Marketing Intelligence & PlanningEmerald Article: B2B e-marketplace: an e-marketing framework for B2B commerceWoon Kian Chong, Mathew Shafaghi, Christopher Woollaston, Vincent Lui

Article information:

To cite this document: Woon Kian Chong, Mathew Shafaghi, Christopher Woollaston, Vincent Lui, (2010),"B2B e-marketplace: an e-marketing framework for B2B commerce", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 28 Iss: 3 pp. 310 - 329

Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02634501011041444

Downloaded on: 27-03-2012

References: This document contains references to 52 other documents

To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY

For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Additional help for authors is available for Emerald subscribers. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.

About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comWith over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

B2B e-marketplace:an e-marketing framework

for B2B commerceWoon Kian Chong, Mathew Shafaghi,

Christopher Woollaston and Vincent LuiBolton Business School, The University of Bolton, Bolton, UK

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear understanding of the performance ofbusiness-to-business (B2B) e-marketplace in conducting e-marketing in the global businessenvironment. The proposed framework is intended to be used as a guide for B2B firms especiallysmall and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who wish to adopt a proactive approach in the use ofinformation and communication technology for business efficiency and competitive advantage, andthose who wish to explore the internet technologies for marketing activities.

Design/methodology/approach – Literature from the B2B e-marketplaces and operations ofe-marketing fields were analysed, and the findings were synthesised to develop a preliminaryconceptual model of e-marketing. The conceptual model was tested empirically through an onlinesurvey from various industries in China, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Findings – With significant online and offline publications from both academia and industry, there isa growing awareness of the contribution of the e-marketing in the global environment. This newmarketing paradigm is reported to reshape the business relationships between both consumermarketers and consumers, improving business processes and enhancing the business exposure in thenew markets.

Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of this paper is associated with thesample selection. Although the literature findings were international, the empirical study wasrestricted to China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Therefore, the generalizability of the results may not beapplicable for other countries. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents participated were SMEs.Hence, the applicability of findings to large-scale organisations may be limited.

Practical implications – The framework allows B2B firms to capitalise and understand thee-marketing opportunities provided by B2B e-marketplace. The framework also offers guidance tomarketing managers a most appropriate approach to adopt B2B e-marketplace to perform theire-marketing activities.

Originality/value – Based on the need for a framework for e-marketing, this study is significance to:SMEs, marketers, information technology practitioners, and all other stakeholders that adopted theinternet and other electronic means for marketing purposes.

Keywords Small to medium-sized enterprises, Business-to-business marketing, Marketing, Internet,Communication technologies, Competitive advantage

Paper type Research paper

BackgroundThe development of the internet and the world wide web (www) in the 1990s as a toolfor the global sharing of information has opened up new opportunities in marketingpractices. “The rapid growth of internet users has made the internet an increasinglyimportant and attractive platform for business transactions” (Liang et al., 2004, p. 538).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-4503.htm

MIP28,3

310

Received January 2009Revised May 2009Accepted June 2009

Marketing Intelligence & PlanningVol. 28 No. 3, 2010pp. 310-329q Emerald Group Publishing Limited0263-4503DOI 10.1108/02634501011041444

According to the Internet World Stats (2007), by March 2008, the internet userpopulation reached 1.40 billions world wide, an increase of 290 percent in the periodfrom 2000 to 2008 (Figure 1). Many academics and practitioners have emphasized thatthe internet is a major platform for e-marketing to deal with marketing mixes, whichinclude global accessibility (Laudon and Laudon, 2002), convenience in updating(Sandeep and Singh, 2005), real-time information services (Harridge-March, 2004),interactive communications features (Chaffey, 2004), and unique customisation andpersonalised capabilities (Teo and Tan, 2002). Additionally, e-marketing also refers tothe use of electronic methods or media to build upon and maintain customer relationshipthrough electronic platforms (e.g. business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplaces) thatfacilitates the exchange of ideas, products, and services to satisfy both buyers andsellers (Ngai, 2003). Strauss and Frost (2001) support the above statement and suggestedthat, sales, public relations, direct marketing, and advertising are marketingcommunication that comprises the crucial components of e-marketing strategy.

B2B e-marketplace, as one of the major trading platforms brought by the internettechnology has made a significant contribution to the e-marketers. The largerorganisations are taking advantages from the vast array of suppliers/buyers via theB2B e-marketplace (Stockdale and Standing, 2004). However, small and medium sizedenterprises (SMEs) are also eager to compete in the electronic environment remainconcerns as how their businesses can gain benefits from B2B e-marketplace. Withsignificant online and offline publications from both academia and industry (Straussand Frost, 2001; Chaffey, 2004; Sandeep and Singh, 2005; Brady et al., 2008), there is agrowing awareness of the contribution of the e-marketing in the global environment.Nonetheless, there is limitation on how to explore the opportunities for SMEs inbenefiting from the emergent e-marketing practices, derive from the B2B e-marketplace.

This paper is intended to provide a clear understanding of the performance ofe-marketplace in conducting e-marketing in the global business environment. Theproposed framework is intended to be used as a guide for B2B firms especially SMEswho wish to adopt a proactive approach in the use of information and communicationtechnology (ICT) for business efficiency and competitive advantage, and those whowish to explore the internet technologies for marketing activities.

Figure 1.World region internet

usage 2008

437

322

233

110

3420 19

0

100

200

300

400

500

Asia

Europe

North America

Latin America

Africa

Middle East

Australia/Oceania

Mill

ions

Source: Internet World Stats (2008)

B2Be-marketplace

311

The paper has three main sections. First, the study outlines the motivation andobjectives for the proposed e-marketing framework. Second, the relevant literaturefocuses on reviewing three recognised e-marketing frameworks and the performancesof e-marketing in B2B e-marketplace, and finally, the key findings are presented anddiscussed.

