Creative entrepreneurship at iconstruye: a pan Andean e-procurement market maker.

The sun was rising over the Andes and light streamed through the boardroom windows. The iconstruye team always thought this vista amplified its creative abilities. Seated at the head of the table, Correa addressed the group: "As you all are aware, later this month I have to make a presentation to the investor group, outlining iconstruye's plans for growth. We need to decide if we wish to pursue one of these proposals. Or perhaps you have other options ...?"

Please send correspondence to: Robert Plant, tel.: 305-284-1963; e-mail: rplant@miami.edu

(1.) Definition: e-marketplace: a network service shared by multiple individuals and enterprises where information about products and services are shared electronically among enterprises and where those products and services may be purchased without the aid of voice or paper-based exchanges, e-marketplaces are the translation of actual commercial and consumer marketplaces (e.g., shopping malls) to the virtual environment. Examples of e-marketplaces include the Internet, membership-based online services, bulletin boards, interconnected private networks and value-added third-party networks. From: Furlonger, D. & Landry S. (2001, March). B2B marketplaces: A definition of terms (Gartner Consulting Research Note M-12-7920). Stamford, CT: Gartner, Inc.

(2.) Macaluso, N. (2000, October 20). Latin America poised for B2B boom. E-Commerce Times. Available at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/4602.html, accessed 20 October 2000.

(3.) Unless otherwise noted, all data in the paragraph come from: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ci.html, accessed 13 April 2006.

(4.) Available at http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/samerica/cl.htm, 13 April 2006.

(5.) Central Intelligence Agency. (2006). Worm Factbook. Available at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ci.html, 13 April 2006.

(6.) Chiletelecoms players eye Movistar frequency-source. (n.d.) Available at http://reuters.com,4 April 2006.

(7.) Intervencion Vice-Ministero de Economia de Chile Alvaro Diaz. (n.d.). Available at http://www.itu.int/wsis/geneva/coverage/statements/chile/cl-es.html, accessed 13 April 2006.

(8.) Usage and population statistics. (n.d.). Available at http://www.internetworldstats.com/south.htm, accessed 13 April 2006.

(9.) Digital agenda: A government priority. (n.d.). http://www.foreigninvestment.cl/index/plantilla4.asp? id_seccion=33&id_subsecciones2=8, accessed 13 April 2006.

(10.) Chile Foreign Investment Committee. (2006). Chile's broadband connections top 300,000. El Mercurio, El Diario. Available at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inimr-ri.nsf/en/gr119795e.html, accessed 10 March 2008.

(11.) Digital agenda: A government priority. (n.d.). http://www.foreigninvestment.cl/index/plantilla4.asp? id_seccion=33&id_subsecciones2=8, accessed 13 April 2006.

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(14.) Largos-Escobar, R. (2000). Mensaje Presidencial, 21 deMayo 2000. Presidencia de Republica, Gobierno de Chile. Chile: Camera De Diputados. Available at http://www.camara.cl/hist/archivo/discurs/21m2000.pdf, accessed 10 March 2008.

(15.) Chile: Selling U.S. products and services. (n.d.). Available at http://www.buyusa.gov/chile/en/selling_us_products.html#9, accessed 13 April 2006.

(16.) Chile: Selling U.S. products and services. (n.d.). Available at http://www.buyusa.gov/chile/en/selling_us_products.html#9, accessed 13 April 2006.

(17.) Emerging Markets Economics. (2004, May 12). Chile's B2B to double in 2004. Emerging Markets Economy, London. Available at http://www.emergingmarkets.co.uk, accessed 10 March 2008.

(18.) All data in the paragraph come from: Molina, J. (2005). Real estate and construction in Chile. Santiago, Chile: Chilean Chamber of Construction.

(19.) e-Government: The World Bank. (n.d.). Available at http://wwwl.worldbank.org/publicsector/egov/ eprocurement_chile.htmorldbank.org/publicsector/egov/eprocurement_chile.htm, accessed 13 April 2006.

(20.) Chile Compra. (n.d.). Available at http://www.chilecompra.cl, accessed 13 April 2006.

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(23.) Jackson, Y. (2002). Mission statement. Services Matchmaker Trade Delegation, Mexico City, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; and Caracas, Venezuela, April 8-16, 2002. Available at http://www.trade.gov/doctrn/serv2002.htm, accessed 10 March 2008.

