Marketing Intelligence & Planning

Emerald Article: B2B e-marketplace: an e-marketing framework for B2B commerce Woon Kian Chong, Mathew Shafaghi, Christopher Woollaston, Vincent Lui

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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

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B2B e-marketplace: an e-marketing framework for B2B commerce

Woon Kian Chong, Mathew Shafaghi, Christopher Woollaston and Vincent Lui
Bolton Business School, The University of Bolton, Bolton, UK
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear understanding of the performance of business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplace in conducting e-marketing in the global business environment. The proposed framework is intended to be used as a guide for B2B rms especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who wish to adopt a proactive approach in the use of information and communication technology for business efciency and competitive advantage, and those who wish to explore the internet technologies for marketing activities. Design/methodology/approach Literature from the B2B e-marketplaces and operations of e-marketing elds were analysed, and the ndings were synthesised to develop a preliminary conceptual model of e-marketing. The conceptual model was tested empirically through an online survey from various industries in China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Findings With signicant online and ofine publications from both academia and industry, there is a growing awareness of the contribution of the e-marketing in the global environment. This new marketing paradigm is reported to reshape the business relationships between both consumer marketers and consumers, improving business processes and enhancing the business exposure in the new markets. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of this paper is associated with the sample selection. Although the literature ndings were international, the empirical study was restricted to China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Therefore, the generalizability of the results may not be applicable for other countries. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents participated were SMEs. Hence, the applicability of ndings to large-scale organisations may be limited. Practical implications The framework allows B2B rms to capitalise and understand the e-marketing opportunities provided by B2B e-marketplace. The framework also offers guidance to marketing managers a most appropriate approach to adopt B2B e-marketplace to perform their e-marketing activities. Originality/value Based on the need for a framework for e-marketing, this study is signicance to: SMEs, marketers, information technology practitioners, and all other stakeholders that adopted the internet 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

310
Received January 2009 Revised May 2009 Accepted June 2009

Marketing Intelligence & Planning Vol. 28 No. 3, 2010 pp. 310-329 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0263-4503 DOI 10.1108/02634501011041444

Background The development of the internet and the world wide web (www) in the 1990s as a tool for the global sharing of information has opened up new opportunities in marketing practices. The rapid growth of internet users has made the internet an increasingly important and attractive platform for business transactions (Liang et al., 2004, p. 538).

According to the Internet World Stats (2007), by March 2008, the internet user population reached 1.40 billions world wide, an increase of 290 percent in the period from 2000 to 2008 (Figure 1). Many academics and practitioners have emphasized that the internet is a major platform for e-marketing to deal with marketing mixes, which include 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 and personalised capabilities (Teo and Tan, 2002). Additionally, e-marketing also refers to the use of electronic methods or media to build upon and maintain customer relationship through electronic platforms (e.g. business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplaces) that facilitates the exchange of ideas, products, and services to satisfy both buyers and sellers (Ngai, 2003). Strauss and Frost (2001) support the above statement and suggested that, sales, public relations, direct marketing, and advertising are marketing communication that comprises the crucial components of e-marketing strategy. B2B e-marketplace, as one of the major trading platforms brought by the internet technology has made a signicant contribution to the e-marketers. The larger organisations are taking advantages from the vast array of suppliers/buyers via the B2B e-marketplace (Stockdale and Standing, 2004). However, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are also eager to compete in the electronic environment remain concerns as how their businesses can gain benets from B2B e-marketplace. With signicant online and ofine publications from both academia and industry (Strauss and Frost, 2001; Chaffey, 2004; Sandeep and Singh, 2005; Brady et al., 2008), there is a growing awareness of the contribution of the e-marketing in the global environment. Nonetheless, there is limitation on how to explore the opportunities for SMEs in beneting from the emergent e-marketing practices, derive from the B2B e-marketplace. This paper is intended to provide a clear understanding of the performance of e-marketplace in conducting e-marketing in the global business environment. The proposed framework is intended to be used as a guide for B2B rms especially SMEs who wish to adopt a proactive approach in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for business efciency and competitive advantage, and those who wish to explore the internet technologies for marketing activities.