Literature reviewReview of e-marketing frameworksWith the advent of the internet technology, the traditional marketing frameworks areredesigned and supported by electronic technologies to create innovative marketingmodels (Chaffey, 2004; Logrosen, 2005). Some of the widely recognized e-marketingframeworks proposed by Chaffey (2004), Gloor (2000), and Kierzkowski et al. (1996) aredescribed.

Chaffey (2004) – the e-marketing strategy. Chaffey (2004) suggests that e-marketingplan should be linked to other corporate plans in order to support the marketingactivities. Referring to Figure 2, the e-marketing plan in an organisation shouldintegrate with other corporate or functional strategies to inform specific market plansfor different products or geographical markets. This framework is also integrated withinformation system (IS)/information technology (IT) and e-business strategy to fulfillthe traditional marketing practices of creating, communicating, and delivering value tocustomers. In addition, e-marketing will include other technologies such as the internetto enable customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management, andenterprise resources planning to help to define the organisation’s marketing objectives(Chaffey, 2004; Strauss and Frost, 2001). However, many organisations are still not fullyaware of the benefits and opportunities provided by e-marketing. The main concern isthe presence of financial constrains and technological expertise especially for SMEs

Figure 2.The e-marketing strategyin the context of other plan

Corporate(Business) strategy

Marketing strategy

Plans for differentmarkets and brands

Marketingcommunications

E-marketing planE-business strategy IS/IT strategy

Source: Chaffey (2004)

MIP28,3

312

who have limited resources. Gilmore et al. (2007) identified several drivers to motivateSMEs in the adoption of e-marketing including; lower operating and marketing costs,enriched overall marketing communications mix, and gaining competitivedisadvantages in peripheral areas. Furthermore, SMEs have been experiencingdifficulties in implementing e-marketing due to the lack of specialist in e-marketing,resulting difficulties in responding to competitive threats.

Gloor (2000) – roadmap to e-marketing. Gloor (2000) emphasizes that business andtechnology are fundamental factors to complete the e-marketing vision, and thetransformation to electronic businesses has to consider various aspects including thepotential of e-marketing technology (Figure 3). The business vision need to be clearlydefined, and the decision makers including functional managers should work togetherto complete the transformation plan. Based on the roadmap proposed by Gloor (2000),there is a need for high level ICT expertise, and the business experts play a crucial roleto ensure the development of flexible, scalable and extensible marketing architecture tosupport current needs and future business requirements. The framework in Figure 3indicates the interactive nature of the e-marketing process, which is never completedbut rather is an on-going activity. Furthermore, marketers are now looking at theextended marketing strategy that comprises diagnostic assessment and future visionof the organisations that provide additional business efficiencies and business leverageto maintain their competitive positions. This attention needs to be directed towards theobjectives of choosing the right e-marketing resources (including tools, people,techniques and technologies as indicated in Gloor’s framework). The right e-marketingresources should be a vehicle for marketing firms to learn and enhance the knowledge

Figure 3.Roadmap to e-marketing

Diagnosticassessment

Future visionStrategy

programmingImplementation Evaluation

Strategy

Businessprocess

People

Implementation

Source: Adapted from Gloor (2000)

Technology

B2Be-marketplace

313

and understanding of the e-marketing strategies to complete the reinvention oforganisation’s business models.

Kierzkowski et al. (1996) – Digital marketing cycle. Kierzkowski et al. (1996)proposed an e-marketing cycle that applies to the internet and consists of the followingfive activities:

(1) attract visitors;

(2) engage them;

(3) retain them;

(4) learn from them; and

(5) relate to them.

Kierzkowski et al. (1996) illustrated their framework on a circular pattern (Figure 4).The relationship of each of the elements is contributed to marketing activities andaimed at achieving profitable acquisitions and retention of customers. The applicationof technology to achieve CRM is a key element of e-marketing (Kierzkowski et al., 1996;Laudon and Laudon, 2002). Building long-term relationships with customers isessential for any sustainable business. Hence, this cycle is strongly linked to CRM interms of making profit, gaining, and retaining customer knowledge such as theirbehavior, value added, and loyalty drivers. In order to survive in the global competitivemarket, many consumer marketers depend on their capacity to create value, and thisvalue is defined by consumers. The arguments above is supported by Strauss andFrost (2001), who suggest that e-marketing comprises electronic data and applicationsfor planning and executing marketing activities and marketers can distribute ideas,goods, and services to fulfil the consumer’s needs.

Whilst the above authors have made a significant contribution to knowledge in thearea, a clear and comprehensive picture of e-marketing adoption would be instrumentalin priding a road map for the same. Many practitioners and academics (Laudon andLaudon, 2002; Stockdale and Standing, 2004; Gilmore et al., 2007) have suggestedthat most organisations especially SMEs are uncertain about whether they havesufficient resources/expertises/experiences to use the internet and e-marketing as theirmarketing tool. The e-marketer needs to be aware of the current issues and trendsincluding; the effectiveness of current marketing strategies/policies adoption

Figure 4.Digital marketing cycle

Engage

RetainLearn

Attract

Relate

CRM

Source: Adapted from Kierzkowski et al. (1996)

MIP28,3

314

(Michel et al., 2003; Gebauer et al., 2007), main reasons of e-marketing adoption(Stockdale and Standing, 2004), the major components of e-marketing strategies (Gloor,2000) and its benefits and challenges (Sculley and Woods, 2001). Furthermore, it alsoimportant to respond positively to the current and ongoing technological innovationsand changes in marketing practice. One of the most heralded e-marketing developmentsin recent years is B2B e-marketplace, and this virtual technology-enabled tradingplatform has made a significant contribution to the e-marketers.

