Using Corporate Websites for Export iVlarketing

Using Corporate Websites for

Export iVlarketing

WENYU DOU

University of

Nevada-Las Vegas

wenyu.dou@cct"nail.

nevada.edu

ULRIK OLLIE" NIELSEN

ALTO CSI, Inc.

[email protected]

CHEE MING TAN

tming98@yahoo,cotTi

The internet is becoming increasingly important for exporters to reach or seii to

potential customers in international markets. This study investigated how exporters

could utilize different elements of their corporate websites to achieve either their

communication or transaction objectives. First, relevant website attributes were

identified and analyzed. Second, website content analysis was conducted on a

random sample of exporters' websites selected from three countries: Canada,

Denmark, and Malaysia. The study results highlighted important website attributes

that are appropriate for exporters' online marketing objectives. Implications for export

promotions on the internet and government policies are also discussed.

Tur. DirrusioN oi- C;LOI5,\L e-cnmrncrce has spurred

the growth ul cxpt rt thniugh the internot, Ac-

cttrding to A report trom Forrester Research (|i.il\'

21)00), global online exports will surge to SI.-I- tril-

lion hy 2004. Exp(M"t eompanies are inereasiriglv

realizing the potential ol the internet to either en-

h<inee existing export aetivitiies or find new export

customers. Consider the garlic export company

LiBusine,ss Co. from China that was featured in the

VVeb@VVork Section of the Wull Slircl journal (Man-

Liel, 2()0()). The small export compan\, started in

1998 to tap into the internationai demand fiir Chi-

nese garlic, has garnered increasing sales throiiglT

its website: wwvv,prettygarlic.com. The companv

nov\ even transkitcs its website content into nine

diiterent languages to suit the needs of interna-

tional customers.

The internet may be an ettective marketing tool

for exporters in a eouple of wa\s, I laniill (1997)

argued that the ellcctiv'e use ol the internei ran

prov ide a lovv-cctst "gatewav" to the global market

lor companies intending to iir engaging in export-

ing, especially for small-to-medium enterprises lo-

cated in peripheral economii's and those operating

in global niche markets. Yeoh (2000) pointed out

that for expt^rters that lack the necessarv financial

and human resources to engage in formal market-

ing research, the internet olfers opportLinities to

support firms' market intelligenee acfi\'ities for ex-

porf planning and the de\'elopment of exporf

sh'ategies, hi addition to using the inlernet tor

global communications, companies can also use it

to engage in international trading with distant

buyers at lower cost. Fxporters hav e certainly not

overlooked these advantages. Dandridge and Lev-

enburg (2000), in a study of Ohio-area small ex-

porters, found that increasing numbers were using

the internet for such diverse acti\'ities as searching

for cotnpetitive product information, making pur-

chases, or reaching new markets.

While exporters may set up their websites for

different reasons, two types ol' online marketing

models are eommonU' used by eompanies that in-

tend to use the internet as an export marketing

took Export companies set up corporate websites

t\ir two primary reasons; as a commLinication me-

dium between the company and its business stake-

holders (e.g., customers, suppliers, and distribu-

tors); or as an electronic platform for conducfing

business transactions (Quelch and Klein, 1996).

Hainill (1997) suggested tliat in export marketing

fhe internet as a communication medium could

enhance an exporter's \ isihility through advertis-

ing and publicity. It may also provide customer

ser\ ice and tech suppcirt, and ev en generate t)n[ine

sales. '\o achieve these multiple goals, Hamill

September . October 2 0 0 2 JOURflflL OF flOOERTISKiG HES[flflCH 1 0 5

CORPORATE WEBSITES

(l9'-^7) argued thai gooti exporlers' siles

should he intormaiion rich, tretjueiitlv up-

datetk pr'ovide ad^k'd value, he interaciive

and easilv integrated with other markei-

inu chaiuu'ls. Ihis recommendation is

ketfiig models, the authors conducted a

comprtTieiisive conteni <inaivsis oi export-

ers' wehsites hased on a random sample

of exporters from i:hree iôuntries that rep-

resent different k'v els ol' counfrv inferiiel

consistent with otfier s tuda 'S aboLit web- literacy And euiiionsy reliance on fxport-

site design and tuiulional te<ilures, and

fheir appeal to users (see, e.g., (rhose and

Don, I99S). On the other hand, develop-

ing a transaction-based wehsite mav re-

cjuire dilierent emphasis on the websites'

design attribute as exporf trans,ictioii-

specitie intormation such as customs aiul

taxes (Shevvmake and Sapp, 2l)01)) nvvd io

he taken inlo account.

