網(wǎng)絡(luò)營銷外文翻譯--分析互聯(lián)網(wǎng)營銷潛在優(yōu)勢的框架（英文）

1、Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, VOL. 2, NO. 4, 2001 Page 157A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF INTERNET MARKETING Melody Y. Kiang Information Systems Department College of Business Administr

2、ation California State University, Long Beach mkiang@csulb.edu Robert T. Chi Information Systems Department College of Business Administration California State University, Long Beach rchi@csulb.edu ABSTRACT The Inter

3、net has provided a rare opportunity especially for small to medium sized enterprises. It moves organizations beyond the physical constraints of their traditional distribution channels and creates a world wide virtual

4、community in which small and medium sized companies can compete with large enterprises. In this research, we focus on the use of the Internet as a virtual storefront where products are offered directly to customers. O

5、ur contention is that product characteristics play a major role in the successfulness of its marketing on the Internet. We reviewed benefits of online marketing along three channel functions and identified factors tha

6、t impact the use of online marketing approach. A framework is proposed to help evaluate the chance for a company to succeed in e- commerce. Data of failed e-tailers in the last two years were collected and analyzed us

7、ing the proposed framework. Keywords: Internet marketing, product category, E-Commerce, E-Tailing. 1. Introduction The tremendous growth of the Internet has created opportunities for consumers and firms to participat

8、e in an online global marketplace. The Internet has provided a rare opportunity especially for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It moves organizations beyond the physical constraints of their traditional dis

9、tribution channels and creates a world wide virtual community in which SMEs can compete with large enterprises. The potential of the Internet as a commercial medium and market has been widely documented in a variety o

10、f publications [Haffman et al., 1995; Jarvenpaa it matches buyers and sellers in a more cost-effective manner compared with traditional advertising and marketing. While transactions are taking place on the Internet,

11、 the current level of commerce is small relative to overall commerce in the United States. The phenomenal growth of the Internet community has begun to alter the way buyers and sellers exchange information and the str

12、ucture of distribution. It breaks through the physical barriers traditionally placed on commerce and moves firms to a new commercial marketplace. In addition, the opportunity for buyers to examine or test the product

13、 or service and interact with the seller to receive additional information or support can be provided through the online service. While many successful cases of the online marketing approach have been recorded in ele

14、ctronic commerce literature, a handful of failed cases have also been reported. Although the history of electronic commerce is not long, especially the use of the Internet as a virtual storefront, we believe lessons c

15、an be learned from previous cases. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, VOL. 2, NO. 4, 2001 Page 159technology [Peterson, et al., 1997]. The communication also helps with identifying prospects [Ebling, 2001], sales

16、 and relationship building [Ginovsky, 2001], and deepening customer loyalty [Kranzley, 2001]. Another factor that may be consider advantageous to certain types of products, but disadvantageous to others, is the fact

17、that there is no actual face-to-face contact involved in the Internet communication. For the types of products that rely heavily on building personal relationship between buyers and sellers such as the selling of life

18、insurance, and the type of products that requires physical examination, Internet marketing maybe less appropriate. On the other hand, the types of products that people feel embarrassed to purchase at traditional retai

19、l stores such as pornography tend to sell well online. Transaction Channel: Generate sales activities. The Internet offers small businesses many potential benefits to help them compete more effectively against larger

20、 companies with improved visibility. For example, small companies that play in niche markets (i.e., sell specialized or unique products or services) in which buyers and sellers are small and geographically dispersed,

21、can use the Internet to reach a much bigger customer base [Wellner, 2000]. One successful case is the Virtual Vineyards, a wine and specialty-food shop that exists only on the Internet (www.virtualvin.com). Cross-sel

22、ling opportunities offered by the Internet has great potential for generating more sales transactions [Eichhorn and Helleis, 1997]. The Internet can also ease transaction processing, especially for handling complex o

23、rders [Andrews and Trites, 1997], thereby reducing paperwork, increasing efficiency [Long, 1997], replacing professionals tasks [Sandilands, 1997], hence reducing the transaction cost [McKim, 1997]. The online payment

24、 system minimizes the processing fee and allows for small-fee transactions for micro-services. This is especially advantageous for SMEs because most of their business is generated from low-volume orders, allowing them

25、 to better compete with large cap companies. For business-to-business transactions, shortening the processing time also means the buyer can maintain a lower inventory level and reduce other related overhead for handlin

26、g excessive inventory. The Internet allows for quick adjustment to market conditions which means it is possible to customize promotion and sales to individual customers [Hawn, 1996], allowing for flexible pricing (e.g

27、., permits prices to change faster). The relatively low entry and establishment costs for sellers getting into online marketing is another important reason for considering the Internet as an alternative channel for SM

28、Es [Peterson, et al., 1997]. Distribution Channel: Physical exchange of products/services. On-line marketing offers more choices and flexibility [Lamoureux, 1997] and, at the same time, eliminates huge inventories,

29、storage costs, utilities, space rental, etc. [Avery, 1997]. People tend to associate Internet marketing with direct marketing because companies participating in online marketing usually shortened the supply chain [Edw

30、ards, et al., 1998] and reduced commission and operating costs. The ability to serve as both a transaction medium and a physical distribution medium for certain goods is a unique feature of Internet marketing. Such a

31、dvantages can be best realized by companies that provide digital products/services such as software, music, news, consulting services, online ticketing and reservations, tele- medicine, insurance, banking, stock brokera

32、ge, tax, and other financial service industries. Using the Internet as the distribution channel can reduce not only the delivery cost substantially, but also ensures instant delivery of products/services. Table 1 sum

33、maries the advantages of the Internet grouped by the three channel functions. Angehrn [1997] proposed a generic framework, the ICDT model, for understanding the strategic implications of the Internet. The ICDT model

34、 takes its name from the four virtual spaces of the Internet as identified by Angehrn. They are: a virtual Information space, a virtual Communication space, a virtual Distribution space, and a virtual Transaction spac

35、e. The framework structure matches well with the three marketing activities we presented above except that the communication channel function is further divided into Information and Communication spaces. According to

36、 Angehrn, the information space considers only one-way communication of information and is used mainly for disseminating company information to the general public while the communication space allows for two- way commun

37、ication but is relatively underdeveloped because businesses are still not sure what objectives it might serve. In the following, we will continue our discussion following the three channel functions framework. 3. Class

38、ification of Products/Services Selling on Internet There is a broad range of products and services marketed on the Internet that range from consumable goods to durable goods, as well as online newspapers to business-wi

39、de consultation. Instead of modeling the problem at individual product level, we group the products into categories and analyzing the advantages of Internet marketing along each product group. This will provide a gen