Unmet adoption expectation as the key to e-marketplace failure: A case of Taiwan's steel industry

Many e-marketplaces rose and fell in recent years. In this study, we argue that unmet expectation was the main reason why Taiwan's steel e-marketplaces failed. To confirm this statement, we examined the discrepancy between the original adoption factors and the factors that lead to the current satisfaction as perceived by e-marketplace participants. Adoption factors were identified by the factor analysis using data collected from medium-sized steel enterprises via a questionnaire based on a preliminary literature review and a focus group interview. The importance rank of the nine adoption factors suggested that the customers desired a safe and secured transaction-oriented platform and that they were less concerned on the cost-saving or management efficiency for steel e-marketplaces. However, Taiwan's steel e-marketplaces failed to meet users' expectations as negative scores appeared on all but “industry information” satisfaction indicators. In other words, more efforts are needed to focus on transforming the visionary e-marketplace into a practical and secured trading environment to earn the user's satisfaction and support. An implication drawn from concerns regarding security to privacy and trust is also discussed.