In this study, we seek to further our knowledge of e-marketplaces by exploring empirically the existence of different types of business-to-business e-marketplaces. We used the reference model for electronic markets [Schmid & Lindemann 1998] as the theoretical foundation for a domain-specific model that we used to develop a set of coherent types of e-marketplaces, based on data from 24 German e-marketplaces. Analysis using multi-dimensional scaling identified three types of e-marketplaces that differed on whether they were horizontal or vertical in nature, the services they provide, and whether they erect market barriers. Interestingly, these factors are those that managers can control most readily and that they can therefore vary to produce an e-marketplace tailored to their business. We present a theoretical analysis of our e-marketplace types based in the literature on managerial control. Our theoretical analysis, the three types of e-marketplace we determined, and the domain-specific e-marketplace model we derived to conduct our investigation, provide a foundation for creating a cumulative tradition in e-marketplace research.