The effectiveness of two-sided users activity for sustainable competitiveness: findings from B2B electronic market

Purpose With the prosperity of the worldwide B2B electronic market, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of users’ behavior, not only the effect of the user base, on its sustainable competitiveness. The quality of users’ behavior, which is indicated by the activity of two-sided users, is critically important for B2B electronic market makers (or platform companies) as there is a “chicken and egg problem.” Design/methodology/approach In the context of B2B electronic markets, the authors examine the dynamic relationship of two-sided users’ activity and platform performance using a VAR model. Furthermore, the authors investigate how advertising strategies improve the active degree of different users’ behaviors Findings The results show that the sellers’ activity improves the platform sustainable competitiveness more effectively than buyers’ activity. Moreover, the authors find that the external customers who are attracted by advertising (search advertising and event marketing in this paper) can significantly influence the internal users’ activity. Originality/value These findings emphasize that more exploration should be paid to the quality of users’ behavior in two-sided markets, and provide guidance related to advertising strategy.