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Keywords Internet, Marketing, Literature
Abstract This paper presents a literature review of, and classification scheme for, Internet marketing (IM) research. The review covers 270 journal articles published between 1987 and 2000 in three types of journals: marketing; economics, business and management; and information systems and information technology. The results show that an increasing volume of IM research has been conducted in a diverse range of areas. A total of 96 percent of the papers were published in the last five years (1996-2000) of this 14-year study, and the significance of IM to e-commerce will increase in the future. The 270 articles are classified into five distinct categories: the IM environment, IM functions, special IM applications, IM research, and other topics. A comprehensive list of references is presented. This review will provide a source for anyone interested in IM research, and will help to simulate further interest in the area.
1. Introduction
Electronic marketing (EM) is the transfer of goods or services from seller to buyer that involves one or more electronic methods or media. EM began with the use of telegraphs in the nineteenth century. With the advent and mass acceptance of the telephone, radio, television, and then cable, electronic media have become the dominant marketing force (Hoge, 1993). In recent years, increasing numbers of businesses have been using the Internet in their marketing efforts. The Internet is unique because it is both a market and a medium. This means that it can efficiently assume a multi-channel role by serving as a computer-mediated market in which buyers and sellers access each other, and as a medium to conduct and execute business functions such as marketing, sales, and distribution (Farhoomand and Lovelock, 2001). This leads to increases in the efficiency of traditional marketing functions, and the technology of EM transforms many marketing strategies by adding customer value and/or increasing company profitability (Strauss and Frost, 2001).
Internet marketing (IM) is defined as the process of building and maintaining customer relationships through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas, products, and services that satisfy the goals of both buyers and sellers amber and Betsy-Ann, 2000). IM is a hot topic and an exciting area for research due to its relative novelty and explosive growth. However, despite...