An investigation of disintermediation on freight exchange platform: the role of buyer-supplier relationships

The formation of buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) is a major disintermediation trigger, causing losses for platforms. Utilising data from a freight exchange platform in China, this paper examines the impact of user-platform relationship (UPR) homogeneity, which aggregates BSRs at the user-platform level, on user's disintermediation. We find that high UPR homogeneity leads to user disintermediation under the joint effect of high mutual trust and low switching costs. Relationship substitutability reduces the effect by influencing the generation of mutual trust. Involuntary transactions reinforce it, while service variety reduces it by influencing the generation of switching costs. This research contributes to the literature by expanding the focus from the dyadic perspective to the platform and highlighting that the benefits of BSRs for buyers and suppliers can harm platforms by influencing user disintermediation. This insight suggests that platforms should oversee users' BSR portfolios to avoid the potential issue of excessive concentration.