From physical marketing to web marketing

Reviews the criticism of the 4P marketing mix framework as the basis of traditional and virtual marketing planning. Argues that the customary marketing management approach, based on the popular marketing mix 4Ps paradigm, is inadequate in the case of virtual marketing. Identifies two main limitations of the marketing mix when applied in online environments namely the role of the Ps in a virtual commercial setting and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Identifies the critical factors of the Web marketing and argues that the basis for successful e-commerce is the full integration of virtual activities into the company's physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The 4S elements of the Web marketing mix framework offer the basis for developing and commercialising business to consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of three case studies

Critical review of the e-loyalty literature: a purchase-centred framework

Over the last few years, the concept of online loyalty has been examined extensively in the literature, and it remains a topic of constant inquiry for both academics and marketing managers. The tremendous development of the Internet for both marketing and e-commerce settings, in conjunction with the growing desire of consumers to purchase online, has promoted two main outcomes: (a) increasing numbers of Business-to-Customer companies running businesses online and (b) the development of a variety of different e-loyalty research models. However, current research lacks a systematic review of the literature that provides a general conceptual framework on e-loyalty, which would help managers to understand their customers better, to take advantage of industry-related factors, and to improve their service quality. The present study is an attempt to critically synthesize results from multiple empirical studies on e-loyalty. Our findings illustrate that 62 instruments for measuring e-loyalty are currently in use, influenced predominantly by Zeithaml et al. (J Marketing. 1996;60(2):31-46) and Oliver (1997; Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill). Additionally, we propose a new general conceptual framework, which leads to antecedents dividing e-loyalty on the basis of the action of purchase into pre-purchase, during-purchase and after-purchase factors. To conclude, a number of managerial implementations are suggested in order to help marketing managers increase their customers’ e-loyalty by making crucial changes in each purchase stage

Evaluating global e-government sites: A view using web diagnostics tools

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2004 The AuthorsSeveral governments across the world have embraced the digital revolution and continue to take advantage of the information and communication facilities offered by the Internet to offer public services. Conversely, citizens’ awareness and expectations of Internet based online-public-services have also increased in recent times. Although the numbers of the different national e-Government web portals have rapidly increased in the last three years, the success of these portals will largely depend on their accessibility, quality and privacy. This paper reports the results of an evaluative study of a cross-section of e-Government portals from these three perspectives, using a common set of performance metrics and Web diagnostic engines. Results show that not only are there wide variations in the spectrum of information and services provided by these portals, but that significant work still needs to be undertaken in order to make the portals examples of ‘best practice’ e-Government services

The driving factors of continuance online shopping: Gender differences in behaviour among students in Saudi Arabia

This study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure student gender differences with regard to continuance online shopping intentions in Saudi Arabia. The 234-respondent sample consists of 61.5% women and 38.5% men. A structural equation model confirms model fit. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and subjective norms are determinants of online shopping continuance in Saudi Arabia. Both male and female groups are equivalent. The structural weights are also largely equivalent, but the regression paths from subjective norms to enjoyment and subjective norms to continuance intention (in the men sample) and perceived usefulness to continuous intention (in the women sample) are not supported. The model was operationally generalized across the whole of Saudi Arabia. This research moves beyond online shopping intentions and includes factors affecting online shopping continuance. The research model explains 71% of the intention to continue shopping online. This research suggests that online strategies cannot ignore either the direct or indirect gender differences on continuance intentions in Saudi Arabia. The model can be generalized across Saudi Arabia

Customer Relations Management in Information Systems Research

Customer Relations Management (CRM) involves attracting and keeping “Economically Valuable” customers while repelling and eliminating “Economically Invaluable” ones. CRM involves changing relationships and improving return-on-investment from customer relationships (ROI-CR.) We are experiencing a shift from a transaction-based economy to a relationship-based one (Keen 1999.) Two important business relationship types exist: those between enterprises and customers; and those between and among enterprises (Kalakota 1996.) This paper addresses the former. However, a there is a significant amount of research into traditional “Market Channels” (See (Bowersox 1990; Ganesan 1994; Syed Saad 1996; Cannon 1999; Geyskens 1999) for examples) as well as into eCommerce (EC) Market Channels (See (Kim 1999; Menon 1999; Son 1999)) Recent and upcoming scholarship and professional activities illustrate the importance the IS Research Community places on CRM. This paper presents a framework for IS CRM Research Topics, a discussion of IS CRM scholarly and professional research directions and activities

