IT-Enabled Transparent Electronic Markets: The Case of the Air Travel Industry

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2007

Abstract

The electronic market hypothesis predicts that by reducing coordination costs, information technology (IT) will shift industrial organization from hierarchical to market-based forms of economic activity. While academic researchers and practitioners have witnessed these shifts with the advent of the Internet, there is little understanding about the process and the underlying forces that drive them. In this paper, we provide an in-depth analysis of the air travel industry, which has recently experienced significant IT-driven transformations. We conclude that, together with IT, pro-competitive laws and the information-intensive nature of air travel products have triggered competition for consumers with transparent market mechanisms, which is leading to the emergence of more transparent electronic markets in the air travel industry.

Keywords

Electronics, IT & Software, Telecommunications

Discipline

Computer Sciences | E-Commerce | Transportation

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

Information Systems and E-Business Management

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

65

Last Page

91

ISSN

1617-9846

Identifier

10.1007/s10257-006-0038-5

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Additional URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10257-006-0038-5

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