B2B e-marketplace

311

500 400 300 200 100 0

437 Asia 322 233 Europe North America Latin America Africa 110 34 20 19 Middle East Australia/Oceania

Millions

Source: Internet World Stats (2008)

Figure 1. World region internet usage 2008

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The paper has three main sections. First, the study outlines the motivation and objectives for the proposed e-marketing framework. Second, the relevant literature focuses on reviewing three recognised e-marketing frameworks and the performances of e-marketing in B2B e-marketplace, and nally, the key ndings are presented and discussed. Literature review Review of e-marketing frameworks With the advent of the internet technology, the traditional marketing frameworks are redesigned and supported by electronic technologies to create innovative marketing models (Chaffey, 2004; Logrosen, 2005). Some of the widely recognized e-marketing frameworks proposed by Chaffey (2004), Gloor (2000), and Kierzkowski et al. (1996) are described. Chaffey (2004) the e-marketing strategy. Chaffey (2004) suggests that e-marketing plan should be linked to other corporate plans in order to support the marketing activities. Referring to Figure 2, the e-marketing plan in an organisation should integrate with other corporate or functional strategies to inform specic market plans for different products or geographical markets. This framework is also integrated with information system (IS)/information technology (IT) and e-business strategy to fulll the traditional marketing practices of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers. In addition, e-marketing will include other technologies such as the internet to enable customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management, and enterprise resources planning to help to dene the organisations marketing objectives (Chaffey, 2004; Strauss and Frost, 2001). However, many organisations are still not fully aware of the benets and opportunities provided by e-marketing. The main concern is the presence of nancial constrains and technological expertise especially for SMEs
Corporate (Business) strategy

312

Marketing strategy

Plans for different markets and brands

Marketing communications

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

E-business strategy Source: Chaffey (2004)

E-marketing plan

IS/IT strategy

who have limited resources. Gilmore et al. (2007) identied several drivers to motivate SMEs in the adoption of e-marketing including; lower operating and marketing costs, enriched overall marketing communications mix, and gaining competitive disadvantages in peripheral areas. Furthermore, SMEs have been experiencing difculties in implementing e-marketing due to the lack of specialist in e-marketing, resulting difculties in responding to competitive threats. Gloor (2000) roadmap to e-marketing. Gloor (2000) emphasizes that business and technology are fundamental factors to complete the e-marketing vision, and the transformation to electronic businesses has to consider various aspects including the potential of e-marketing technology (Figure 3). The business vision need to be clearly dened, and the decision makers including functional managers should work together to 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 role to ensure the development of exible, scalable and extensible marketing architecture to support current needs and future business requirements. The framework in Figure 3 indicates the interactive nature of the e-marketing process, which is never completed but rather is an on-going activity. Furthermore, marketers are now looking at the extended marketing strategy that comprises diagnostic assessment and future vision of the organisations that provide additional business efciencies and business leverage to maintain their competitive positions. This attention needs to be directed towards the objectives of choosing the right e-marketing resources (including tools, people, techniques and technologies as indicated in Gloors framework). The right e-marketing resources should be a vehicle for marketing rms to learn and enhance the knowledge

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Diagnostic assessment

Future vision

Strategy programming

Implementation

Evaluation

Strategy

Business process

Technology

People

Implementation Source: Adapted from Gloor (2000)

Figure 3. Roadmap to e-marketing

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and understanding of the e-marketing strategies to complete the reinvention of organisations 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 following ve 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 and aimed at achieving protable acquisitions and retention of customers. The application of 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 is essential for any sustainable business. Hence, this cycle is strongly linked to CRM in terms of making prot, gaining, and retaining customer knowledge such as their behavior, value added, and loyalty drivers. In order to survive in the global competitive market, many consumer marketers depend on their capacity to create value, and this value is dened by consumers. The arguments above is supported by Strauss and Frost (2001), who suggest that e-marketing comprises electronic data and applications for planning and executing marketing activities and marketers can distribute ideas, goods, and services to full the consumers needs. Whilst the above authors have made a signicant contribution to knowledge in the area, a clear and comprehensive picture of e-marketing adoption would be instrumental in priding a road map for the same. Many practitioners and academics (Laudon and Laudon, 2002; Stockdale and Standing, 2004; Gilmore et al., 2007) have suggested that most organisations especially SMEs are uncertain about whether they have sufcient resources/expertises/experiences to use the internet and e-marketing as their marketing tool. The e-marketer needs to be aware of the current issues and trends including; the effectiveness of current marketing strategies/policies adoption
Attract

Relate CRM

Engage

Learn

Retain

Figure 4. Digital marketing cycle

Source: Adapted from Kierzkowski et al. (1996)

