Developments and Development Directions of Electronic Trade Platforms in US and European Agri-Food Markets: Impact on Sector Organization

M. Fritz, et al. / International Food and Agribusiness Management Review Volume 7, Issue 1, 2004

straightforward development strategies or a broader spectrum of strategy
combinations.

The combination of the results of the two different types of analysis provides a
picture of developments and development directions. Their focus, objectives,
approach and database are summarized in table 1. Developments and development
directions represent the basis for the discussion and estimation for middle-term
sector implications.

Table 1: Overview on Focus, Objective, Approach and Database of Analysis

Framework ofPlatform Analysis

The specification and analysis of trade platform characteristics has been discussed
before (Kaplan et al., 2000, Grieger, 2003). Platforms are differentiated based on
characteristics that might focus on the composition of the trade portfolio (vertical or
horizontal platforms), on the type of sourcing (spot sourcing or systematic sourcing),
the pricing rules (fixed prices or dynamic pricing alternatives), or the market
orientation (buyer-oriented, seller-oriented or neither). However, these general
frameworks for analysis do not account for the specifics in the agri-food sector with
its complex industry infrastructure (e.g., small farms vs. multinational companies),
its mix of different product lines (single product vs. multi-product), the complexity
in supply chain organization or other aspects that might be necessary for a
thorough analysis of agri-food electronic trade platforms.

The study presented in this paper employs a platform analysis framework (Hausen
et al., 2002, Hausen, 2002) that builds on the general framework but integrates
considerations with special relevance to the agri-food sector. The suitability of the
framework has been developed and demonstrated through experimental platform
evaluations, in which the results of a strict application of its rules were matched
against the results of an expert analysis. Key dimensions of analysis include a
platform’s market orientation, implementation mode, organizational structure, and
process organization. Each of these dimensions represents a set of platform
characteristics (analysis criteria) that could be directly identified (Table 2).

© 2004 International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IAMA). All rights reserved.

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