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This paper explores the endeavours of five small firms to develop Web‐based commerce capabilities within their existing operations. The focus is on the strategic acquisition and exploitation of knowledge which underpins new value creating activities related to Web‐based commerce. A normative Web‐based commerce adoption model developed from a review of the extant literature related to electronic marketing, entrepreneurship, and the diffusion of new innovations was empirically tested. A multiple case study design enabled the exploration of contemporary marketing and entrepreneurship issues within the real life context of five small firms. The model aimed to emphasis best‐practice adoption methods emphasizing the value of a firm’s market orientation and entrepreneurial capabilities. A preliminary test of the model’s theoretical contentions lent support to its overall focus, but found that the firm’s existing learning capabilities were diminished during the adoption of Web‐based commerce, and that a lack of vision and prior knowledge produced sub‐optimal adoption outcomes.

The aim of this paper is to explore and better understand e-relationship marketing and to identify elements (key concepts) that are predominant to ensure success via the internet.

The exploratory cognitive mapping technique (Cossette, 2004) employs three types of respondents, namely a banking expert, online banking customer and academic expert.

The study points up similarities with traditional relationship marketing (e.g. satisfaction, commitment by bank) and identifies several new concepts spawned by the web-based environment. More precisely, the study highlights the importance of the simplicity and ease of the customer's web experience.

The exploratory and qualitative nature of this study opens the door to validation with a broader sample using a self-administered questionnaire developed based on the cognitive mapping technique.

In addition to guaranteeing customer satisfaction, it is important: that customers perceive the bank's investment in and commitment to the e-relationship strategy; and, that customers enjoy a highly positive web experience (e.g. perceived quality of site and ease-of-use).

Research findings result in an enhanced understanding of e-relationship marketing. Also, given the combination of sparse use of cognitive mapping in marketing and investigation of three different types of subjects (banking expert, online banking customer and academic expert), the findings lend originality while making a substantive theoretical contribution to topical literature.

Smartphone adoption by consumers is increasing exponentially, and presents marketers with many new opportunites to reach and serve customers. However, are consumers ready for mobile marketing through their smartphones? This study aims to investigate consumers' willingness to accept marketing through their smartphones.

The study is based on an online survey of 428 respondents. The data is analyzed through ANOVA and regression analysis.

The results indicate that consumers' shopping style, brand trust, and value are key motivations for engaging in mobile marketing through their smartphones. Further research should focus on specific tactics marketers use to engage customers beyond marketing messages, that is, how they engage customers in dialogue to build relationships, encourage purchases and build loyalty. This could reveal how customers really want to engage in mobile marketing.

This research adds to the growing body of evidence on acceptance of mobile marketing.

This study found that successful enagement of customers in mobile marketing requires that marketers focus their strategies and tactics around value creation; getting customers to engage with their brand in an authentic way; and respecting customers' shopping style, i.e. engaging customers the way they want to be engaged. Marketers must listen to their customers and develop appropriate strategies rather than simply adapting existing marketing strategies.

The topic of mobile marketing through smartphones is important to both marketing executives and marketing researchers. To date, this topic has attracted little research attention and marketing executives are simply basing their decsions on anecdotal case studies and reports in the popular press. This study contributes to fulfilling the need for research evidence.

This paper aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of the use of electronic markets (e‐markets), access to online data and trading partner collaboration on operational performance.

This study involved survey data from 233 Australian firms. Data were provided by members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Australia, who reflected upon relevant practices and performances of their firms. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The results show that whilst all three direct effects are non‐significant, when the indirect effects are taken into account, the total effects are significant in strength. This suggests that use of e‐markets, access to online data and collaboration with trading partners, when taken in isolation, are not as effective as could be expected. However, when these factors are implemented together, their value and impact becomes significant.

The study is limited to Australian firms.

The results highlight that investments in information and communication technology must be deployed in an holistic manner, for example, by combining use of web‐based applications and market mechanisms with effective data sharing and collaboration, if they are to produce significant improvements in operations.

While e‐markets may have been viewed as a mechanism for reducing the costs of inputs and/or as a new demand channel, this study establishes that more value can be extracted when this technology is viewed and exploited in a more strategic manner. E‐markets should be used in concert with access to data and collaboration with trading partners who are able to exploit the opportunities for mutual benefit.

This article reports a study of e‐business adoption among SMEs in the knowledge‐intensive service sector in three countries, the results of which contain a number of practical lessons and some much needed encouragement to laggards. The new spatial possibilities of internet‐based technologies provide a powerful route to innovative marketing strategies. Consequently, organisations of all sizes are finding it necessary to establish a web presence to increase their ability to survive in an increasingly dynamic and competitive business environment. Strategically, firms need to be creative and innovative in order to deal effectively with the e‐marketing opportunities the internet can deliver. The findings of a comparative study conducted in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand provide evidence of primitive and localised exploitation of the technology, a general lack of enthusiasm about its possibilities, and a perception that there are many barriers to successfully adding value at the customer interface. It is hoped that the somewhat pessimistic tone of the analysis will be taken as an opportunity to win competitive advantage in the knowledge‐intensive service sector, rather than a reason to postpone adoption of internet‐enabled technology.

Despite the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) internationally, the limited research available on the subject indicates that few SMEs consider the existence of these agreements as a reason to engage in international markets or expand their existing international engagement. The purpose of this paper is to identify and augment SME international marketing models building on Merrilees and Tiessen's (1999) work; and to explain how these marketing models condition the reaction of small firm exporters to FTAs.

