See Marketplaces below. Because of the large, fluctuating size of this space, it cannot be studied or characterized as easily. It blends with e-business as I'm defining it above. What I'm calling marketplaces or exchanges are close to the narrow B2B definition above. It's slow, hard, and expensive, so you can probably predict its future.
People are intrinsically motivated to reduce inconsistent cognitions.
Experts have schemes, that is, mental models that let them categorize problems according to solution modes. Mike Albers at Texas Tech has a readable article, Cognitive Strain as a Factor in Effective Document Design , that defines it well. U.S. Government's Electronic Commerce Policy E-conomy Project at the University of California, Berkeley The University of Texas' Center for Research in Electronic Commerce publishes The Internet Economy Indicators . InfoWorld profiles companies using the Internet to breathe life into their business models.