Review of e-marketing performances in B2B e-marketplaceThe internet is the foundation for B2B commerce that provides the technology andplatform to enable this business relationships work effectively. B2B transactions overpublic and private sectors uses the internet as a delivery vehicle for transactionsincluding; financial transfer, on-line exchanges, auctions, delivery of products, andservices (O’Reily and Finnegan, 2007). Many practitioners are predicting B2Bcommerce is expected to have a massive growth and majority of the organisations willhave to give consideration to involve with B2B commerce. Referring to Figure 5, B2Bconsists of three main elements and the e-marketplace performs the main tasks such assourcing, automated purchasing, processing to facilitate the sellers and buyers to dobusiness transactions.

Laudon and Laudon (2000) stated that B2B e-marketplace refers to the exchange ofinformation, products, services, and payment via the internet between buyers andsellers. B2B e-marketplaces are typically defined as inter-organisational IS throughwhich multiple buyers and sellers interact electronically to identify potential tradingpartners, select them and execute transactions (Rohm et al., 2004). Murtaza et al. (2004)argued that, B2B e-marketplace is able to remove some of the inefficiency of traditionalbusiness functionality and allows partners to streamline their marketing activities bysharing information instantaneously.

In recent years, B2B e-marketplace have improved/enhanced the extent ofe-marketing activities; providing to all marketers especially to SMEs. Recent studies(Narayanasamy et al., 2008; Pavaloia, 2009) are indicative of the fact that SMEs havestarted to respond positively to the changes brought about by the internet technologies.While the main concerns of SMEs are related to the generic SMEs characteristics of

Figure 5.B2B marketplace

B2Be-Marketplace

Seller 1

Seller 2

Seller 3 Buyer 3

Buyer 2

Buyer 1

e-Cataloguese-TransactionSourcingAutomated purchasingSearch engine optimisation

Source: Adapted from Laudon and Laudon (2002)

B2Be-marketplace

315

limited time/resources and expertise, B2B e-marketplace provide a favorableenvironment for SMEs to; lower operating and marketing cost, better opportunity topromote their products/services, and enrich their overall marketing communicationsmix. Overall, the benefits of B2B e-marketplace as reported by many academics andpractitioners include:

. reducing search costs by facilitating comparison of price, products, and services(Kandampully, 2003; Bakos, 1998; Kaplan and Sawhney, 2000);

. improving production and supply capability (Barua et al., 1997; Albrecht et al.,2005);

. improving personalization and customization of product offerings (Bakos, 1998);

. enhancing customers relationships (Kierzkowski et al., 1996);

. reducing marketing costs compare to traditional marketing media (Sculley andWoods, 2001);

. reducing numbers of marketing staff (Gloor, 2000);

. operating 24/7 and round the clock in 365 days (Ngai, 2003);

. facilitating global presence (Laudon and Laudon, 2002);

. exploring to new market segments (Murtaza et al., 2004); and

. interactive more effectively in terms of services marketing communication(Petersen et al., 2007).

Most of the B2B e-marketplace studies utilise a business perspective to explore; theirdevelopment (Albrecht et al., 2005), role and classification (Bakos, 1998; Angeles, 2001;Kandampully, 2003), their operation (Murtaza et al., 2004), benefits and barriers(Stockdale and Standing, 2004), their key success factors (Yu, 2007), and so on.However, the current literatures do not fully explore the issues relating to theperformances of B2B e-marketplace from an e-marketing perspective. In addition,much of the research is focused on particular research areas of interest often ignoringthe links to others dimensions in particular e-marketing services. Hence, there areconcerns that the despite the efforts to promote adoption of B2B e-marketplace from ane-marketing perspective, SMEs are not fully aware of the opportunities and benefits(Stockdale and Standing, 2004).

The literature provides insights into the current level of internet-enabler marketingtechnologies from B2B e-marketplace to the marketers. The online and offlinepublications from both academics and practitioners indicated that, e-marketing via B2Be-marketplace is a modern marketing practice for buying and selling goods/services,exchange information/ideas via the internet associated with communication andpromotional purposes. The frameworks suggested by various authors includingChaffey (2004), Gloor (2000), Kierzkowski et al. (1996) makes a significant contributionto knowledge in the areas of e-marketing that has the potential to create competitiveadvantage and enhance customer value. However, it appears that there is limitedexploitation of such frameworks by industry professional. In order to develop a betterunderstanding of the topic under study, this paper will adapt a multidisciplinaryapproach by integrating; traditional SMEs marketing, e-marketing, IS/IT, and B2Be-marketplace to develop an e-marketing framework that will offer a greater value forSMEs.

MIP28,3

316

MethodologyAn online questionnaire was used to reach the sampled companies operating in the fareast market (China, Malaysia, and Singapore). The rational for choosing the thesescountries is motivated by the advanced and well-developed B2B e-marketplaces andtheir SMEs databases. The questionnaire was aimed at general managers, managingdirectors, IT managers, sales managers and other professionals in selectedorganisations that participated in B2B e-marketplace. Participates’ details includingtheir name, full address, e-mail, position hold, and contact number were drawn fromthe chosen B2B e-marketplaces.

The sample frame contained 315 B2B companies, who were active members (basedon their transaction volume), and after screening the database for redundancies andmisplacements, resulted in a total population of 258. Accompanied by a covering letter,all 258 companies were contacted by e-mail during the first week of data collection, andthis was then followed by the “follow-ups” e-mails to foster participation.

A total of 151 questionnaires were returned, and after filtering process, 64 werefound “half finished” or contained significant missing data, providing 87 validquestionnaires, resulting in an overall response rate of 34 percent. Compared with othersimilar survey response’s rates, such as 16.5 percent in Shang and Marlow (2005),13.5 percent in Yu (2007), and 28.2 percent in Matook and Vessey (2008), the responserate is reasonable.