This study comprised in-depth interviews with 51 SME exporters in New Zealand. Participants were selected purposefully and were interviewed in a face-to-face, semi-structured format.

Five international marketing strategies were identified drawing on prior models of international marketing: sales-driven, relationship-driven, international boutique, arbitrager and market seeder. These models are characterised by different relationships to markets and to buyers served, and by the extent of customisation in the export offering. By using these models the authors analyse why SMEs have yet to significantly capitalise on the opportunities provided by New Zealand's recent wave of trade agreements.

This study acknowledges the diversity of international marketing strategies between seemingly similar firms by recognising that approaches generally viewed as unlikely to bring success in international markets can work when applied in a particular way and in a particular context. As such the results may offer a useful starting point for the customisation of policy advice on exporting in terms of the context in which SMEs operate.

As well as advancing theoretical perspectives on SME international marketing strategies, the findings are presented as a contribution to the as yet limited evaluation of how SMEs in New Zealand have responded to the emerging opportunities created by FTAs. The interest in filling this gap is part of a growing recognition that factors related to the firm's trading environment have been largely neglected in policy considerations.

This paper aims to provide a review of how the role of information and communications technology (ICT) within marketing practice has developed over the past decade and to develop a research agenda to meet future challenges.

The paper adopts a theoretical approach and reviews the historical and current deployment of ICT into marketing practice. It focuses on the CMP framework of marketing practice and, within that, on the original conceptions of e‐marketing within the framework and the corresponding empirical results from various CMP research projects..

The paper concludes that, regardless of the dominant focus of marketing within an organisation, marketing practitioners increasingly have an ICT requirement within their marketing practice.

The paper develops the argument for academic research to focus more on ICT practice and implementation to provide a deeper understanding of ICT deployment.

Despite the emphasis on ICT deployment in the late 1990s marketers have struggled to embrace ICT within their organisations due in part to a lack of academic clarity and study. This paper extends the Contemporary Marketing Practice framework to examine this issue.

E‐marketing is growing at a dramatic pace and is significantly impacting customer and business market behaviors. As a result, most firms have started developing e‐marketing strategies for the web. However, the evolution and strategic direction of e‐marketing strategies in international environments has not been discussed and is the focus of this paper.

In this paper, the authors examine two issues based on extant literature and our previous research in this area. The authors discuss e‐marketing in an international context and develop a framework that will allow researchers and managers to understand the impact of country level effects on e‐marketing strategies. The paper proposes that the evolution of e‐marketing strategies is based on the countries infrastructure and marketing institutional development.

It is found that international e‐marketing strategies are fundamentally changing, and will continue to change, marketing thought and practice in international markets. The paper suggests that the e‐markets of tomorrow may have little resemblance to the markets of today.

The paper suggests that additional conceptual and methodological research is required in this area. Propositions are derived that will provide directions for future research.

Firms need to better monitor their international environments to determine the type of strategy that they need to follow. The proposed strategies are – brick and click strategies, digitization, disintermediation, buying groups and alternative infrastructure, firm driven e‐marketing strategies, and corporate exchanges.

This paper is the first attempt to examine the relationship between a country's infrastructure, marketing institutions and the appropriate e‐marketing strategies.

To date little is known about the actual level of utilisation of digital/web‐based interaction technologies in purchasing and supply management (SM) in the UK. This paper seeks to address this gap in the extant knowledge through empirical research in a UK setting. It examines the level of usage, the uses, the perceived benefits, and future perspective on the use, of web‐based technology in purchasing and SM.

An empirical survey of UK‐based organisations was undertaken. Information simultaneously collected on the buyer‐supplier relationship orientation of the firms in the sample was used to test the proposition that the use of web‐based technology leads to stronger collaborative relationships with suppliers.

Data obtained from 156 valid responses indicated that six in every ten organisations use web‐based technology to support purchasing and SM activities, but that the usage is lower in small to medium‐sized enterprises. The main uses reported are for communicating with suppliers, for marketing products/services, and for locating technical data. Making purchases over the internet was significantly more prevalent in organisations exhibiting relatively more partnership orientation.

The findings provide only limited evidence in support of the proposition that the deployment of web‐based technology leads to stronger buyer‐supplier relations. However, findings do suggest that the effectiveness of the purchasing and supply function can be enhanced through greater use of web‐based technology for online purchasing and for efficient consumer response.

The paper establishes salient UK managerial perception on the strategic and operational importance of web‐based technology adoption in purchasing and SM.

Internet-based marketing communication has been an important element for organizations to build brand image and brand equity. Higher education is not an exception. However, configuring the right mix in the age of social networking sites and various online displays and constantly changing algorithm in search engine optimization have become major challenges today. Hence, the purpose of this study is to configure integrated online marketing communication for the development of brand image and brand equity for higher educational institutions.

The study is quantitative in nature. A responsive group of 370 students was chosen from different educational institutions in Malaysia via stratified random sampling techniques. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used for interpreting the data. To test the derived hypotheses, structural equation modelling was used.

In line with contemporary literature, the study revealed positive relationships between brand image and brand equity, between search engine and brand image and between social media and brand image. The relationship between online display and brand image was not found significant.

Future research can be done considering both online and conventional marketing communications for the same purpose. This approach can also be used for private and public institutions separately, considering their differences in nature.

Because history and tradition are no more a single tool to attain and retain the positive image and customer-based brand equity, this study can help higher educational institutions to configure integrated online communication for their target groups, such as students and industry, in the age of the internet.

This study generates a comprehensive understanding of the impact of Web-based marketing communication to develop brand image and brand equity of higher educational institutions.