Although various authors have postulated the benefits of Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP), penetration of electronic invoicing is in practice still low. The following article investigates the status of European EBPP implementations in B2B relationships. Based on an empirical survey of 27 companies, it provides a state-of-the-art analysis of EBPP implementations in an industrial environment. As with other e-business scenarios, network externalities can serve as an explanation of

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... relatively low dissemination of EBPP. The article discusses the key decisions related to EBPP which determine network externalities: the choice of the EBPP model, the electronic channel and the invoice formats. Based on the survey results, it derives three stages of EBPP implementation characterised by specific EBPP models, channels and formats. As a conclusion, the existence of hubto-hub connections between EBPP consolidators is regarded as a major success factor for the future penetration of EBPP.