The late 1990s through the mid-2000s period consolidated a transaction-centric view of value creation in digital commerce, emphasizing how online platforms enable, orchestrate, and optimize exchanges. Research patterns concentrated on model-building for how e-business structures networks, captures value from transactions, and manages risk and trust in fast-evolving online marketplaces. Methodologically, studies blended case-based reasoning, diffusion perspectives, and trust measurement to connect technology use with organizational outcomes and market performance. Historical Significance: This era established a durable paradigm that links information technology with the architecture of business transactions, laying groundwork for platform thinking and digital-market strategy. It bridged technology acceptance with diffusion and trust frameworks, shaping subsequent inquiries into online ecosystems, risk, and cross-border adoption. It also catalyzed a shift from purely product-centric views to transaction and relationship-centric understandings of e-business value capture, a stance that continues to inform research on digital platforms and market design.