The New York Observer finds a Harvard Business School case study in Saffronart:

“Saffronart was able to see a market beyond boundaries,” said Mukti Khaire, assistant professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, who studies the role that entrepreneurs play in new markets, particularly in creative fields such as fashion, art and film. She had friends who had bought from Saffronart and believed the auction house was playing a major role in creating a market, and so she selected it for study. “Let’s say they had been a physical auction house based in India. They would have a limited number of customers. Being online allows them to tap into a larger group of customers who might have an appreciation for Indian art and the means to buy.” […]

Professor Khaire credits the company with good timing: The auction house began selling at a time when the art world was beginning to take Indian art seriously, which was crucial to its success. “When there’s an ecosystem of critics and historians, the buyer can do research, which might help build confidence when it comes to purchasing.” The Harvard study, she says, shows that the online sales model works in industries where items are resold multiple times, such as automobiles; where research can create transparency; and where the buyer can get a full sense of the object they’re contemplating purchasing. “It’s unlikely you would buy something online from a Brazilian clothing company because the sizing is unfamiliar,” says Ms. Khaire. “But you just might buy a piece of Brazilian art.”

The Bidding Business (New York Observer)