Survey results and data analysisAnswers to questions one, two, and three have been withheld due to privacy. Thesurvey results are divided into four sections. The first section examines the individualcompany’s characteristics and background. The second section identifies company’scurrent marketing strategies/policies, the third and fourth section explores themarketing strategies and how e-marketing initiatives have been implemented in theB2B companies.

Characteristics of sampleThe characteristics of sample are indicated in Table I. In terms of business domain inthis survey, 25.3 percent of the companies who participated in this survey are inIT sector, 33.3 percent from the manufacturer, finance/banking sector (10.3 percent),construction (12.6 percent), communication (6.9 percent), travel-based sector(3.4 percent) and 8.0 percent were other sectors such as engineering firms.In addition, the maximum number of employees from the organisation is within100-200 and this considered medium size firms which is 41.4 percent. A total of51-100 employees accounted for 26.4 percent, 21-50 and five to 20 employees were bothaccounted for 16.1 percent.

Marketing strategies/policiesThe primary aim of this section is to analyse the company’s current marketingsituation. Based on the survey results, there are five key thematic areas are considered:

(1) internet advertising;

(2) outsourcing marketing;

(3) public relations/publicity;

B2Be-marketplace

317

(4) sales promotion; and

(5) trade shows.

Out of 87 respondents, 24.1 percent of the companies responded positively that internetadvertising and public relation/publicity is their main marketing function. 23.0 percentof the respondents indicated sales promotion as their marketing function, 17.2 percentoutsourced their marketing activities, 10.3 percent emphasized on trade shows andfinally others marketing function indicated 1.3 percent.

Reliability is a necessary contributor for data accuracy and consistency (Cooper andSchindler, 2006). It is commonly believed that the Cronbach’s a value is the standardreliability measurement for data collection. Nunnally (1978) suggested that, theCronbach’s a value should .0.7 for high reliability standard. Table II reports theresult of Cronbach’s a ¼ 0.965, indicates the existence of internal consistency orhomogeneity among the variables for this study.

In addition, the contributions of marketing functions have been ranked using Likertscale with “1 ¼ highly not effective, 2 ¼ not effective, 3 ¼ neutral, 4 ¼ effective and5 ¼ highly effective.” Based on the results shown in Table II, it can be suggested that,all the variables are practiced by the marketing professionals. Outsourcing marketing(mean ¼ 4.29, SD ¼ 1.02) ranks the first position followed by internet advertising

Marketing functions/likert scale 1 2 3 4 5 Mean SD Rank

Internet advertising 4 3 9 20 51 4.2759 1.0863 2Outsourcing marketing 4 2 6 28 47 4.2874 1.0198 1Public relations/publicity 1 2 9 47 28 4.1379 0.7810 3Sales promotion 0 1 15 46 25 4.0919 0.7071 4Trade shows 1 7 15 45 19 3.8506 0.8944 5

Note: Cronbach’s a value ¼ 0.965

Table II.Rating scale of marketingfunctions

Frequency % Cumulative percent

Business naturesIT 22 25.3 25.3Manufacturer 29 33.3 58.6Construction 11 12.6 71.3Finance/banking 9 10.3 81.6Communication 6 6.9 88.5Travel/tourism/leisure 3 3.4 92.0Others 7 8.0 100.0Total 87 100.0Number of employees5-20 14 16.1 16.121-50 14 16.1 32.251-100 23 26.4 58.6101-200 36 41.4 100.0Total 87 100.0

Table I.Characteristics of sample

MIP28,3

318

(mean ¼ 4.28, SD ¼ 1.09), public relations/publicity (mean ¼ 4.14, SD ¼ 0.78), salespromotion (mean ¼ 4.09, SD ¼ 0.71) and trade shows (mean ¼ 3.84, SD ¼ 0.89).

Internet advertising, one of the main elements in e-marketing, ranked number two interms of its marketing effectiveness. In addition, over 24 percent of the respondentsindicated that internet advertising is their main marketing function. The resultprovides a clear indication that, SMEs are aware of the internet marketing activities.However, marketers are still challenged by the emerging “e” possibilities, as thestrategies to transform the marketing technology were compounded by uncertainty todetermine the appropriate technology (Brady et al., 2008). Hence, it is beneficial bothacademics and practitioners to further explore and to get a better understand of theunderlying obstacles and the main reasons for success in e-marketing adoption.

The reasons of e-marketing adoptionThe development of strategies for internet marketing is reported to be challenging forSMEs, as transformation requires an understanding of the rationale for e-marketingadoption. As shown in Table III, the top priority of e-marketing adoption for SMEs is“competition in the marketplace” as suggested by 30.0 percent of the respondents.Followed closely by “e-marketing is a part of their company’s marketing strategies”(20.7 percent), “globalisation” (19.5 percent), “following the industry trend” (9.2 percent),

% Frequency

Reasons for using Competition in the marketplace 29.9 26e-marketing It is part of my marketing strategies 20.7 18

Globalisation 19.5 17Follow the industry trend 9.2 8Demanded/instructed/advised by senior management 8.0 7Customer satisfaction 9.2 8Others 3.4 3

Group total 100.0 87Mean ¼ 2.86SD ¼ 1.793Problems of e-marketing Security 25.3 22

Implementation 24.1 21Expertise 20.7 18Lack of resources 13.8 12Lack of senior management support 9.2 8Lack of time 6.9 6

Group total 100.0 87Mean ¼ 2.78SD ¼ 1.536Benefits of e-marketing Better relationships with customers 24.1 21

Improved sales 21.8 19Increased web traffic 20.7 18Reduced marketing costs 19.5 17Competitive advantages 10.3 9Improved products/services quality 3.4 3

Group total 100.0 87Mean ¼ 2.80SD ¼ 1.445

Table III.Descriptive statistics

from the survey results

B2Be-marketplace

319

“demanded/instructed/advised by senior management” (8.0 percent), “customersatisfaction” (9.2 percent), “other reasons” (3.4 percent) were reported to be therationale for e-marketing adoption.

