The Role of Dynamic Reputation Ranking System on Loyalty Gap and Customer Lock on: B2B E-Marketplace Perspective - Essay Example

This paper illustrates that the rapid adoption and diffusion of the Internet and Internet Intermediaries substantially transformed and broadened the scope, structure, and marketing performance of SMEs. Business firms are virtually being locked-in to the Internet technology. This is most especially SMEs who have no choice but to adopt in order not to lag behind competitors. Such adoption vitalizes the even greater need for intermediaries/ e-marketplace in Global trade contexts. However, in order to reap the benefits of intermediaries like the B2B e-marketplace, most small and medium sized firms still have long way to go.

In the past customers, loyalty has been considered and studied extensively, both in marketing and in the social studies field. However the loyalty gap of the B2B e-marketplace’s actors, in particular has not received the same level of attention, despite the massive increase in the number of B2B e-marketplace firms and its subscriber. ‘The gap’ can be defined as the difference between “perceived value” (promise or offered value and the delivered value ‘real value’) that is below the standard of offered value.

The loyalty gap in e-marketplace is propelled by information asymmetry between buyer, seller, and unmonitored business activities cycle of actors. Kuttainen claims that only the very first phase of the B2B buying process is conducted online, except for the e-mail distribution of requests and offers, and any subsequent transactions take place offline in traditional business channels. Figure 1 shows the current method of B2B exchange. The Current Method of B2B Exchange Ideally, e-marketplaces are neutral to all members, but due to unavailability of