In this paper, the Local Electronic Marketplace (LEMP) is characterized from the perspective of information systems actability. The LEMP concerns consumer oriented e-commerce activities performed by multi-channel actors (that is, business actors using a physical as well as a digital interface for customer interaction). Actability – a concept for the understanding of IT-based information systems as tools for business action and communication – emphasizes the human actors and their performance of social action by use of the systems. By taking actability and a comprehensive notion of practice as its point of departure, the paper shows how a deeper understanding of the interplay between multiple channels in the local electronic marketplace can be reached.
The research is empirically informed by a case study involving a qualitative, exploratory study of 30 Swedish websites with a local focus, and two in-depth studies including 25 interviews with ‘LEMP-actors’ such as systems designers and retailers. The results show that a key issue for multi-channel settings seems to be found beyond digital transaction cost benefits.