The performance of e-marketing is another important that was explored with therespondents. Over 61 percent indicated that e-marketing was “good” for theirmarketing activities, 19.5 percent “had no idea about it,”12.6 percent reported it was“not efficient at all,” and only 6.9 percent stated that e-marketing was “significantlybeneficial” to their businesses.

According to Eid et al. (2006), the contribution of the internet to marketing strategy isoften regarded as a vehicle for competitive advantages and the respondents reportedthat the internet technology is a vital contributor to their marketing efficiency.Furthermore, e-marketing has been considered an important propriety asset to competein the global marketplace. The results also indicated that majority of the respondentsbelieved e-marketing performed well in their businesses. In summary, the need formarketing for gaining a competitive edge in global markets is the main reasons formarketers to participate in e-marketing. Despite the potential of e-marketing, it wouldbe beneficial to review the benefits and challenges to the marketers.

E-marketing benefits and challengesThe section is used to identify the e-marketing benefits and problems face by theB2B marketing firms. As shown in Table III, over 25 percent of respondents stated thatthe security was the main problems in e-marketing. This was followed byimplementation (24.1 percent), expertise (20.7), lack of resources (13.8 percent), lackof senior management support (9.2 percent) and lack of time (6.9 percent). Regarding tothe benefits of using e-marketing, 24.1 percent said e-marketing facilitates betterunderstanding with customers, improves sales (21.8 percent), increases web traffic(20.7 percent), reduces marketing costs (19.5 percent), competitive advantages(10.3 percent), and improves products/services quality (3.4 percent).

Initially, the survey results seem to show that there are effective controls for dealingwith the problems in these particular firms. However, the difficulties in analyzing thesedata become obvious when a more detailed disaggregated pattern is sought. The mainproblems in e-marketing are the security, implementation, and expertise. Althoughmany SMEs are struggling with e-marketing adoption, however the understanding ofthe technology is important. Generally, many firms invest heavily in e-marketingmainly because of the competitive pressure and for establishing better relationshipwith their customer. Overall, the range of benefits that can be achieved fromparticipation in e-marketing is extensive, although not all will apply to every company.The benefits of e-marketing are not normally realised in a short space of time and assuch companies should be realistic about short-term benefits. A longer, slowerapproach may be a more reliable way to achieve sustainable advantages frome-marketing participation. Nevertheless, recognition of the advantages to be gainedfrom e-marketing is desirable from an early point of developing marketing activities toenable business strategies for selection of suitable technology to be put in place.

E-marketing frameworkThe reason of the development of this framework is to assist SMEs on all aspects ofmarketing from strategy and planning through to marketing mix and communication.

MIP28,3

320

The main purpose of this framework is to provide an e-marketing implementation forSMEs. Initially, it is crucial to identify the components of e-marketing strategies thatmay help SMEs in the use of the internet-based marketing techniques to compete ininternational context.

Critical components of e-marketing strategiesBased on the survey results, respondents have identified three major components thatare likely to be examined in the success of e-marketing implementation. The meanscores for each marketing components were calculated using their respectiveconstructs from the data shown in Table IV. The scale used for the measurement was“1 ¼ highly not critical, 2 ¼ not critical, 3 ¼ neutral, 4 ¼ critical and 5 ¼ highlycritical.” As shown in Table IV, the overall Cronbach’s a value ¼ 0.967 and the results. mean ¼ 4.0 suggesting; people, information/resources and technology areconsidered crucial and contributing factors to the participant company’s marketingstrategies/policies:

. People (mean ¼ 4.52, SD ¼ 0.82): consists of all the stakeholders of theorganisation especially the expertise and the customers. The human capability ofthe marketing firms makes it possible to share data/information/resources toaccess potential customers in the global context.

. Information/resources (mean ¼ 4.48, SD ¼ 0.68): lack of information/resources isthe main concern for SMEs. Information resources and information capabilitiesof the organisation can create value for itself and for its customers. SMEs need asystem that can create, acquire, organise, distribute, and use the information toimplement e-marketing strategies. Therefore, effective adoption of thee-marketing resources is critically important for SMEs to extend credit for thesuccess in the internet-based marketing activities.

. Technology (mean ¼ 4.45, SD ¼ 0.82): technological innovation has been the keyelement to implement e-marketing framework. Technologies offer direct link tothe customers/suppliers/distributors and it will facilitate electronic transactions,information sharing, and provides opportunities to develop newproducts/services for existing and new customers (Kandampully, 2003; Baruaet al., 1997; Albrecht et al., 2005).

SWOT analysisStrength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis has been a popularmarketing analysis approach to enable marketers validates and confirms which

Components/likert scale 1 2 3 4 5 Mean SD Rank

People 1 1 9 16 60 4.5287 0.8185 1Technology 1 1 13 24 50 4.4598 0.8717 3Information/resources 0 2 3 33 49 4.4828 0.6782 2Time 10 8 13 40 15 3.4483 1.2166 6Cost 2 2 18 43 22 3.9310 0.9899 4Environment 4 7 28 37 11 3.5054 0.9750 5

Note: Cronbach’s a value ¼ 0.967

Table IV.Rating scale of

e-marketing components

B2Be-marketplace

321

aspects truly need to be given priority (Lin et al., 2004). In the past decade, manyacademics and practitioners including; Lee et al. (2000), Li et al. (2002), and Lin et al.(2004) have used SWOT analysis for their marketing strategy development process.The adoption of SWOT analysis for this study is primarily to combine the analysisfrom the survey results and the literature review. In terms of monitoring the issueswhich are currently engaging businesses and educators, a structured analysis usingSWOT techniques that consist of the external opportunities and threats are conducted.In addition, this analysis is also considering the strengths and weaknesses in theelectronic environment which summarises the results through SWOT analysis asshown in Table V.

