We invite you to submit a manuscript to our Special Issue of the journal Informing Science on "Information Exchange in Electronic Markets: New Business Models"

Important Dates and Deadlines:

Advances in Internet technologies and related software increasingly drive large numbers of businesses. A core component of these new businesses is the information exchange between business partners or clients. For example, issues of information exchange form the basis of much e-brokerage and on-line auction markets. For B2B e-business and supply chain, exchange of information among trading partners using vehicles such as XML/EDI is an essential consideration. In fact, we see the rise of new markets for information aggregation, refinement and targeting which are formed on the foundation of information exchanges. Current research suggests that consumers use the web for information gathering even more than for electronic shopping. A number of new businesses have been launched over the last few years for the sole purpose of informing potential buyers, often with only advertising and endorsements as the only revenue sources.

Few conceptualizations of the underlying business models have been proposed, in part because our investigations have focused on the technology instead of issues of information exchange. The purpose of this special issue is to stimulate original conceptual and empirical research for understanding the rise, evolution and deployment of business models for information exchanges in electronic markets. We are interested in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business electronic commerce. Some possible issues that manuscripts might cover include the following:

What are the theoretical underpinnings of information exchanges that facilitate e-business models?

How are the emerging e-business models made viable by innovative information exchanges?

Are there any normative theories to explain the information exchange in emerging electronic markets?

What are the issues in understanding and informing partners and clients with e-business models?

Theories from fields such as marketing, economics or others may provide widely different perspectives for understanding these emerging phenomena. Accordingly, this call invites scholarly contributions that provide conceptual or theoretical analyses of information exchanges underlying e-business models of firms and industries and their participation in the emerging marketplaces.

Specific Topics of Interest (non-exclusive)

Original conceptualizations of e-business models focusing on information exchange

Normative theories to explain information exchange in e-business models

Applications of theories and models from related disciplines to explain information exchange in e-business

Underpinnings and assumptions underlying models of information exchange in e-business

Formal or semi-formal models of electronic market information exchange.

Evolution of information exchanges in e-business models

Macro level models of electronic markets with a focus on information exchange

Aggregate models of consumer behavior, regulatory bodies, transborder flows etc. for information exchange in electronic markets

Research Methods

We encourage conceptualizations backed by original argumentation, extensions and applications of existing theories from related disciplines, in-depth case studies focusing on discovery of underlying assumptions and theoretical underpinnings, or other innovative research methods such as reflection.

Instructions for Submission

Authors are to send an abstract with intention of submission to Dag H. Olsen at dag.h.olsen@hia.no.

The manuscript must follow the style and submission guidelines at http://inform.nu/Submitto.htm .

Completed manuscripts should be submitted, via e-mail as MS-Word attachment to dag.h.olsen@hia.no. All submissions will be reviewed through a blind review process.

Informing Science

Informing Science publishes articles that provide insight into how best to inform clients using information technology. Authors may use epistemologies from engineering, computer science, education, psychology, business, anthropology, and such. The ideal paper will serve to inform fellow researchers, perhaps from other fields, of contributions to this problem. Accepted articles are available free of charge on the web site http://inform.nu. Issues are also available in print.