A New Evolution Mechanism Model for B2B E-Commerce Network

To study the structure and evolution mechanism of B2B e-commerce network, the authors propose a network with several layers description of B2B e-commerce market. The empirical analysis from Alibaba.com shows that degree distribution of the network structure follows power-law. Based on modified BA (Barabasi-Albert) model, a new model is proposed, adding layers, fitness parameters, and more reasonable growth mechanism. The model reveals that, the structure of the network is stable, and the average path length and clustering coefficient are small. The authors also find that the impact of parameters is not decisive, and the emergence of scale-free nature depends on the mechanism itself.