E-business Initiatives in Food Supply Chains; Definition and Typology of Electronic Business Models.

E-business is a concept that has been given many definitions in practice and in the literature. In general, e-business is used for improving the efficiency of established supply chains or for the creation of new (dynamic) supply chain networks with looser partnerships. However, because of this diversity in meanings the evaluation of the usefulness of a certain type of e-business for a specific supply chain situation is often indistinct. Based on a review of 16 prevailing electronic business-to-business initiatives in (mainly Dutch) food supply chains, this paper defines and develops a typology of e-business models to elucidate these discussions. The paper is concluded with proposed classifications and developments of e-business in food supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]