,-\ clear understanding cif the fwo online

marketiiig models lor exporf marketing

alknws exporters to si'lect the focusol' Lheir

exporl marketing pj'ograms in the online

woi'ld. Subsequentiv , the decision to ei-

ther emphasi/e coiTimunication i^v Iraiis-

action in cvberspciee will affect how ex-

porlers struchire their wehsites fo achieve

mg: Canada, Denmark, and Vkilavsia, Ihe

sludv lirsl ideiititied important websiie

functional attrihules Ihal are associated

with ditferent online marketing objective's.

Then empirical data were i.ollected to i>x-

amme how exporU'rs were appiv ing thest-

site lunctioiial teatures and how export-

ers' L haracti.M'istK s nia\' iiilluence sile>,'

leatures

Clur siudv results oiler valuable direc-

tion lor exporters in pursuit of the mosi

n^levant design lot adiieving marketing

goals, i'urther, Lhe einpirical evidence pro-

V ides i.|uantifjtiv e dafa tor export agencies

(e,s;,, Irade assoi-'iatiotis) or government

agencies (e.g., i'oreigti trade bureaus) lo

nuiiiitor and ev aluafe fhe current Lise ot

different market ing ohjecfiws. Hence, e,\- websi tes f|-ir i.>\port ps-omolion. k ' inalk.

porfers fhaf emphasi/e website sales gen-

eration may tavxii certain genres of weLi-

siie kMtures (e.g., detailed! cusfomer sup-

poi'i information), while exptiilers thai

stress communication ohjecti\'es mav rel\'

on fheir sifes to build their images.

The ahove wehsito design guidelines

derived from the i\\ o types of online mai'-

keling models are useiui but mav he too

broad lor exporters to implenx'iil. In iavi,

despite exporters' rising exiH'ctalions

about using websites in online expiM't

markefing programs, tew studies hav e ai,-

tiialh' identitird and examined wehsites'

luncttonal tealures ihal arc appri)pri,ite

tor the two difierent nuKiels, kack of em-

pirical I'videnci.' hiiKlers our ahilitv to pin-

point high-t|ualitv exporters' websites for

benchmarking purposes, h also impedes

exporters' abilitv to s(*t a clear direction

lor building elteclive wehsjies,

I o illuminate h{nv" exporters k an ik'sign

tilecUve websites toi' ditierent online mar-

this stud\' also fills a void in the eiiu'rging

liferature about cusLomer-mlerJaci' design

online tliixiugh the addifion ot an interna

lionai angle.

The resi of Ihis paper is organi/ed as

follows, [n the next section, the ixTation^

ship hetwi'en ex}"sort pr(.)inotioiis arui rel-

evaiif website attributes is exploii'd, J he

design ot the empirical sludv is explained

iii tlu' lollowing sei.lioii, Studv results are

next presented, aiul linally, we provide

managerial implicatiojis and future i e-

seLirch Lhreclions.

EXPORT PROMOTION AND WEB

SITE ATTRIBUTES

,\ fiiiukinienlal goal of export promoUon

is to ck'arly communicate an exjtorter's of-

le]"iiig to potenfial customers w"(M"ldwide.

