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Making Business-to-Business International Internet Marketing Effective: A Study of Critical Factors Using a Case-Study ApproachThe recent phenomenal growth in business activities dependent on the Internet has demonstrated that various potential advantages could be derived from using information and communication technology platforms. The Internet has enabled firms to reach out to global markets and has provided them with the opportunity to customize their strategies and offerings in an unprecedented way. These recent developments provide an exciting opportunity for research to study the dynamics involved in international Internet marketing (IIM) and, in particular, to examine closely the factors that could influence success in using this new technology for IIM activities. Using a business-to-business context and a multiple-case-study approach, this article focuses on two main areas of study: (1) the critical examination of the literature and identification of the most important factors that have a significant influence on business-to-business IIM and (2) the first-hand verification of how the identified factors are implemented in various organizational contexts.
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A phenomenological exploration of the domain and structure of internal marketingDespite the fact that Internal Marketing (IM) has emerged to capture the interest of academic researchers and management practitioners, there is a surprising absence of empirical study investigating how IM is experienced in the world of practice. This constitutes an impediment to bridging the gap in the holistic understanding of the IM concept. The big question that remains is how to articulate precisely those activities that can be taken to constitute the structure of IM and those that do not. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring whether the experiences of managers who are implementing IM in their organisations could provide clarity as to the meaning and the constituents structure of IM. This study first undertakes scrutiny of the extant IM literature in an attempt to clarify the multiplicity of terms often associated with IM. The meaning and the constituents structure of IM was investigated via an in-depth qualitative study guided by the principles of phenomenology. This qualitative study is based around open-ended interviews with participants sampled from the UK private and public sector firms. Data was collected and analysed in line with Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological research praxis. The phenomenological findings indicate nine overlapping elements, namely, internal communication, employee training, reward, empowerment, employee motivation, interdepartmental co-ordination, understanding the organisation, commitment, and top management support that emerged to constitute the experiential structure of IM. Drawing upon these elements, the study offers a conceptual framework of the IM structure. Systematic analytical steps were utilised to ensure the validity of findings.
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International internet marketing: A triangulation study of drivers and barriers in the business-to-business context in the United Kingdominternet technology by business-to-business marketing companies that operate at the international level. Design/methodology/approach - A review of the literature concerning the diffusion and adoption of innovations precedes a triangulation study involving a questionnaire-based survey of 123 companies (a 59 percent response rate) and case studies of four others, all located in the UK. Data were factor-analysed, following testing for validity, reliability and adequacy of the research instrument. Findings - The paper concludes that powerful drivers of international internet-based marketing in business-to-business firms will generally outweigh significant barriers to its adoption in the future. It also explains how innovation-diffusion theory identifies factors instrumental in the adoption of internet marketing. Research limitations/implications - The study was confined to business-to-business marketers, based in the UK and operating internationally. Several suggestions are made for elaboration and extension, including investigation of business-to-consumer users and of other industry types. Practical implications - The findings provide international marketing strategists with important marketing intelligence insights into the benefits of harnessing the power of the internet, the obstacles to be expected in practice, and plans for doing so both efficiently and effectively. Originality/value - Much of what has been written about the application of the internet to marketing is speculative and exploratory. This study, based on responses from practising international marketers, offers something more substantial to marketing planners.