The threats and weaknesses are common to all marketers and they are stronglydependent on the capacity of the company’s top management members to response tothem. Technical problems are the main threat for marketers in implementinge-marketing strategies. The data from the survey identified an apparent opportunitiesin e-marketing with exposure to new market segments, cost reduction, global presence,and customer feedback concerning e-marketing and related issues. The data in Table IIIregarding e-marketing benefits were concerned about the strengths of e-marketing inthe global business environment.

In conclusion, e-marketing adoption suggests that an early stage in any electronicprocess is the use of the internet facility to access more general contextual information(i.e. corporate intelligence) to assist decision making. This study sought to examine thisdimension of internet usage by addressing the provision and usage of information fore-marketing activities. This is contrary to the result, given the commitment of theSMEs to support the information society through the provision of information and theassociated publicity generated to encourage businesses to exposure to the worldmarketplace. Through the effectiveness of usage of the B2B e-marketplace bybusinesses in e-marketing and the nature and quality of the technology opportunities,SMEs will likely understand the real needs of their customers by implementinge-marketing.

Roadmap to e-marketing frameworkThe implementation of e-marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to theratio of cost against the benefit of reaching global target audience. Companies canreach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets and thenature of the B2B e-marketplace allows consumers to research and purchase products

Opportunities StrengthsExposure to new market segments Better relationships with customersCost reductions Improved in salesMore customer feedback Reduced marketing costsMake a global presence Increased web traffic

Competitive advantagesThreats WeaknessesProblems in implementation Limited resources (SMEs)Lack of expertise Lack of expertiseSecurity technology Lack of senior management support

Table V.SWOT analysis fore-marketing strategies

MIP28,3

322

and services at their own convenience (Laudon and Laudon, 2004; O’Reily andFinnegan, 2007). Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumersin a medium that can bring results quickly.

The fundamental idea of the e-marketing framework is similar to the concept ofGloor (2000) model which also emphasizes the integration of the internet technologyand businesses for e-marketing implementation. Once the company has decided toembark on the e-marketing strategy, a roadmap for deployment needs to be prepared.Referring to Figure 6, this framework deploys sequential steps to guide theimplementation of e-marketing strategies:

. the marketers must have a clear idea and clarify about their contextual factors;

. select the best B2B e-marketplace that suit their firm’s needs and wants; and

. go through the e-marketing components (people, information/resources, and thetechnology). These are crucial for firms gaining optimum benefits which willcontribute to the return of their investment.

The survey results have been evaluated in order to identify trends that could lead to agreater understanding of the components of e-marketing. The evidence availablesuggests that contextual factors (Sharma, 2004) of the businesses are at an early stage

Figure 6.Roadmap to e-marketing

framework

Contextual factors

• Firm Size e.g. SMEs• Type of e-business model e.g. B2B• Type of market e.g. Global

Choose the rightB2B

e-marketplace

Implementation

E-marketing components

PeopleInformation/Resources

Technology

B2Be-marketplace

323

in the adoption of e-marketing in B2B environment. The literature initiatives providesupporting evidence on the positive impact of participation in the B2B e-marketplace.However, further attention needs to be directed towards the objectives of choosingthe right B2B e-marketplace. The right B2B e-marketplace should be a vehicle forB2B marketing firms to learn, enhancing the knowledge and understanding ofparticipators and encouraging them to engage more fully and revisit more frequentlyto ensure they choose the suitable B2B marketplace (Stockdale and Standing, 2004) fortheir businesses.

E-marketing framework for B2B firmsOne of the most vivid implications of B2B e-marketplace for SMEs is the potential forexternal communication and information gathering for market and product research(O’Reily and Finnegan, 2007). Although the breadth of activities pursued ine-marketing field is limited at present, the continued growth of e-marketing will enableSMEs to engage in currently under utilised applications. SMEs need to perceive thatbenefits of B2B e-marketing will outweigh the costs of marketing. The framework(Figure 7) therefore provides various incentives to help SMEs engage in e-marketingwith minimal investment and costs. In order to reap the advantages ofB2B e-marketplace, SMEs must fully embrace it by releasing the potentials of the

Figure 7.E-marketing frameworkfor B2B firms

Company’swebsite

Participate in B2B e-marketplace

E-marketing tools in e-marketplaceSearch engine positioning

Banner ad.E-catalogue

Etc.

• Customer relationships• Improved sales• Increased web traffic• Competitive advantage• Reduced marketing costs

Exposure to global market

MIP28,3

324

internet (Sharma and Seth, 2005). This survey result confirmed the view that theinternet can reduce the barriers faced by SMEs by lowering the costs of extending theirgeographic reach, enhanced customer relationships, improved sales, increased webtraffic, competitive advantage, and efficiency gains. The managers of SMEs should,then, ensure that they are able to acquire the enabling and enlightening technical andmanagement skills related to B2B e-marketplace usage.

As shown in Figure 7, the B2B e-marketplace works as a platform for distributors,wholesalers, exporters and importers to communicate and the company’s web siteplaying a important role in the success for the operation of B2B e-marketplace. Thee-marketing tools in e-marketplace enable the businesses position strategically ininternational context and obtained enormous benefits in cost savings, stimulatedcompetition, and productivity increased (Sculley and Woods, 2001). In addition, theunderstanding of the B2B e-marketplace environment by the SMEs is important.Recognition of both advantages and barriers will extend their businesses beyondconventional marketing boundaries, and more effectively plan the participation intothe e-environment.