(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 benets and challenges (Sculley and Woods, 2001). Furthermore, it also important to respond positively to the current and ongoing technological innovations and changes in marketing practice. One of the most heralded e-marketing developments in recent years is B2B e-marketplace, and this virtual technology-enabled trading platform has made a signicant contribution to the e-marketers. Review of e-marketing performances in B2B e-marketplace The internet is the foundation for B2B commerce that provides the technology and platform to enable this business relationships work effectively. B2B transactions over public and private sectors uses the internet as a delivery vehicle for transactions including; nancial transfer, on-line exchanges, auctions, delivery of products, and services (OReily and Finnegan, 2007). Many practitioners are predicting B2B commerce is expected to have a massive growth and majority of the organisations will have to give consideration to involve with B2B commerce. Referring to Figure 5, B2B consists of three main elements and the e-marketplace performs the main tasks such as sourcing, automated purchasing, processing to facilitate the sellers and buyers to do business transactions. Laudon and Laudon (2000) stated that B2B e-marketplace refers to the exchange of information, products, services, and payment via the internet between buyers and sellers. B2B e-marketplaces are typically dened as inter-organisational IS through which multiple buyers and sellers interact electronically to identify potential trading partners, 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 inefciency of traditional business functionality and allows partners to streamline their marketing activities by sharing information instantaneously. In recent years, B2B e-marketplace have improved/enhanced the extent of e-marketing activities; providing to all marketers especially to SMEs. Recent studies (Narayanasamy et al., 2008; Pavaloia, 2009) are indicative of the fact that SMEs have started 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

B2B e-marketplace

315

Buyer 1 Seller 1

Seller 2

B2B e-Marketplace e-Catalogues e-Transaction Sourcing Automated purchasing Search engine optimisation

Buyer 2

Seller 3

Buyer 3

Source: Adapted from Laudon and Laudon (2002)

Figure 5. B2B marketplace

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limited time/resources and expertise, B2B e-marketplace provide a favorable environment for SMEs to; lower operating and marketing cost, better opportunity to promote their products/services, and enrich their overall marketing communications mix. Overall, the benets of B2B e-marketplace as reported by many academics and practitioners 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 and Woods, 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; their development (Albrecht et al., 2005), role and classication (Bakos, 1998; Angeles, 2001; Kandampully, 2003), their operation (Murtaza et al., 2004), benets 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 the performances of B2B e-marketplace from an e-marketing perspective. In addition, much of the research is focused on particular research areas of interest often ignoring the links to others dimensions in particular e-marketing services. Hence, there are concerns that the despite the efforts to promote adoption of B2B e-marketplace from an e-marketing perspective, SMEs are not fully aware of the opportunities and benets (Stockdale and Standing, 2004). The literature provides insights into the current level of internet-enabler marketing technologies from B2B e-marketplace to the marketers. The online and ofine publications from both academics and practitioners indicated that, e-marketing via B2B e-marketplace is a modern marketing practice for buying and selling goods/services, exchange information/ideas via the internet associated with communication and promotional purposes. The frameworks suggested by various authors including Chaffey (2004), Gloor (2000), Kierzkowski et al. (1996) makes a signicant contribution to knowledge in the areas of e-marketing that has the potential to create competitive advantage and enhance customer value. However, it appears that there is limited exploitation of such frameworks by industry professional. In order to develop a better understanding of the topic under study, this paper will adapt a multidisciplinary approach by integrating; traditional SMEs marketing, e-marketing, IS/IT, and B2B e-marketplace to develop an e-marketing framework that will offer a greater value for SMEs.

