The Use of Information Technology to Achieve Accurate Pricing in Agricultural Commodity Markets in Japan

At one level, the function of a marketplace is to enable sellers and buyers to meet, to agree to terms and conditions, and effect contracts. At another level, however, a marketplace is a mechanism for ensuring that information which might affect the terms and conditions is readily available to all participants, so that the pricing for sales will not be unduly influenced by participants with special information or other advantages, but rather will approach the theoretical price at which the market will settle. Information technology is increasingly being applied to support the exchange of goods and services. It may be used simply to automate existing practices. Alternatively, the introduction of technology into the market may provide an opportunity to rationalize the arrangements. In some instances, however, the implementation of IT may be grasped as a strategic weapon, by a buyer, a seller, or by an organization which provides marketplace services to buyers and sellers. Considers another kind of strategic use of IT in relation to marketplaces. This is the enforcement of fairness in the setting of prices, by drawing participants into a marketplace in which key differences in market power are equalized. Evaluates the outcomes of an electronic exchange supporting trading in chilled and frozen meat.