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As the user‐base of the Internet expands, on‐line “virtual communities” may have the potential to become the key customer‐infomediaries, social forums, and trading arenas, of the early twenty‐first century. In parallel, new delivery channels and new means of fostering long‐term customer relationships may prove critical for success in the financial services industry. As these two developments intertwine, many organizations in the sector may therefore need to consider desktop icons as an emerging customer interface. Reviews the economic argument for virtual communities as the first viable Internet value‐creation model to combine content and communication. Drawing from practical experience with pioneering virtual community developments, and a consideration of direct and indirect financial service delivery channels, the conclusion is reached that many companies in the sector now face an important, strategic choice in the development of their on‐line presence. For most, this will be between deciding to act rapidly to build their own virtual community, or instead opting for a more effective third party, virtual community “inhabitation strategy”.

Mr. Michael Dowdall, formerly chairman of Lever, France, has been appointed chairman of BOCM Silcock Ltd. He succeeds Mr. Christopher Jemmett, now appointed a member of Unilever's Overseas Committee.

The recent explosion of international business activity on the World Wide Web will have a profound impact on the study and practice of international marketing as we move towards the new millennium. Examines the implications of such developments for international marketing educators and for the mainstream literature on international marketing. Argues that the rapid commercialization of the Internet calls into question many of the fundamental tenets on which most international marketing research and teaching is based, especially the incremental, evolutionary school of internationalization. The Internet presents a fundamentally different environment for international marketing and new paradigms will have to be developed to take account of internationalization processes in an electronic age. This will require the launch of a major new research initiative to improve our understanding of Internet‐enabled international marketing, especially the extent to which the “Net” provides a low cost “gateway” to global markets for small and medium‐sized enterprises. In the absence of such an initiative, the mainstream academic literature will no longer accurately describe the reality of international business.