I raditionaiiy, Lhei'e are iwo Iypes ot ex-

porL promotion^: gov ei'nment-sponsori'd

and firm-initiated promofions (johaiissini,

I ~^97), <.TOV"ernnient-sponsored promo-

lions olten involve (rade [Policies tiiat are

nsuallv bevoiul I'XporSers' control, i'irns-

initiaied prorTiotions otten im hide inler-

nafional adv<'i lising (I e^vis .md I lou>den,

I9MS], sales p iomof ion {BeiineU, l^MHl,

iMihlicitv, and personal selling (e.g., m

trade shows) While these e\|"'orl promo-

lioii methods have (.onlribiited to the en-

ha iuemen t ot t irnis ' export ing acfi\'ilies,

thev have also I'een u' i t ici /ed for a varietv

o\ reasons, 1 or instance, Ihev oOi'n require

sign ii ica nf inv esltnenl, hav e to uniform to

1 ounirv'-speciiii regulaiioiis; ov are otten

run inlreqiHîitlv (see kevv is and I lousden,

I'i98; Bennett, IWS; lohansson, 1997),

Direct market ing ( lohansson, 1997) is

thiL> n e w e s t g l o b a l p r o m o t i o n a l ionI

adopted hv exporters. Through the use ot

mail, telephone, tax, or more recenLlv, the

infernef, exporlers [odA\ can dir i \ i iv ' cofii-

itiunicati.^ wilh jheir customers and husi

ness partners . In laci, as traditional wa\ 's

oi e,\port proniot ions Iiave vielded mixed

results and ht-wiuse ol the last g rowth ot

the global internet, expork ' rs are ineii-as-

inglv' looking al thi^ iniernel as a viable

[itedium tor prouiot ing their ol ier ings di-

rect iv- to [he global a u d i e i x e (Melita, (ire-

wal, and SiviJa>, t99(V|,

Roles of the internet in

export promotions

l,ffeetiv"e websi[<'s a d d lo the pool ol t i rn i -

k-onlrollahlf p r o n i o l i o n a l ioo i s ior e x p o r t -

ers , ! h e r e l o r e , it i- i r u c i a l tha t e x p o r t e r s

th(>roughl_\ learn a h o u t fhe v a r i o u s tv^pes

of ro les tha t tJie i n t e r n e i ân p l a v in Iheir

o n l i n e mark t^ t ing p r o g r a m s , l h e "(. o m -

ni i in i^ 'a l ion '' I r a n s a i - t i o n " t r a n u ' w o r k a s

d i s c u s s e d m Qdi ' I ch a n d Klein (I'-l'-'h) p r o -

v i d e s An i n i t i a l l o u i u l a i i o n i o r u n d e r -

s | .Hid ing th is i s sue ,

I h e i n t e r n e t a s a i . on ' imun ica t ion n ie -

d i n m h a s s o m e at t ract iv e l e a t u r e s , s u c h a s

inii ' racliv iiv (I l o l l m a n a n d , \ o v a k , !99f-i),

h ig[ i -va[ iaci t \ i i i t o r m a l i o n ,s iorage ( i ' a i m e r

And t . r i l f i lh , I'-'MS), And i h g i t i / ^ i d o u ahilitv

1 0 6 JiyRflflL OF Soptombc- • October ?00?

CORPORATE WEBSITES

(Hanson, 2000). These promising feafures

enable exporters to build their corporate

and brand images, enhance their relation-

ships with foreign customers, and pro-

mote themselves to new prospects. One

example is u'lru'.pg.coni, which promotes

Procter & Camhle and its products to con-

sumers from \5 counfries in their nafi\'e

languages.

The infernef can also be used as a direct-

marketing channel if fho oxporfers' web-

sites are enabled wifh e-commerce capa-

bilities. Through their websites exporters

can generate sales leads, accept online or-

ders, engage in online transactions with

customers through secure online payment

processing, or conduct transactions with

suppliers through secure extranets. An ex-

ample of fhis type of application is rcrr-

zv.dell.coni where customers from 86 ccuin-

tries (or regions) can huv Oell producfs

priced in local currencies.

Naturally, fhese fv\o different fypes of

online marketing emphases call for differ-

ent fypes of website features and func-

tional attributes, in this stLidy, we sum-

mari/e and analy/e a range of website

functions and their marketing applica-

tions for online communications. The two

lists of site components, based on relevant

marketing theories and on insights from

preliminary investigations of exporters'

websites, are detailed below.

1. Trustworthiness of the company andits offering. To ser\'e as a communication

channel, the exporter's website has fo

build a reputable corporate image in cy-

berspace where few physical cues (e.g,,

magnificent bank buildi.ngs) exist to sug-

gest fhe quality oi the company behind

the wehsife (Hanson, 20i)U). This is espe-

cially important for first-time exporfers

fhaf ma\' not enjoy high brand recognition

among international users. For instance,

shcnving that the exporter has attained the

internationally reco^ni/ed ISO 9000 certi-

fication on its website mav project an im-

age ot credibility to site \isikirs and po-

tential customers.

2. Domain name type. The use oi a

st'parate domain name (e.g., www.

myc(Mnp<invname.com), as ct>mpared io

an affiliated dcimain name (e.g., www.

aokcom /mycompan\), offen bolsfers

brand recognifion and recall of the export-

er's name (Wong, 2000). Ihe sense of per-

manency associated with the independent

domain name is likely to signal the export-

er's commitment to its site v isitors,

3. Product information. Displacing com-

prehensive product information on fhe ex-

porter's website provides insfanf ufilify to

prospects because thev can access needed

information right at the websife. It also

complements fhe corporate image infor-

mafion and allows site \ isitors to form an

overall picture ol the exporter's offerings.

In contrast, an exporter's website wifh

spott\' prcxluct information (e.g,, just a

few lines of piXKiiicf descriptions) is likely

to disappoint site visitors who expect to

find tangible information about lhe firm's

offerings.

4. Language options. Sfudies ha\'e found

that gkibal inlernet users prefer to browse

websifes in their own languages (Clobal

Reach, 2000). Thus, it is important that ex-

porters de\elop multilingual websites to

appeal to potential \ iewers from differenf

counfries, k'urfher, having a multi-

language option itself may show that fhe

exporter is sensitive fo the cultures oi in-

ternational customers.

5. Personalization capability. Perscmal-i/ed web pages can enable the exporter tohLiild a one-to-one relationship with itscustomers (Hanson, 2l)0tl). By tailoringweh pages for different users wht mayhave different information needs, the ex-

porfer can more clearly ccimmunicate its

benefits to each unique buyer. Since an

exporfer's infernafional user base is likely

to he mt)re heterogeneous than its domes-

tic cu.sfomer base (e.g., because of differ-

ences in counfry fariffs, lisage ticcasions,

etc.), fhe personalization capability may

he e\'en more valuable in online export

marketing.

