Exploring the role of third parties in inter‐organizational Web service adoption

Web services promise the ability to reduce the time and cost involved in developing, supporting and integrating the internal information systems within a single organization. They also promise the ability to quickly and effectively integrate information systems with those of customers, suppliers and other business partners, and use these integrated systems as a basis for developing shared business processes. This paper discusses the potential role of third party organizations in facilitation of inter‐organizational Web service adoption and use. An empirical case study of such a third party, E2open is presented. The challenges and future potential for such third parties is considered in light of the evolution of inter‐organizational systems in general and from the ASP and electronic marketplaces sectors, in particular. Since the adoption of Web services is a new phenomenon, the role of third parties in that adoption is highly emergent. This study is therefore exploratory in nature and should be considered as providing a basis for further research in this area.