After the Bubble: The Survival and Ownership of Internet Marketplaces for Farmers and Agribusiness

Abstract

This paper presents a theory of how industry structure and beliefs about Internet marketplace use have driven choice and ownership of marketplaces. The theory's predictions suggest that surviving Internet marketplaces will be those with strong historical linkages in an industry and those owned by or affiliated with major commodity buyers. Comparisons of these predictions with actual outcomes provide validation of the theory. Where predictions differ from results, observations are made as to the nature of the deviations.

Keywords

• agricultural markets
• electronic commerce
• internet markets
• network externalities
• technology adoption