Dear readers of Electronic Markets,

In 1990 a six-page newsletter was launched by a research team at the University of St. Gallen. The project was called ‘Electronic Markets’. During the following 20 years the newsletter evolved from a small German newsletter to an international academic journal. This time period also witnessed the great e-business hype and a stronger conception that electronic markets are not only useful for market-based allocations, but also for fostering stronger interorganizational networking. Despite the dynamic environment the journal ‘Electronic Markets’ has received continued support from the growing community. In fact, some early editorial members, such as Rainer Alt, Stefan Klein, Rolf T. Wigand, and Hans-Dieter Zimmermann, are still active associate editors and many members of the first editorial board still contribute to our journal. We are grateful to them all as well as to our authors and readers who made this development possible. A special issue will be dedicated for this jubilee in 2011 and we welcome all ideas for possible contributions.

For 2010 we are happy to see a variety of interesting focus themes. The topics comprise ‘Social Commerce for Electronic Markets’, ‘Service-orientation in Electronic Markets’, ‘Electronic Markets and Networked Business in Asia’ as well as ‘Ambient Assisted Living’ (the submission deadline is March 13, 2010). We also hope to publish the first papers of our new position paper section and encourage you to submit your best work to ‘Electronic Markets’.

The present issue includes five general research articles. The first paper on ‘Technologies for the Electronic Distribution of Information Services—A Value Proposition Analysis’ was authored by Jochen Wulf and Rüdiger Zarnekow. Based on an analysis of 103 information services it compares the value propositions of technologies for information service distribution. The second paper addresses the ‘Market Structure and Quality Uncertainty: A Theoretical Framework for Online Auction Research’. Jianwei Hou and Jeffrey Blodgett present a framework for explaining pricing issues in online auctions. The third paper comprises ‘An Evaluation Framework for Viable Business Models for M-Commerce in the Information Technology sector’. In their study, Jairo Alberto Gutierrez and Sulabh Sharma describe the characteristics of viable business models in the area of mobile commerce. Our fourth paper ‘Stage Antecedents of Consumer Online Buying Behavior’ examines ordering and fulfillment as two important stages of online buying behavior. Prashant Palvia, Chechen Liao and Hong-Nan Lin discuss limitations and effects on customers’ satisfaction. This issue finishes with a paper on ‘Online Auction: The Effects of Transaction Probability and Listing Price on a Seller’s Decision-Making Behavior’. Chuan-Hoo Tan, Hock-Hai Teo and Heng Xu look at how sellers choose online auctions and how sellers set the starting price.

We hope that you will enjoy this issue.

Best regards

Your Electronic Markets editorial team

Hubert Österle

Karen Heyden