Information Transparency in Business-to-Consumer Markets: Concepts, Framework and Research Agenda.

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

The Internet has brought about significant changes in the availability of market information in many industries. E-commerce technologies provide sellers with opportunities to design electronic mercantile mechanisms that reveal, conceal, bias, and distort market information, depending on their goals and market position (e.g., suppliers versus intermediaries). In particular, in information-intensive industries where electronic markets play an important role, many firms are using advanced technologies to put innovative strategies into play that are based on the provision of differential information to their customers. We examine the role of information transparency in electronic markets. We contend that there is an opportunity to develop research on sellers' strategies regarding information disclosure to customers and competitors. For that purpose, we develop a set of concepts and a framework to guide future research. We then propose an interdisciplinary agenda for research on the emerging and increasingly important topic of transparency strategy, which we define as the set of policies and decisions that a firm makes to disclose, conceal, bias, or distort market information.

Discipline

Computer Sciences | E-Commerce | Management Information Systems

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

Information Systems Research

Volume

21

Issue

2

First Page

207

Last Page

266

ISSN

1047-7047

Identifier

10.1287/isre.1090.0249

Publisher

INFORMS

Additional URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.1090.0249

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