Methodology An online questionnaire was used to reach the sampled companies operating in the far east market (China, Malaysia, and Singapore). The rational for choosing the theses countries is motivated by the advanced and well-developed B2B e-marketplaces and their SMEs databases. The questionnaire was aimed at general managers, managing directors, IT managers, sales managers and other professionals in selected organisations that participated in B2B e-marketplace. Participates details including their name, full address, e-mail, position hold, and contact number were drawn from the chosen B2B e-marketplaces. The sample frame contained 315 B2B companies, who were active members (based on their transaction volume), and after screening the database for redundancies and misplacements, resulted in a total population of 258. Accompanied by a covering letter, all 258 companies were contacted by e-mail during the rst week of data collection, and this was then followed by the follow-ups e-mails to foster participation. A total of 151 questionnaires were returned, and after ltering process, 64 were found half nished or contained signicant missing data, providing 87 valid questionnaires, resulting in an overall response rate of 34 percent. Compared with other similar survey responses 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 response rate is reasonable. Survey results and data analysis Answers to questions one, two, and three have been withheld due to privacy. The survey results are divided into four sections. The rst section examines the individual companys characteristics and background. The second section identies companys current marketing strategies/policies, the third and fourth section explores the marketing strategies and how e-marketing initiatives have been implemented in the B2B companies. Characteristics of sample The characteristics of sample are indicated in Table I. In terms of business domain in this survey, 25.3 percent of the companies who participated in this survey are in IT sector, 33.3 percent from the manufacturer, nance/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 rms. In addition, the maximum number of employees from the organisation is within 100-200 and this considered medium size rms which is 41.4 percent. A total of 51-100 employees accounted for 26.4 percent, 21-50 and ve to 20 employees were both accounted for 16.1 percent. Marketing strategies/policies The primary aim of this section is to analyse the companys current marketing situation. Based on the survey results, there are ve key thematic areas are considered: (1) internet advertising; (2) outsourcing marketing; (3) public relations/publicity;

B2B e-marketplace

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Business natures IT Manufacturer Construction Finance/banking Communication Travel/tourism/leisure Others Total Number of employees 5-20 21-50 51-100 101-200 Total

Frequency 22 29 11 9 6 3 7 87 14 14 23 36 87

% 25.3 33.3 12.6 10.3 6.9 3.4 8.0 100.0 16.1 16.1 26.4 41.4 100.0

Cumulative percent 25.3 58.6 71.3 81.6 88.5 92.0 100.0 16.1 32.2 58.6 100.0

318

Table I. Characteristics of sample

(4) sales promotion; and (5) trade shows. Out of 87 respondents, 24.1 percent of the companies responded positively that internet advertising and public relation/publicity is their main marketing function. 23.0 percent of the respondents indicated sales promotion as their marketing function, 17.2 percent outsourced their marketing activities, 10.3 percent emphasized on trade shows and nally others marketing function indicated 1.3 percent. Reliability is a necessary contributor for data accuracy and consistency (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). It is commonly believed that the Cronbachs a value is the standard reliability measurement for data collection. Nunnally (1978) suggested that, the Cronbachs a value should . 0.7 for high reliability standard. Table II reports the result of Cronbachs a 0.965, indicates the existence of internal consistency or homogeneity among the variables for this study. In addition, the contributions of marketing functions have been ranked using Likert scale with 1 highly not effective, 2 not effective, 3 neutral, 4 effective and 5 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 4.29, SD 1.02) ranks the rst position followed by internet advertising

Marketing functions/likert scale Internet advertising Outsourcing marketing Public relations/publicity Sales promotion Trade shows Note: Cronbachs a value 0.965

1 4 4 1 0 1

2 3 2 2 1 7

3 9 6 9 15 15

4 20 28 47 46 45

5 51 47 28 25 19

Mean 4.2759 4.2874 4.1379 4.0919 3.8506

SD 1.0863 1.0198 0.7810 0.7071 0.8944

Rank 2 1 3 4 5

Table II. Rating scale of marketing functions

(mean 4.28, SD 1.09), public relations/publicity (mean 4.14, SD 0.78), sales promotion (mean 4.09, SD 0.71) and trade shows (mean 3.84, SD 0.89). Internet advertising, one of the main elements in e-marketing, ranked number two in terms of its marketing effectiveness. In addition, over 24 percent of the respondents indicated that internet advertising is their main marketing function. The result provides a clear indication that, SMEs are aware of the internet marketing activities. However, marketers are still challenged by the emerging e possibilities, as the strategies to transform the marketing technology were compounded by uncertainty to determine the appropriate technology (Brady et al., 2008). Hence, it is benecial both academics and practitioners to further explore and to get a better understand of the underlying obstacles and the main reasons for success in e-marketing adoption. The reasons of e-marketing adoption The development of strategies for internet marketing is reported to be challenging for SMEs, as transformation requires an understanding of the rationale for e-marketing adoption. 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 companys marketing strategies (20.7 percent), globalisation (19.5 percent), following the industry trend (9.2 percent),
% Reasons for using e-marketing Competition in the marketplace It is part of my marketing strategies Globalisation Follow the industry trend Demanded/instructed/advised by senior management Customer satisfaction Others 29.9 20.7 19.5 9.2 8.0 9.2 3.4 100.0 25.3 24.1 20.7 13.8 9.2 6.9 100.0 24.1 21.8 20.7 19.5 10.3 3.4 100.0 Frequency 26 18 17 8 7 8 3 87 22 21 18 12 8 6 87 21 19 18 17 9 3 87