6. Contact information. As it is rare that

all export transactions can be completed

exclusively online, exporters need to pro-

\ide means of contact for their website

visitors. Different modes of contacting the

exporter for in-depfh negotiations are as-

sociated wifh differenf lev els of speed and

efficiency in communicafion. Online-

based contact forms are the fastest and

easiest for the visitor who can just send

the inquiries right at the website, li-mails

may facilitate text communications but re-

quire the operation ot' an e-mail program.

Providing only traditional contact infor-

mati(m (e.g., snail mail address) falls shorf

of meeting fhe rising communicafion ex-

pectations of global internet users who de-

mand quick answers.

Together, fhese six wehsife components

discussed above demonstrate fhe exporf-

ers' capability to fulfill the online contiuii-

iiicatiou objectives with their websites.

In a similar fashion, we identified the

folk)wing imporfant sife design affribufes

fiir exporfers fhaf use the internet as a

transaction channel:

I. Proiiiii'f infornintioii: Consumers oftenbase fheir purchase decisions on com-prehensive information searches, espe-ciall)' when they intend fo purchasefrom foreign vendors. Spotty informa-tion abouf products on an exporter'ssite uould most likely discourage po-tential buyers frctm mo\'ing closer todecision points.

September . October 2 0 0 2 JDURORL OF flOyERTISlOG BEOERRCH 1 0 7

CORPORATE WEBSITES

2, !'rn-iin^ luUniiui'idii. P r i c i n g i n i o r m a t i o n ,

coupled with product inlormation, pro-

V ides a hasis ou which potential cus-

tomei's mav make qu i ik initial value

judgiiieiits about potenLial j iurchases.

Without su(;h iiiioi'iiiation, potent ia l

huvei ' s mav he hesiUiiit to e x p l o r e

hirlher,

3. Pi^liihutor nit'eniiiulii'ir. . \ < . p o t L M i l i a l

(Ustomers move fi,irther along the de-

cision [irocess, "w hei'e to huy" inlor-

malioii beeomes more ci'iiical (l',nge! et

LII., \^>'->5), particularlv it the expoi ier

delegates the actual selling to its for-

eign dis l r ihutors , Sinte verv fev'v ex-

ma I'ke I ing sector otten use ^l, Prov id ing

exh-Lint/t capability on exporters ' weh-

siles laiiiijates si,'i m-e w eh-hased busi-

ness transaclkiiis wilh expor ters ' trade

pLirlners, such as treighi lorwai 'ders ,

cairiers, and loreign distr ibutors,

I ogefher, the above componenK demon-

strate fhi' lapabihtv of an exporlei'V weh-

-ile lo lulfill its Irriii-ânu'ii ohje^•tive^

O i i l i i i e

Research objectives

I he wehsite attrihules summari/ed ahove

e s e s vvei"e [">rt>pos[\| the

p o r L e r s a c t u a l l v se l l t h e i r p r o d u c t s p r o v i d e a s t a r t i n g p o i n t t r o m w h i c h ex

(•"u/I ' /s/rr/ i /from t h e i n t e r n e t , t h i s s i i e a t - p o r k - r s nia_\ d e v i s e t h e i r w e b s i f e s to c o n -

trihnte may he critical lor the prospee

live huv ers who an^ serious ahoui buv

ing Irom the exporiei.

I'urcliU'M'ii-^<isliincc- I oi' consumers , huv

torm hi the requiremeiits oi the !w o online

market ing models tor e\poiiet"s, ^'et, lo

lest ihv veraeitv ot Ihese iJeiiLified site at-

irihiUes, il is netessarv lo examine the ac-

ing Irom a foreign expor ter mav in- tual usai;e oi those at tr ibutes hv exporters

V olve a lot more s teps thaii huyirsg on Iheir websites, kurther, we must alst*

Irom a i.lomestic lirm (lohansson, l'-)'-,l7), investigate lhe ('aclors ihai mav alfect an

. \ considerale expoi'lei 'sail prov ide de- expor ter ' s cluiice ahout wiiRh oi the two

tails about t us toms, taxes, exporier au caicgoi'ies oi online markel ing models lo

thor i /a t i i 'ns , aiui import i,]LHitas [I kiLvh, nse.

200!)) on iis website so potential con-

suniers mav bv encouraged lo make

fiister [lurchase decisions hecause lhe

evpoi ier has taken care ot the "'techui-

cal" coiisidei'afions.

