(Volume 11, Issue 1/2)

D. Eric Boyd, University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business 

Robert E. Spekman, University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business 

The Internet has been described as a major disruptive technology that has changed the face of B2B exchange relationships. This paper considers the Internet and its inherent ability to support value creation within business-to-business relationships. The paper outlines four key characteristics that describe the Internet's attributes relative to value creation and proposes that the Internet's effect depends upon properly aligning these attributes with the economic and relational factors driving value creation. In particular, the paper proposes a contextual relationship between Internet usage, joint action, and the resources shared between exchange partner.