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Group total Mean 2.86 SD 1.793 Problems of e-marketing Security Implementation Expertise Lack of resources Lack of senior management support Lack of time Group total Mean 2.78 SD 1.536 Benets of e-marketing Better relationships with customers Improved sales Increased web trafc Reduced marketing costs Competitive advantages Improved products/services quality Group total Mean 2.80 SD 1.445

Table III. Descriptive statistics from the survey results

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demanded/instructed/advised by senior management (8.0 percent), customer satisfaction (9.2 percent), other reasons (3.4 percent) were reported to be the rationale for e-marketing adoption. The performance of e-marketing is another important that was explored with the respondents. Over 61 percent indicated that e-marketing was good for their marketing activities, 19.5 percent had no idea about it,12.6 percent reported it was not efcient at all, and only 6.9 percent stated that e-marketing was signicantly benecial to their businesses. According to Eid et al. (2006), the contribution of the internet to marketing strategy is often regarded as a vehicle for competitive advantages and the respondents reported that the internet technology is a vital contributor to their marketing efciency. Furthermore, e-marketing has been considered an important propriety asset to compete in the global marketplace. The results also indicated that majority of the respondents believed e-marketing performed well in their businesses. In summary, the need for marketing for gaining a competitive edge in global markets is the main reasons for marketers to participate in e-marketing. Despite the potential of e-marketing, it would be benecial to review the benets and challenges to the marketers. E-marketing benets and challenges The section is used to identify the e-marketing benets and problems face by the B2B marketing rms. As shown in Table III, over 25 percent of respondents stated that the security was the main problems in e-marketing. This was followed by implementation (24.1 percent), expertise (20.7), lack of resources (13.8 percent), lack of senior management support (9.2 percent) and lack of time (6.9 percent). Regarding to the benets of using e-marketing, 24.1 percent said e-marketing facilitates better understanding with customers, improves sales (21.8 percent), increases web trafc (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 dealing with the problems in these particular rms. However, the difculties in analyzing these data become obvious when a more detailed disaggregated pattern is sought. The main problems in e-marketing are the security, implementation, and expertise. Although many SMEs are struggling with e-marketing adoption, however the understanding of the technology is important. Generally, many rms invest heavily in e-marketing mainly because of the competitive pressure and for establishing better relationship with their customer. Overall, the range of benets that can be achieved from participation in e-marketing is extensive, although not all will apply to every company. The benets of e-marketing are not normally realised in a short space of time and as such companies should be realistic about short-term benets. A longer, slower approach may be a more reliable way to achieve sustainable advantages from e-marketing participation. Nevertheless, recognition of the advantages to be gained from e-marketing is desirable from an early point of developing marketing activities to enable business strategies for selection of suitable technology to be put in place. E-marketing framework The reason of the development of this framework is to assist SMEs on all aspects of marketing from strategy and planning through to marketing mix and communication.

The main purpose of this framework is to provide an e-marketing implementation for SMEs. Initially, it is crucial to identify the components of e-marketing strategies that may help SMEs in the use of the internet-based marketing techniques to compete in international context. Critical components of e-marketing strategies Based on the survey results, respondents have identied three major components that are likely to be examined in the success of e-marketing implementation. The mean scores for each marketing components were calculated using their respective constructs from the data shown in Table IV. The scale used for the measurement was 1 highly not critical, 2 not critical, 3 neutral, 4 critical and 5 highly critical. As shown in Table IV, the overall Cronbachs a value 0.967 and the results . mean 4.0 suggesting; people, information/resources and technology are considered crucial and contributing factors to the participant companys marketing strategies/policies: . People (mean 4.52, SD 0.82): consists of all the stakeholders of the organisation especially the expertise and the customers. The human capability of the marketing rms makes it possible to share data/information/resources to access potential customers in the global context. . Information/resources (mean 4.48, SD 0.68): lack of information/resources is the main concern for SMEs. Information resources and information capabilities of the organisation can create value for itself and for its customers. SMEs need a system that can create, acquire, organise, distribute, and use the information to implement e-marketing strategies. Therefore, effective adoption of the e-marketing resources is critically important for SMEs to extend credit for the success in the internet-based marketing activities. . Technology (mean 4.45, SD 0.82): technological innovation has been the key element to implement e-marketing framework. Technologies offer direct link to the customers/suppliers/distributors and it will facilitate electronic transactions, information sharing, and provides opportunities to develop new products/services for existing and new customers (Kandampully, 2003; Barua et al., 1997; Albrecht et al., 2005). SWOT analysis Strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis has been a popular marketing analysis approach to enable marketers validates and conrms which
Components/likert scale People Technology Information/resources Time Cost Environment 1 1 1 0 10 2 4 2 1 1 2 8 2 7 3 9 13 3 13 18 28 4 16 24 33 40 43 37 5 60 50 49 15 22 11 Mean 4.5287 4.4598 4.4828 3.4483 3.9310 3.5054 SD 0.8185 0.8717 0.6782 1.2166 0.9899 0.9750 Rank 1 3 2 6 4 5