Quelch and Kkîu (:')"('! posited that

\v\^ll-established niulhnat ional expor ters

leg . , Phillips) tend to aiiopt the c o m m u -

nicatioii moLlel v\ hile sLarl-ii|"i l o m p a n i e s

unid to atlo['t the "ti 'aiisaclion" model . In

/ ('(IliiiCiil -îippoi I: "I e e h n i c a l s u p p o r t " Lheir d e l i m i i o i i , a s l a r l - u p ret e r s io a p u i ' e

sec t ions , such ,is I requei i t lv , ' \sked " internet" companv such as ama7on,com.

CJueslions, can ollen solve lhe r o m m o n In realiiv , iiiost expor te is are not pure in-

prt ihlems encountered hv consuriiers tetnet companies , \v[ nol all cit ihem mav

who mav hav e shown initial iiiterest in UAW b r o a d e n o u g h niai 'kel e x p o s u r e

Lbe pi'cHtucl. Having this {ipti{>ii oii a wor ldwit le lo he classitii,'^! as ti'Ui' multi-

w ebsite is also reassuring tor potential nationals either. The ret ore, the clistinelion

buvci's as ihev know technical help i.s be tween "a multin.i l ioiial Ani.\ a ["une-

iust a click awa\,

f.xfrnnct ciipuhiliU/: An extranet is a se-

cure inlormation n<'lwoi"k ior exporters

Lo commLiiiicate ami in husj-

ness transai lioits with theii' sn | ipl iers ,

partiiers, o i us tomers (Kleindk 2()lH ),

Compan ies in Lhe hi.isines--~Lo-business

internei l o m p a n v " and iLs impact on the

choice oi online market ing models is noi

direeth appli{'able ior this stiidv on online

export i i iarkeimg. Insteatl, a itimiber o\

addit ional I'oiish'in'ts, w hii h we believ e lo

be impor tant , w ere idenLilied and ana

Iv/ed I-urther, a number ol reseaixli hv -

hirsi, exporter'- trom iiUcriiet-advanced

countries, such as ihi> "hi)-) n Intenuî

( ounl r ies" as evaluated hv Cdniiuitci In

ilii-.n-ii Mninmic (?,()(i()} l\ised on criteria

•-uci"! as "per capiia interiuM usage," ari.'

likelv to have at lopU\l the internei lor

hus iness j ransactioiis ea rher than their

c o u n t e r p a r t s ii'om iillei ne[-d(. 'velo]iing

countr ies lnteriu'1-dev ek'ping, i"ountries

are tiiosi- w h o are still exper imenl ing with

Using their sites ,is glorilied eleeironic hro-

c h u r e s io s h o w c a s e Uiei r c o m p a n i e s ,

wiiich was the onginaJ use (it Lhe commer

cial inlernet, Heni.e, exporters from inter-

net-developed countries are more likelv to

feel u imtor tab le emplov ing websites io!'

Iraiisaeiioj"! ohjet'tiv es I hus:

I M : I X[">oiiers tr(iiu in le rne t -de vel -

opei,l countr ies ai'e more likelv

isi empusv ihi,' " t ransact ion" iea-

iure in iheir wehsi tes ihan ex-

poriLM's irom mternet-dev elof'ing

c o i ; n i r i e s

•-lecniuk e,x p o r L e r s i r o m in terneL •

advanced kiuinlrics, in addit ion to theii

relative tamiliantv wilh using theii sites

tor transaction purposes , an* also likelv to

he nuire sophisLiuitetl at emftloving more

k'omnumiealmn teaiures it) wehsiie.s. This

IS irue hecause ihe ov erall quaiilv ol web-

site design in tluisi- mternet-ilev e loped

countries ma\ be higher, and Iht' hench

nirirk lor com[\ir ison mav also be highei',

Ovi lhe other haiul, exporlei 's in inti'rnef-

deve loping countr ies niav have lowei ex

[X'ctalions about Oieir siles' comiiuinica"

tion I aiâhilitii^s as I hi- ov erall wel.)siie de-

sign benchmark mav be low (e,g., c\nv \.o

Hie ku k o\ experience in design) aiui com-

peti tors with, cu t t ing-edge w\'bsifes AW

relativelv rare ô , s inipler " h r o c h u r e "

websii^'s a re likelv in be obseivei i loi'

those ex|"ioi'lei's irom internet-tlev elofîng

V o i n U r i e s . '\ l u i s :

108 J Of flOUEfiTlSinG flESEdflCti Sepfember . Oclober 2002

CORPORATE WEBSITES

H2: Fxporters from internet-devel-

oped countries are more likely to

employ more "communication"

teatures in their websites than ex-

porters from internet-developing

countries.

