-March 2000, Andrew Chen and Thomas Siems find that investors reacted favorably to B2B eMarketplace announcements, with slightly higher abnormal returns associated with vertical than with horizontal eMarketplaces. They also find significant positive abnormal returns for e-commerce technology providers that partnered with computer industry giants or with competitors in B2B e-commerce initiatives. The abnormal returns are more than three times greater than returns from creating a B2B eMarketplace alone or with Old Economy leaders. These results suggest that, at least for the period studied, shareholders valued alliances between B2B eMarketplace developers more than firms developing e-commerce strategies on their own or with an Old Economy partner.

Keywords: B2B e-commerce, B2B eMarketplaces, event study, efficiency, supply chain