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Note: Cronbachs a value 0.967

Table IV. Rating scale of e-marketing components

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aspects truly need to be given priority (Lin et al., 2004). In the past decade, many academics 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 analysis from the survey results and the literature review. In terms of monitoring the issues which are currently engaging businesses and educators, a structured analysis using SWOT techniques that consist of the external opportunities and threats are conducted. In addition, this analysis is also considering the strengths and weaknesses in the electronic environment which summarises the results through SWOT analysis as shown in Table V. The threats and weaknesses are common to all marketers and they are strongly dependent on the capacity of the companys top management members to response to them. Technical problems are the main threat for marketers in implementing e-marketing strategies. The data from the survey identied an apparent opportunities in 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 III regarding e-marketing benets were concerned about the strengths of e-marketing in the global business environment. In conclusion, e-marketing adoption suggests that an early stage in any electronic process 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 this dimension of internet usage by addressing the provision and usage of information for e-marketing activities. This is contrary to the result, given the commitment of the SMEs to support the information society through the provision of information and the associated publicity generated to encourage businesses to exposure to the world marketplace. Through the effectiveness of usage of the B2B e-marketplace by businesses in e-marketing and the nature and quality of the technology opportunities, SMEs will likely understand the real needs of their customers by implementing e-marketing. Roadmap to e-marketing framework The implementation of e-marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to the ratio of cost against the benet of reaching global target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets and the nature of the B2B e-marketplace allows consumers to research and purchase products

Opportunities Exposure to new market segments Cost reductions More customer feedback Make a global presence Table V. SWOT analysis for e-marketing strategies Threats Problems in implementation Lack of expertise Security technology

Strengths Better relationships with customers Improved in sales Reduced marketing costs Increased web trafc Competitive advantages Weaknesses Limited resources (SMEs) Lack of expertise Lack of senior management support

and services at their own convenience (Laudon and Laudon, 2004; OReily and Finnegan, 2007). Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The fundamental idea of the e-marketing framework is similar to the concept of Gloor (2000) model which also emphasizes the integration of the internet technology and businesses for e-marketing implementation. Once the company has decided to embark on the e-marketing strategy, a roadmap for deployment needs to be prepared. Referring to Figure 6, this framework deploys sequential steps to guide the implementation 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 rms needs and wants; and . go through the e-marketing components (people, information/resources, and the technology). These are crucial for rms gaining optimum benets which will contribute to the return of their investment. The survey results have been evaluated in order to identify trends that could lead to a greater understanding of the components of e-marketing. The evidence available suggests that contextual factors (Sharma, 2004) of the businesses are at an early stage
Contextual factors Firm Size e.g. SMEs Type of e-business model e.g. B2B Type of market e.g. Global

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Choose the right B2B e-marketplace

E-marketing components People Information/ Resources Technology

Implementation

Figure 6. Roadmap to e-marketing framework

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in the adoption of e-marketing in B2B environment. The literature initiatives provide supporting evidence on the positive impact of participation in the B2B e-marketplace. However, further attention needs to be directed towards the objectives of choosing the right B2B e-marketplace. The right B2B e-marketplace should be a vehicle for B2B marketing rms to learn, enhancing the knowledge and understanding of participators and encouraging them to engage more fully and revisit more frequently to ensure they choose the suitable B2B marketplace (Stockdale and Standing, 2004) for their businesses. E-marketing framework for B2B rms One of the most vivid implications of B2B e-marketplace for SMEs is the potential for external communication and information gathering for market and product research (OReily and Finnegan, 2007). Although the breadth of activities pursued in e-marketing eld is limited at present, the continued growth of e-marketing will enable SMEs to engage in currently under utilised applications. SMEs need to perceive that benets of B2B e-marketing will outweigh the costs of marketing. The framework (Figure 7) therefore provides various incentives to help SMEs engage in e-marketing with minimal investment and costs. In order to reap the advantages of B2B e-marketplace, SMEs must fully embrace it by releasing the potentials of the
Companys website