Third, buyers of husiness products (e.g.,

commercial plants) often require detailed

negotiations with sellers (Moriarfy, 1983)

and such complexities are less likely to be

tackled easily in an online enx'ironment. In

contrast, transactions of consumer prod-

ucfs (e.g., fruit candies) are likely to be

quick and relahvely straightforward pur-

chases that can easily be conducted o\er

the internet. Therefore, it is nafural fhat

exporters selling consumer products are

more likely to emphasize transaetion fea-

tures on their sites, at least at this stage of

e-commerce de\elopnient. Thus;

H3; Exporters that sell consumer

products are more likely to em-

ploy the "transaction" feafure in

fheir wehsifes than exporters that

sell business products.

Fourth, fhe purchase of customized

products (e.g., landscaping for a new sta-

dium) often requires detailed faee-fo-faee

negofiafions with the seller abouf confract

cHetails, so the process is less likely to be

undertakt?n online, tin the olher hand,

buying standardized products with clear

and near-universal product specificafions

(e.g., a car sfereo sef) is likely fo be quick

and relafively sfraighfforward over the in-

ternet, even for international buyers.

Therefore, exporters thaf sell cusfomized

prociucts are more likely to emphasi/e

transaction features of the site. Hence:

H4; Exporters that sell standardizedproducts are more likely to em-ploy the "transaction" teature on

their websites than exporters that

sell eustomi/ed products.

I'ina lly, high-transaction-capahilitv

websites are likely to he associated with

more .idvanced site designs. Hanson

(2000) classified websifes info fhree differ-

enf stages; simple publishing, interactive,

and personalized, with each stage empha-

si/ing different k'VL'ls of design sophisti-

cation. .A "simple pLihlishing" websife is

primarily a "brochure" website, thus it is

generally not capable of enabling online

fransactions. .An "lnteraetiv e" website al-

lows site users to actix'i'ly control informa-

fion refrieval (e.g., search function) or

voice their views through online-based

forms. A "personalized" website is de-

signed to display web pages that are eus-

tomized to the unique needs of its regis-

tered members. Compared to "simple

publishing" sifes, "interactive" and "per-

sonalized" sites contain more tocils (c?.g.,

online product inquiry t'orms) for inter-

esfed consumers fo furfher explore their

purehase deeisittn process. Such capabilify

can he especially powerful in "personal-

ized" 'vvebsites wTiere individualized

produet reeommendafions can be tailor-

made to each registered customer, thus

enhancing the likelihood ot online pur-

chase, ConsequeiitK', it an exporter in-

tends to emphasize transaction features

on its sife, tben the corresponcHing website

design should he m(ire ad\'anced. Hence:

H5: k'xporters that emphasize trans-

action featm'es of fhe site are

morL' likely to empk)y advanced

site desigiis.

STUDY DESIGN

An empirical sfudy was designed to ex-amine how exporters are using their web-sites for exp(M"t marketing and t(i test thereseareh hypotheses. 1 hree randomsamples ot expc^rters were selected trom

each oi the three countries: Canada, Ma-

laysia, and Denmark, which represent

economies in three difierent regions—

North America, Asia, and Europe.

Canada was selected because it is

ranked numher one in per capita internet

usage [Conqitilcr Uuinstry Alntanac, 2000).

Den ma rk was selected because it is

ranked high in per capita internet Lisage

(No. 6) and also because of its economy's

heavy reliance cn exports (its 1999 exports

were S49.5 billion, about 38.8 percent of its

GDP: W'drhi Faet Book, 2000). In compari-

son, Vlalaysia is a developing coimtry fhat

relies heavily on exports (its 1999 exports

were S83..3 billion or 36.4"o of its GDP;

World Fact Hook, 2000), However, Malay-

sia's internet development is not yet as ad-

vanced as the other two. Overall, the three

countries selected represent three differ-

ent geographic regions and different lev-

els of internet or economic development.

In addition, all three countries have put

comprehensive and official directories ot

exporters on the web that served as our

sampling frames.

Sampling

.'\n extensive internet search was con-

ducted and inquiries were made to the

three countries' trade bureaus fo pinpoinf

fhe best sampling frame; this lead to the

discovery of three comprehensive online

directories of exporters for each country.

Fach exporter listecH in these directories

has at least a rridimentary weh page.

lhe Canadian directory (www.

workiexport.com) waspuhlished by Inter-

national Publishing & Development (IPD)

and endorsed by the federal and pro\'in-

cial government ol Canada. It indexed

more than 5,0011 Canadian exporters in a

variety ot industries from agriculture to

telecommunications. The Danish Exporter's

Dircclori/ is an official directory oi prod-

ucts and services from Denmark pub-

lished hv the Rova! Danish Vlinistrv of

September - October 2 0 0 2 JOIJIlllflL OF RDy[BTIEIflG RESEHRCti 1 0 9

CORPORATE WEBSITES

Foreign .Affairs, lonl.iining nitire thiin

100,(100 rjanish exporters. The Malavsian

Ii;-L of exporters- Malii\'siii M.miilLicturcrs

and f-'\porter'^ \\ ehsilc (http:/ ,/asiaep.

com/mv) was eiidorsed h\ the Minister

of M,il,i\'si,i Intertidtional Trade and !n-

iiiistr\' til prnnu'tc Malaysia's pr{.)ducts to

international cusliuners. This comprelx'n-

sixT list co\ ej's ,1 wide \ .lrii'tx" ni industries

from abrnsi\('s to /ini and includes Ihon-

san(,i,s ot companies.