Conclusions/recommendationsCurrent studies indicate that marketers are still investigating the decision of whether ornot they should implement e-marketing. Considering the results for this study, it seemsthat the e-marketing implementation can be applied by the marketers to good effect if:

. contextual factors are identified;

. right B2B e-marketplace is chosen;

. ICT infrastructure investment is allocated;

. company’s marketing strategies/policies are integrated;

. e-marketing components are identified;

. e-marketing tools in B2B e-marketplace are identified; and

. e-marketing problems are highlighted.

Facing competition often requires drastic measures. e-Marketing can be no less than arevolution in the company leading to, at least, reduced cycle times and in many casesreductions in cost, and increased sales and better relationships with the customers(Kandampully, 2003; Bakos, 1998; Kaplan and Sawhney, 2000; Jensen, 2008). Theunderstanding gained from the framework presented in this study provides a strongfoundation for identify the likely benefits from the marketing perspective as follow:

. increased customers relationships;

. reduce marketing costs compare to traditional marketing media;

. easy to implement;

. reduce marketing staff;

. can be operate round the clocks;

. make company a global presence;

. exposure to new market segments; and

. more interactive in terms of marketing communication.

B2Be-marketplace

325

The development of the e-marketing framework empirically from the survey isconsidered beneficial from a marketing perspective for SMEs. The framework wasinitially developed conceptually and validated following by the survey results. As therespondents were from different industries, this framework is not specific to aparticular industry, but potentially it is a generic roadmap for facilitatingB2B e-marketing. e-Marketing via the B2B e-marketplace not only offers a cheaper,more cost-effective way to transact business, but also brings a more efficient marketingmechanism, because it is not constrained by geographical distance or time. Furthermore, B2B e-marketplace may allow to the creation of new markets that did not exits orwere not possible previously.

Limitation of the researchThe major limitation of this study is associated with the sample selection. Although theliterature findings were international, the empirical study was restricted to China,Malaysia, and Singapore. Therefore, the generalizability of the results may not beapplicable for other countries. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents participatedwere SMEs. Hence, the applicability of findings to large-scale organisations may belimited.

Future researchAn interesting extension of the above work is to further explore the dimensions ofe-marketing services from the B2B e-marketplace. Subsequent research may include:

. contribution of e-marketing services of B2B e-marketplace to businessperformance;

. critical success factors associated with B2B e-marketplace service performance;and

. a similar study with a bigger sample, or different countries.

References

Albrecht, C., Dean, D. and Hansen, J. (2005), “Marketplace and technology standards forB2B e-commerce: progress, challenges, and the state of the art”, Information &Management, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 865-75.

Angeles, R., Corritore, C.L., Basu, S.C. and Nath, R. (2001), “Success factors for domestic andinternational electronic data interchange (EDI) implementation in US firms”, InternationalJournal of Information Management, Vol. 21, pp. 329-47.

Bakos, Y.J. (1998), “Towards friction-free markets: the emerging role of electronic marketplaceson the internet”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 41 No. 8, pp. 35-42.

Barua, A., Ravindran, S. and Whinston, A.B. (1997), “Efficient selection of suppliers over theinternet”, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 13 No. 3, p. 117.

Brady, M., Fellenz, M.R. and Brookes, R. (2008), “Researching the role of information andcommunications technology (ICT) in contemporary marketing practices”, Journal ofBusiness & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 108-14.

Chaffey, D. (2004), E-Business and E-Commerce Management, Financial Times-Prentice Hall,London.

Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S. (2006), Business Research Methods, 9th ed., McGraw-HillEducation, Singapore.

MIP28,3

326

Eid, R., Trueman, M. and Ahmed, A.M. (2006), “B2B international internet marketing:a benchmarking exercises”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 13 Nos 1/2,pp. 200-13.

Gebauer, H., Wang, C., Beckenbauer, B. and Krempl, R. (2007), “Business-to-business marketingas a key factor for increasing service revenue in China”, Journal of Business & IndustrialMarketing, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 126-37.

Gilmore, A., Gallagher, D. and Henry, S. (2007), “E-marketing and SMEs: operational lessons forthe future”, European Business Review, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 234-47.

Gloor, P. (2000), Making the e-Business Transformation, Springer, New York, NY.

Harridge-March, S. (2004), “Electronic marketing, the new kid on the block”, MarketingIntelligence & Planning, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 297-309.

Internet World Stats (2007), “Internet usage statistics – world internet users and population stats”,available at: www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm (accessed May 9, 2008).

Internet World Stats (2008), “Internet usage statistics – the big picture, world internet usersand population stats”, available at: www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm (accessedOctober 9, 2009).

Jensen, M.B. (2008), “Online marketing communication potential”, European Journal ofMarketing, Vol. 42 Nos 3/4, pp. 502-25.

Kandampully, J. (2003), “B2B relationships and networks in the internet age”, ManagementDecision, Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 443-51.

Kaplan, S. and Sawhney, M. (2000), “E-hubs: the new B2B marketplaces”, Harvard BusinessReview, Vol. 78, pp. 97-103.

Kierzkowski, A., McQuade, S., Waitman, R. and Zeisser, M. (1996), “Marketing to the digitalconsumer”, McKinsey Quarterly, Vol. 3, pp. 5-21.

Lagrosen, S. (2005), “Effects of the internet on the marketing communication of servicecompanies”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 63-9.

Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J.P. (2000), Management Information Systems: Organization andTechnology in the Networked Enterprise, 6th ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J.P. (2002), Management Information Systems: Managing Digital Firm,Prentice-Hall International, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J.P. (2004), Management Information Systems: Managing Digital Firm,8th ed., Prentice-Hall International, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Lee, S.F., Lo, K.K., Leung, R.F. and Ko, A.S.O. (2000), “Strategy formulation framework forvocational education: integrating SWOT analysis, balanced scorecard, QFD methodologyand MBNQA education criteria”, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 15 No. 8, pp. 407-23.