(24.) Unless otherwise noted, all data in the paragraph come from: SII online. (n.d.). Available at http://www.sii.cl/, accessed 17 April 2006.

(25.) The World Bank: e-Government. (n.d.). Available at http://wwwl.worldbank.org/publicsector/egov/chile_taxcs.htm, accessed 17 April 2006.

(26.) Jin, Z. (2004, August 27). China-Chile FTA talks switched to fast track. China Daily. Available at http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=527, accessed 10 March 2008.

(27.) U.S.--Chile trade. (n.d.). Available at http://www.dti.gov.za/econdb/raportt/USA%20Trade%20by%20SITC3370.html#U.S.A.% 20TRADE%20%20(million%20US%20dollars)%20%20Chile, accessed 17 April 2006.

(28.) Gobierno de Chile, Servico Nacional de Aduanas. (n.d.). Available at http://www.aduana.cl, accessed 17 April 2006.

(29.) Gobierno de Chile, Servico Nacional de Aduanas. (n.d.). Available at http://www.aduana.cl, accessed 17 April 2006.

(30.) The eMarketer group (April 20, 2005, http://www.emarketer.com) predicted IT spending in Latin American to be $24.6 billion in 2004.

(31.) NRI measures the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments.

(32.) World Economic Forum. (n.d.). Available at http://www.weforum.org/gitr, accessed 13 April 2006.

(33.) The Central Intelligence Agency: Factbook Mexico. (n.d.). Available at http://www.cia.gov, accessed 17 April 2006.

(34.) Central America Internet usage and population. (n.d.). Available at http://www.internetwoddstats.com/stats2.htm#central, accessed 17 April 2006.

(35.) Tramitanet, Mexico. (n.d.). Available at http://www.tramitanet.gob.mx, accessed 17 April 2006.

(36.) Tramitanet, Mexico. Available at http://www.tramitanet.gob.mx, accessed 17 April 2006.

(37.) Kosice, R.M. (2003, June). Mexico's Tramitanet portal. The World Bank. Available at http://www.worldbank.org, accessed 10 March 2008.

(38.) The project had but no dedicated staff--the 60 full-time IT staff and 60 IT consultants have responsibility for several other government systems. Source: Kosice, R.M. (2003, June). Mexico's Tramitanet portal. The World Bank. Available at http://www.woddbank.org, accessed 10 March 2008.

(39.) The U.S. Census. (n.d.). Available at http://www.census.gov/, accessed 17 April 2006.

(40.) Hispanic-owned businesses: Growth projections, 2004-2010. (n.d.). Available at http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/, accessed 17 April 2006.

(41.) My Florida marketplace. (n.d.). Available at http://dms.myflorida.com/dms/purchasing/myfloridamarketplace, accessed 17 April 2006.

(42.) Kellman, L. (2003, January 3). Spanish-language Commerce Department web site debuts. Government Technology Magazine. Available at http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php?channel=25& id=37173, accessed 10 March 2008.

(43.) Venecia, A., Cruz, G., Dickinson R., Gunasekaran, S., Roster J., Sood R., et al. (2001, September). Assessing e-market opportunities in vertical markets: Success, disillusionment and future outlook (Gartner Consulting Research Document No. ITSV-WW-EX-0036). Stamford, CT: Gartner Inc.

(44.) Caplinger, M. (2004, July/August). Foreign targets. Hispanic Business Magazine, p. 48.

(45.) U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: Programs and initatives. (n.d. Available at http://www.ushcc.com/programs.html, accessed 17 April 2006.

(46.) PRO-Net's functions to the E-Gov Business Partner Network. (n.d.). Available at http://pro-net.sba.gov, accessed 17 April 2006.

Robert Plant is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems of the School of Business Administration at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.

Susan Wills is a lecturer in the Department of Management of the School of Business Administration at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.

Carlos Valle is a lecturer at the Universidad Gabriela Mistral, Santiago de Chile, Chile.

The authors wish gratefully to acknowledge the help of Juan Correa, Chief Executive Officer of iconstruye.com and the employees of iconstruye.com for their assistance in helping develop this case study.

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the meticulous and thorough critique of the manuscript by William R. Sandberg, case editor for Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and the three referees whose comments have been extremely valuable in preparing the revised version of this manuscript. Table 1 Selected B2B Marketplaces in Latin America