Objectives of knowledge management

particularly with the advent of 
business-to-business exchanges
. However, if suppliers insist on 
proprietary technology to link companies, then this creates ‘soft lock-in’ due to the cost or 
complexity of changing suppliers.
2
 
Power of intermediaries
Threats from buy- side intermediaries such as business-to-business exchanges are arguably 
fewer than those from sell- side intermediaries, but risks arising from using these services 
should be considered. These include the cost of integration with such intermediaries, par-
ticularly if different standards of integration are required for each. They may pose a threat 
from increasing commission once they are established.
From the review above, it should be apparent that the extent of the threats will be 
dependent on the particular market a company operates in. Generally the threats seem to be 
greatest for companies that currently sell through retail distributors and have products that 
can be readily delivered to customers across the Internet or by parcel. Case study 5.1 high-
lights how one company has analysed its competitive threats and developed an appropriate 
strategy.
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