Liang, T.P., Lin, C.Y. and Chen, C.N. (2004), “Effects of electronic commerce models andindustrial characteristics on firm performance”, Industrial Management & Data Systems,Vol. 104 No. 7, pp. 538-45.

Lin, T.M.Y., Luarn, P. and Lo, P.K.Y. (2004), “Internet market segmentation – an exploratorystudy of critical success factors”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 22 No. 6,pp. 601-22.

Li, S., Davies, B., Edwards, J., Kinman, R. and Duan, Y. (2002), “Integrating group Delphi, fuzzylogic and expert systems for marketing strategy development: the hybridisation and itseffectiveness”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 273-84.

B2Be-marketplace

327

Matook, S. and Vessey, I. (2008), “Types of business-to-business e-marketplaces: the role of atheory-based, domain-specific model”, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 9No. 4, pp. 260-79.

Michel, D., Naude, P., Salle, R. and Valla, J. (2003), Business-to-Business Marketing, PalgraveMacmillan, New York, NY.

Murtaza, M.B., Gupta, V. and Carroll, R.C.E.-M. (2004), “Marketplaces and the future of supplychain management: opportunities and challenges”, Business Process Management Journal,Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 325-35.

Narayanasamy, K., Santhapparaj, A.S. and Eze, U.C. (2008), “An empirical study of websiteadoption among SME in Malaysia”, Communications of IBIMA, Vol. 2 No. 8, pp. 50-62.

Ngai, E.W.T. (2003), “Internet marketing research (1987-2000): a literature review andclassification”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37 Nos 1/2, pp. 24-49.

Nunnally, J.C. (1978), Psychometrics Methods, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

O’Reily, P. and Finnegan, P. (2007), “B2B marketplaces sharing IS/IT infrastructures:an exploration of strategic technology alliances”, Journal of Enterprise InformationManagement, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 304-18.

Pavaloia, V.D. (2009), “Web based application for SMEs economic and financial diagnose”,Communications of IBIMA, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 24-30.

Petersen, K.J., Ogden, J.A. and Carter, P.L. (2007), “B2B e-marketplaces: a typology byfunctionality”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management,Vol. 37, pp. 4-18.

Rohm, A.J., Kashyap, V., Brashear, T.G. and Milne, G.R. (2004), “The use of online marketplacesfor competitive advantage: a Latin American perspective”, Journal of Business & IndustrialMarketing, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 372-85.

Sandeep, K. and Singh, N. (2005), “The international e-marketing framework (IEMF): identifyingthe building blocks for future global e-marketing research”, International MarketingReview, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 605-10.

Sculley, A.B. and Woods, W.A. (2001), B2B Exchanges: The Killer Application in theBusiness-to-Business Internet Revolution, Harper & Collins, New York, NY.

Shang, K.C. and Marlow, P.B. (2005), “Logistics capability and performance in Taiwan’s majormanufacturing Firms”, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and TransportationReview, Vol. 41, E3, pp. 217-32.

Sharma, B. (2004), “Marketing strategy, contextual factors and performance: an investigation oftheir relationship”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 128-43.

Sharma, A. and Sheth, J.N. (2005), “International e-marketing: opportunities and issues”,International Marketing Review, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 611-22.

Stockdale, R. and Standing, C. (2004), “Benefits and barriers of electronic marketplaceparticipation: an SME perspective”, The Journal of Enterprise Information Management,Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 301-11.

Strauss, J. and Frost, R. (2001), E-Marketing, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Teo, T.S.H. and Tan, J.S. (2002), “Senior executives’ perceptions of business-to-consumer (B2C)online marketing strategies: the case of Singapore”, Internet Research: ElectronicNetworking Applications and Policy, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 258-75.

Yu, C.-S. (2007), “What drives enterprises to trading via B2B e-marketplaces”, Journal ofElectronic Commerce Research, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 84-100.

MIP28,3

328

Further reading

Bacheldo, B. (2000), “Worldwide e-commerce: it’s more than a web site”, Informationweek,Vol. 785, pp. 47-8.

Gartner Group, Asia/Pacific SCM: Waiting for the Turnaround (2007), available at: www.gartner.com/ (accessed November 30, 2007).

Hoyle, R.H., Harris, M.J. and Judd, C.M. (2002), Research Methods in Social Relations,Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, Belmont, CA.

Kelle, U. and Erzberger, C. (2004), Quantitative and Qualitative Methods: No Confrontation, Sage,London.

Marshall, C. and Rossman, G.B. (1999),DesigningQualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Nickles, A. (2000), “A wake up call for security”, Midrange Systems, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 52-4.

Ziikmund, W.G. (2000), Business Research Methods, 6th ed., Harcourt, Fort Worth, TX.

About the authorsWoon Kian Chong is a PhD Researcher at the Bolton Business School, The University of Bolton,UK. His primary area of research is in the B2B e-marketplaces and e-marketing for SMEs.Woon Kian Chong is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: WC1LIS@bolton.ac.uk

Mathew Shafaghi received an MSc in Management Studies from the University of Salford in1990 and a PhD in problems and implementation issues of tool management and control systemsfrom Sheffield Hallam University in 1994. Having worked as a strategic ICT consultant on a widerange of projects, he joined the University of Bolton in 2002 as a senior lecturer. He is theprogramme leader for the professional doctoral programme and programme leader for offcampus postgraduate programmes at Bolton Business School. He is currently supervising anumber of PhD students in the areas of e-business, e-marketing, e-tourism, online shoppingbehaviour, and e-business strategies for SMEs.

Christopher Woollaston is a Senior Lecturer at the Bolton Business School, The University ofBolton, UK. His primary area of research is in the field of B2B marketing.

Vincent Lui is a PhD Researcher at the University of Bolton Business School, UK. His primaryarea of research is the online consumer behaviour.

B2Be-marketplace

329

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.comOr visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints