This special issue presents findings from research efforts aimed at addressing a number of key challenges that still need to be addressed--from developing flexible middleware, intelligent decision support functionality and new layers of eBusiness standards to gaining a deeper understanding of how to effectively apply these technologies in different contexts.

Advances in B2B e-Commerce and e-Supply Chain Management:
*shares experience working with Hong Kong's HKTAIUA initiative, a major government effort aimed at using the Internet to bring together buyers and suppliers in the local textile and apparel industry;
*considers the procurement of logistics services as a reverse auction process, where e-tailers submit requests for bids to a transportation broker agent;
*discusses experience working in Sweden with seven Small and Medium Enterprises, as these companies transition to new eBusiness practices;
*introduces MASCOT, a collaborative decision support environment for the dynamic creation and coordination of supply chains; and
*presents an agent-based framework for both lateral and vertical coordination across different supply chain entities.