The 4s web-marketing mix model

This paper reviews the criticism on the 4Ps Marketing Mix framework, the most popular tool of traditional marketing management, and categorizes the main objections of using the model as the foundation of physical marketing. It argues that applying the traditional approach, based on the 4Ps paradigm, is also a poor choice in the case of virtual marketing and identifies two main limitations of the framework in online environments: the drastically diminished role of the Ps and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Next to identifying the critical factors of the Web marketing, the paper argues that the basis for successful E-Commerce is the full integration of the virtual activities into the company’s physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The four S elements of the Web-Marketing Mix framework present a sound and functional conceptual basis for designing, developing and commercialising Business-to-Consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of field projects; two of them are presented as case studies in the paper.\ud \u

ARCHITECTURE CONCEPTS FOR VALUE NETWORKS IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY

Value networks are one of the main forms of value creation today. Suppliers, manufacturers and customers form a dynamic collaboration structure. Networks and companies alike are always subject to external and internal influences which require changes in the way things are done. To make sure that the required changes take their intended effect, they have to be implemented on all levels of the enterprise architecture (EA). Research with respect to EA in value networks in the service industry (VNSI) is only in its beginnings. To understand the state of the art, we analyzed 88 papers with respect to the architecture layers in VNSI. Since we base on the fact that a successful introduction of change, e.g. new IT solutions, requires a holistic view on EA, we analyzed the papers according to their covering of the different levels of an EA. Our hypothesis is that most of the papers only cover very specific aspects without positioning their proposed solution in a holistic context. We propose a reference model based on a literature review as well as the results of the paper analysis. This reference model allows for a positioning of solutions in a holistic context and with that adds to a better basis for implementing change in VNSI

Analyzing the Factors that Influence Consumers\u27 Adoption of Social Commerce – A Literature Review

Social commerce, the use of social media in e-commerce, has become an attractive means for companies to generate business value from consumers\u27 online social interactions. However, many e-commerce companies today are still trying to understand which factors drive consumers to participate in social commerce. While first empirical studies have examined one or more factors that influence consumers\u27 adoption of social commerce, the findings of these studies are scattered across the literature base, sometimes not transparent, and not straightforwardly comparable. To synthesize these findings, we conduct a systematic literature review. After analyzing 38 academic publications, we contribute a comprehensive and structured list of factors that influence consumers\u27 adoption of social commerce. The results of our work provide implications for future research to develop a more complete understanding of consumers\u27 adoption of social commerce. Practitioners can use our results to improve the effectiveness of their social commerce initiatives

Electronic word of mouth in social media: The common characteristics of retweeted and favourited marketer-generated content posted on Twitter

Marketers desire to utilise electronic word of mouth (eWOM) marketing on social media sites. However, not all online content generated by marketers has the same effect on consumers; some of them are effective while others are not. This paper aims to examine different characteristics of marketer-generated content (MGC) that of which one lead users to eWOM. Twitter was chosen as one of the leading social media sites and a content analysis approach was employed to identify the common characteristics of retweeted and favourited tweets. 2,780 tweets from six companies (Booking, Hostelworld, Hotels, Lastminute, Laterooms and Priceline) operating in the tourism sector are analysed. Results indicate that the posts which contain pictures, hyperlinks, product or service information, direct answers to customers and brand centrality are more likely to be retweeted and favourited by users. The findings present the main eWOM drivers for MGC in social media.Abdulaziz Elwalda and Mohammed Alsagga

Value Assessment of e-Government Service from Municipality Perspective

Value assessment of e-government services remains a challenging task. In this study, we apply a value creation model of electronic business and value for money assessment approach of e-government service in an attempt to better understand value creation from the municipality perspective. By conducting semi-structured interviews and analysis of e-government service data we investigate how digital service creates value in public services focusing on the municipality perspective. We present the identified sources of value and the indicators of value that could be derived from the analysis of data from the service. We discuss the complementary findings from performing value assessment using e-commerce and e-government models, the limitations of conducting value assessment of e-government services and performing financial analysis, and conclude with directions for future research.