Fo ensure the grnerali/iibiMK of our

stLid) results, we chose lo emplo\ the ran-

dom sampling method. Also, bcCtUisr nf

the significant amount of time (,"ibi")ul H

20 minutes) invoh'od in anakving I'.ich

website, vs't' decided to randoml\' sclrcl

around ITII cixpork-rs Irom eiu h country.

This approach taki's into acc(Hm[ the w-

sourcr limitations i>l [he ri'se.nvhers and

Lhc fart thai a roughk equal sample si/r

laciiitatt's [he rrciss-roiintrx' cumparisoii.

A svsti'matii randi)m sampling iriefliod

was ust\"i lo exir.irl a ranilom sample ui

1 7 Danish exporters from the alphabrti-

rai list in ihe Danish dircc!or\. As the Ca-

nadian exporters' directory was arranged

b}' indifslries, a proportioiitil sjimpling

method v\'as usfil tii ensure that Ihe num-

ber ol exporters dr.nvji hnni LVKII industr\"

was proportioiKil to the total number ol

exporlrrs lisUni ior each inditsti'v. Within

e a c h I n d LI s t r V, a s \ s t e m a t i c r a n d o m

sample (v\'ith a cakniatei.1 spacing to get

ihc ds'sircd lumibcr of exporters) was tlu'n

drawn Ircrni the alphabeticalK' listed ex-

porters, Ihc tinal sample of randomly se-

lected Canadian exporters consists of 1 4

companies. The Malaysian exporters' i.ii-

rector\' was arrangL'd alphabeticalK' b\'

prodiiii ratcgoi'}'. We again applied the

svsti'niatii. random approach (with .i cal-

culiiied spacing io get the desired number

oi exporters) and selected a total of 151

Malav'sian exporters. While dillcrenci's in

the tliriH tor\ loniiai lorcrti us io use

different sampling ineHiods, all

three samples (it exp()i-ters are nonetheless

random in naiure.

Data collection

A v\'obsit(' content ana I v sis pixicedure (see,

.•,g,, Philport and Arhittier, 1997; Griffilh

and KrcU-npl, 1*I98| was adopted to aiia-

Iv/.o the attributes of tlie exporters' v\-eb-

sites in thi* Ihree samples. A detailed tod-

ing sheet (a\'ailable Irom tlie authoi's upon

request) was de\elopei.l tirst and the re-

searchers practiced independenth' eodirii;

12 randomh' selected exporters' sites irom

the Ihree countries (foui" each). Then the

coded results vveroiompared ,]\M\ Jilter-

enees were reconciled through discus-

sions, ! his step ensured the consistencv nl

coding results. In addition lo collecting

dafa about the ditt'crent wehsite design

coinponenis in site communication and

transaction iiinetions, we also colleried in-

iormati(,)n ahiHif tiie tolkiwing \'ariables:

1, flic nut lire ('/ ///(' I'xpoilrr's /'//s/zfi'ss; Will

the exporter's products be used bv

businesses, ordinary i onsumers, or

both? 1 he classilieation here was based

on whellier tlie main product differed at

the site vx'as intended for use by ordi-

nar\" ctinsumers, organizational bu\ ers,

or both.

2. ExporU'y''^ proiinci liiw chiD'udcri^tic^: Is

the exporter's major pr(Hhki line stan-

dardized, customized, or both? If prod-

uct specificiitions were clearh shov\n

as the onl\' <i\'ailah!e oplions ior poten-

tial bus ers (e,jv, 11 \' lar piivvoi .ulaj)-

(or), then \\'e consider th<> product line

to be primarily "standardized," On the

other hand, ii the exporter riearK men-

iinned its ability to eustnini/e prodticts

to suit different needs ot buyers, we

tiassilied the product line as "custnin

ized," I ,astl\", \v e cofirhided thai the ex-

portei"'s produi.t line is both "slandard-

i/ed" and "customized" it the exporter

listed sfaiuiard models and alsii eleark

shUed ils ability to customize products

tor user needs.