Participate in B2B e-marketplace

E-marketing tools in e-marketplace Search engine positioning Banner ad. E-catalogue Etc. Customer relationships Improved sales Increased web traffic Competitive advantage Reduced marketing costs

Figure 7. E-marketing framework for B2B rms

Exposure to global market

internet (Sharma and Seth, 2005). This survey result conrmed the view that the internet can reduce the barriers faced by SMEs by lowering the costs of extending their geographic reach, enhanced customer relationships, improved sales, increased web trafc, competitive advantage, and efciency gains. The managers of SMEs should, then, ensure that they are able to acquire the enabling and enlightening technical and management 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 companys web site playing a important role in the success for the operation of B2B e-marketplace. The e-marketing tools in e-marketplace enable the businesses position strategically in international context and obtained enormous benets in cost savings, stimulated competition, and productivity increased (Sculley and Woods, 2001). In addition, the understanding of the B2B e-marketplace environment by the SMEs is important. Recognition of both advantages and barriers will extend their businesses beyond conventional marketing boundaries, and more effectively plan the participation into the e-environment. Conclusions/recommendations Current studies indicate that marketers are still investigating the decision of whether or not they should implement e-marketing. Considering the results for this study, it seems that the e-marketing implementation can be applied by the marketers to good effect if: . contextual factors are identied; . right B2B e-marketplace is chosen; . ICT infrastructure investment is allocated; . companys marketing strategies/policies are integrated; . e-marketing components are identied; . e-marketing tools in B2B e-marketplace are identied; and . e-marketing problems are highlighted. Facing competition often requires drastic measures. e-Marketing can be no less than a revolution in the company leading to, at least, reduced cycle times and in many cases reductions in cost, and increased sales and better relationships with the customers (Kandampully, 2003; Bakos, 1998; Kaplan and Sawhney, 2000; Jensen, 2008). The understanding gained from the framework presented in this study provides a strong foundation for identify the likely benets 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.

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The development of the e-marketing framework empirically from the survey is considered benecial from a marketing perspective for SMEs. The framework was initially developed conceptually and validated following by the survey results. As the respondents were from different industries, this framework is not specic to a particular industry, but potentially it is a generic roadmap for facilitating B2B 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 efcient marketing mechanism, because it is not constrained by geographical distance or time. Further more, B2B e-marketplace may allow to the creation of new markets that did not exits or were not possible previously. Limitation of the research The major limitation of this study is associated with the sample selection. Although the literature ndings were international, the empirical study was restricted to China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Therefore, the generalizability of the results may not be applicable for other countries. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents participated were SMEs. Hence, the applicability of ndings to large-scale organisations may be limited. Future research An interesting extension of the above work is to further explore the dimensions of e-marketing services from the B2B e-marketplace. Subsequent research may include: . contribution of e-marketing services of B2B e-marketplace to business performance; . critical success factors associated with B2B e-marketplace service performance; and . a similar study with a bigger sample, or different countries.
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Further reading Bacheldo, B. (2000), Worldwide e-commerce: its more than a web site, Informationweek, Vol. 785, pp. 47-8. Gartner Group, Asia/Pacic 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), Designing Qualitative 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 authors Woon 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 in 1990 and a PhD in problems and implementation issues of tool management and control systems from Shefeld Hallam University in 1994. Having worked as a strategic ICT consultant on a wide range of projects, he joined the University of Bolton in 2002 as a senior lecturer. He is the programme leader for the professional doctoral programme and programme leader for off campus postgraduate programmes at Bolton Business School. He is currently supervising a number of PhD students in the areas of e-business, e-marketing, e-tourism, online shopping behaviour, and e-business strategies for SMEs. Christopher Woollaston is a Senior Lecturer at the Bolton Business School, The University of Bolton, UK. His primary area of research is in the eld of B2B marketing. Vincent Lui is a PhD Researcher at the University of Bolton Business School, UK. His primary area of research is the online consumer behaviour.

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