A Structured Content Analytic Assessment of Business Services Advertisements in the Cloud-Based Web Services Marketplace

Abstract

The Internet and emerging technologies are facilitating the creation of new marketplaces designed to address a diverse range of business and societal needs. As companies are utilizing technology to manage their business processes, such a marketplace has emerged that is designed to provide third-party availability of business services delivered via Web services technology, particularly in the context of Cloud Computing. The Web Services Marketplace creates a common trading ground wherein buyers and sellers of business services can come together within a centralized marketplace. However, sellers of business services must provide a mechanism by which knowledge and awareness of the service is created for the buyer and a means by which sellers can effectively compete in the marketplace. The most widely accepted method for accomplishing these tasks is advertising. This study investigates the nascent phenomenon of the advertising of business services within the Web services marketplace, develops a theoretically grounded definition and characteristics of business services offered in the Web Services Marketplace, and develops a model for the effective advertisement of business services offered in the Web Services Marketplace.