بازنگری تاثیر بازاریابی اینترنتی یکپارچه بر عملکرد آنلاین شرکت ها: شواهدی از اروپا

This research attempts to unveil some of the impacts on internet marketing and firms’ online performance driven from the adoption and integration of Enterprise Information subsystems. To accomplish this goal a framework is set and test in a sample of 9.192 European firms using Structural Equation Model estimation. This project contributes to the research on this topic with new evidence in a broad sample, and advances knowledge on the nature of the relative importance of different technological subsystems on Internet Marketing as drivers of e-business performance, applied to the European reality.

Back in 2000, Avlonitis & Karaynni [1] said that “The Internet has been the favorable theme for numerous studies and reports during the last decade. Yet, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the marketing activities that are affected by the use of the Internet, and their consequent performance outcomes.” Nowadays, their statement is still an unquestionable true. Internet adoption and use is still growing and impacting business activities, but the assessment of Internet marketing activities needs to be updated. Deighton [2] suggested that the web launched a set of tools that could revolutionize and optimize marketing activities, driven from the high degree of innovation that goes with it. The passageway from passive to interactive marketing is the reason cited by many as the major driving force for a paradigm change [3-6]. However, despite the growth of the Internet in most developed or developing countries, the systematic research still has some gaps and few empirical outcomes have been produced in the last five years [7-11]. Therefore, this work aims to contribute to the reduction of this gap and update the fundamental understanding of Internet Marketing integrating different EIS subsystems. In this line of research, the present paper discusses the results of an exploratory survey conducted among a large sample of European companies. Using a structural equation analysis, this work explores the relationship between e-business performance and Internet Marketing initiatives, when enclosing a set of well known and adopted EIS subsystems. This paper has four sections, organized as follows. Section 1 contains a brief background of this research.Section 2 presents some evidences related to Internet Marketing, its advantages and its differences from traditional marketing, and also presents some benefits of employing the EIS subsystems. An evaluation framework is developed in section 3. In the last two sections, the results and conclusions of this study are presented; the major points are reiterated and for further investigation paths are suggested.

This research was designed to answer the research question: how do organizations take advantage of EIS subsystems integrated in Internet Marketing strategy, and what is its impact on online performance? The literature review showed that only a few works assuming a corporate perspective have examined the contributions of Internet Marketing to e-business performance. However, the majority of these works were confined to specific industries. The goals of the current study were therefore: (1) to determine whether the implementation of CRM, SCM, and KM is positively linked to integrated Internet Marketing; (2) to identify the relationship between integrated Internet Marketing implementation and e-business performance; and (3) to determine which contextual variables affect the adoption of Internet Marketing activities. The results generated some interesting findings. First, data support in general the conceptual framework presented. However, some mentions need to be made. According to the work of several authors there a considerable number of contextual factors affecting the investment decision and the adoption of EIS subsystems, as well as the online strategy of the firm [19, 23, 26, 30, 46, 48, 54, 56-58]. The results obtained reinforce these conclusions and justify the different approaches found. However, the analysis reveals that no relationship can be established between a firm’s practices and its country of origin. It also was possible to draw some conclusions about the way European companies are using Internet Marketing. The great majority seems to be exploring their online presence trough e-business or sale strategy. However, a significant number of firms presented a focus on purchasing activities, unveiling the increasing importance of e-procurement. The main results suggest a strong positive relationship between the three EIS subsystems consider and internet marketing as well as a positive impact of IM on e-business performance. The analysis also reveals that in digital environments the customer relationship management and supply chain management has a greater impact on internet marketing than knowledge management activities do. Thus, this work contributes to the theory of Internet Marketing by extending the dimensions of EIS subsystems integrated. Simultaneously, it adds to the knowledge of assessment of organizational performance,since it expands the research to the field of e-business, testing the applicability of different metrics from traditional accounting. The results also lead to a deeper understanding of Internet Marketing. Some useful preliminary insights are produced, however, leaving a considerable number of issues for future research, providing scholars with an opportunity to conduct further research in this field and practitioners with an opportunity to enhance internet marketing strategy based on the adoption of EIS subsystems with the knowledge that these combination has proven to impact positively e-business performance. However, these findings should be viewed in light of some limitations. Further work is clearly needed to examine the inclusion of news elements such as management support to internet marketing initiatives and multi-level analysis of e-business process. Aside from these considerations, it would be interesting to compare the results of online to those of brick-and-mortar firms. Certainly, there is ample scope for further research in this area.