Opposing effects of input control and clan control for sellers on e-marketplace platforms

Abstract

E-marketplace platforms focus on attracting and retaining sellers to secure the platform’s long-term viability and success. Although sellers’ behavioral intentions have been linked to control modes deployed on e-marketplace platforms, little is known about how and why perceptions of input control and clan control affect sellers’ crucial behavioral outcomes. Drawing on IS control literature, we conducted two online surveys with sellers on Amazon (n = 286) and Etsy (n = 185). Our results revealed that perceived input control had a negative effect on sellers’ perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and continuance intentions, whereas positive effects were observed with perceived clan control. In addition, we find that intrinsic motivation mediates the observed direct effects. Our study contributes to the literature by introducing control modes in the context of e-marketplace platforms and examining the effects of input control and clan control on sellers’ beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, our study has important practical implications for platform providers in how to apply different control mechanisms and increase complementors’ willingness to keep contributing to e-marketplace platforms, thereby nurturing platform health and sustainability.

Factors affecting prospective entrepreneurs to utilize e-marketplace

“…This study examines more factors and indicators in the technological factor than Subawa and Mimaki (2019) and Hossain et al (2021), while these two studies analyze deeper in the organizational factor. Moreover, this study does not discuss the behavioral aspect to use an e-marketplace like Croitor et al (2021).…”

“…The objectives to have the digital strategy in doing a business are to increase efficiency, to improve the process of business decision making, to improve innovation, to improve the understanding of customer preferences and behavior, to improve the experience and loyalty of customers, to essentially transform business model, and to essentially transform business processes (Karekla et al, 2021). Moreover, input control's perceptions and clan control influence the crucial behavioral outcomes of sellers as mentioned by Croitor et al (2021). Dewi et al (2017) state that a marketplace is a place where sellers and buyers come together to perform transactions.…”

ICT-Driven Business Model Innovation in SMEs: The Role of Organizational Capabilities, Firm Size and Age

“…S. Danani & J. L. Gogan: How Digital Market Hosts Control Sellers 219 Our study did not directly examine how specific controls affect seller employees' attitudes or behaviour (an important early contribution of Croitor et al 2021). In future studies, it would be helpful to take a 360 0 view of stakeholder responses to a broader set of formal and informal control mechanisms (important, since hosts need to fairly balance sellers' and consumers' interests).…”

Structural relationships between psychosocial risk, relationship quality, need for cognition, and quarantine intentions: the case of the quarantine hotel

“…Croitor et al ( 2021 ) define behavioral intentions as how much a consumer will consider to proceed or not with a future attitude toward a specific service. During the COVID-19 quarantine, once the neighborhood commits to social distancing rules, members will follow each other’s behavior (Tejativaddhana et al 2020 ).…”