Impact of information systems on market structure and function: Developing and testing theories

The special issue of the Journal of Management Information Systems and the International Journal of Electronic Commerce focused on developing and testing theories to examine the impact of information systems on market structure and function. The application areas investigated, included government enforcement of antihacking laws, supply-chain management, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, the retail goods and branding business. The second paper of the special Issue provided an empirical test of the 'move to the middle' theory. The authors reported on a study of suppliers and electronic procurement for 150 US manufacturing companies. They noted that the custom-type of goods and the supply-chain activities based on more integrated buyer supplier inter-organizational systems capabilities were consistent with a greater possibility of having more suppliers.