Decision Sciences Volume 42 Number 2 May 2011 C  2011 The Authors Decision Sciences Journal C  2011 Decision Sciences Institute Electronic Intermediary Functional Roles and Profitability Richard Klein † Department of Management, College of Business and Behavioral Science, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, e-mail: rklein@CLEMSON.edu Jonathan Wareham ESADE, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona 08034, Spain, e-mail: wareham@ACM.ORG Karlene Cousins Department of Decision Sciences and Information Systems, College of Business Administration, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, e-mail: kcousins@fiu.edu ABSTRACT Internet start-ups and traditional firms expanding existing offerings and services through the Net have seen both success and failure. For such business model pursuits, electronic intermediation possesses the ability to cultivate new marketplaces and restructure sup- ply chains. The economic literature identifies four distinct intermediary roles, specifi- cally: (i) information and (ii) logistics management, (iii) transaction securitization, as well as (iv) insurance/market-making and liquidity management. Research notes that electronic intermediaries, while possessing clear advantages in their ability to manage information, face greater challenges in allowing parties to benefit from the facilitation of more complex coordination activities, namely transaction securitization in addition to insurance/market-making and liquidity management. In an effort to better understand pursuit of functional intermediary roles, our analysis of data collected on 182 electronic intermediaries explores relationships between intermediation roles and profitability. Business models relying solely upon the provision of information management are likely to realize lower levels of profitability. Alternately, the intermediary roles of logis- tics management as well as insurance/market-making and liquidity management realize higher levels of profitability. Moreover, when comparing commodity- and service-based intermediaries, the provision of logistics management on the part of commodity-based firms sees higher levels of profitability, with insurance and liquidity provisions asso- ciated with greater profitability for both commodity- and service-based firms. Finally, when contrasting traditional firms expanding operations in digital markets with Inter- net pure-plays, we find transaction securitization functions increase the likelihood of realizing greater profitability for non-Internet pure-plays. Subject Areas: Electronic Market Places, Operations Strategy, and Supply Chain Coordination. † Corresponding author. 309