3, Shigc of arbîtc ilcbign: Is [he exporter's

site .! "brochure" type, "mteractix'e." or

"persoiidli/i'd"? The guidelines used

here were directly troni I lanson (2000):

,1 "brochure" sile lacks an\ elemenl ot

interaction, an "iiUeraclix'e" site tilUns's

users to perlorm leriain tasks; ani.i a

"pei'sonali/ed" site tvpicalk has a li>g-

in iuiiction lo diilereniiiit-{' ils regis-

tered usei's,

Ihe complete data etillection process

lasteil from September to October 2000,

RESULTS

Descriptix'e resiiils oi this slutiy are pri'-

sented tirst, tollovved bv h \po thes i s ti'st-

ing results.

Characteristics of the exporters

Table 1 prov'ides a breakdown of export-

iTs based on nature of She export husint\ss

and degreeoi standardization ol the prod-

uct line iov each ccnintry, iixporters selling

business products (iiiUuiuihered I hose

selling consumer products, which is con

sistent across Ihe Ihree countries and co-

incided with statistics reports [hat global

B2B e-commeree is bigger than the global

B2C e-commerce (cMarkctrr. \^W). We

also t'i,iund that exporters that produce

reiati\ elv standardi/etl products outnum-

bered exporters that sell products requir-

ing indi\'idua! eusti.>nii/ation (e,g,, iiali-

x'idu.il insiaNations), Because j">ersonai-

i/ed websites are still rare tor exporters

(less than 3 percent in our samples), ihose

exporters might \i.i\\v decided thai il the\'

had to meet tlu' unique information net.'t.ls

oi clients through buildini; expensix'e per-

soriali/i'd websites, the\' risav just as well

stick io [lie Iraditional eiiinniunieation

means (e.g., personal si,'lling) instead ot

usiiiii the web.

1 1 0 JOyflflRL OF RESEIlfiCR September - October 2002

CORPORATE WEBSITES

TABLE 1Characteristics of Exporters from Three Countries

Nature of Business

Business

Products

Consumer

Products

Both Business

and Consumer

Products

Product Standardization Level

Both Standardized

Standardized Customized and Customized

Products Products Products

Canada

Denmark

Malaysia

Total

99

108

101

308

1

33

23

57

54

16

28

98

58

94

100

252

6

33

15

54

90

30

37

157

Exporter's website communication and

transaction capabiiity

In this study ^n exporter's website's capa-

bility to "communicate" w ith potenhal us-

ers and engage in transactions with poten-

tial customers was quantified using the

Communication Index and the 'Iransac-

tion Index, respecti\'ely,

Tiie Communication Inde,x [or Cl) was

constructed by totaling the codes for dif-

ferent components within this index. I'or

instance, exporters that ha\'e adequate in-

fdrni.itic^n about their trustworthiness

(e,g., thrcHigh customer testimonials) were

assigned " 1 " for this attribute and other-

wise assigned "0," Those with indepen-

dent domain names were assigned " I "

and others were assigned "0," Exporters

that ha\'e adequate or comprehensi\'e in-

fi>rmation about their prcxiucis were as-

signed " ] " and others were gi\en "{)" for

this attribute. Those hci\ ing multiple lan-

guage options were assigned " ] " and "{)"

otherwise. Those ha\ing personalization

capability were assigned "]" and "()" oth-

erwise. Finally, exporters that provide

electronic means oi contact (e.g., e-mail,

forms, chat) were assigned "I" and those

listing only traditional contact means (e,g,,

mail, fax) were assigned "0," The sum of

the "Is" indicates the capability of an ex-

portei''s website to effecti\'ely communi-

cate its offering ti> site \ isitors. According

to this C()ding scheme, the maximimi

\-altie of C-1 for an exporter's website is 6,

Ihe I ransaction Index (or TI) was con-

structed in a similar way. Eor instance, ex-

porters that ha\'e comprehensix e or ad-

equate information about their products

\\'ere assigned "I" for this attribute and

otherwise they were gi\en "0." Ihose

with pricing information were assigned

" 1 " and others "0," Exporters that ha\e

distributor information were assigned "\"

and othei's were assigned "()" for this at-

tribute. Those with purchase assistance

were assigned "\" and otherwise "()."

Those with a section dedicated to techni-

cal support on the site w ere assigned " 1"

and "0" otherwise, Einally, exporters that

pr(i\'ide extranet capability were assigned

"I" and those without were assigned "(1,"

Consequently, the larger thcTI, the bettt'r

an exporter's website can facilitate trans-

actions with site \'isifors. The maximum

\ alue ot TI for an exporter's website is b.

Country internet development ievel and

website capability

Cii\"en the une\en distribiifit>n ol country-

wide internet usage (Conipnter Jndustri/ Al-

viaiiac, 2000), we explored whether export-

ers from internet-de\'eloped countries are

more sophisticated in de\ ehiping compre-

hen.si\"e websites that ha\ e more site com-

munication or transaction components, as

proposed in Hypotheses 1 and 2. Our em-

pirical data supported these hypotheses,

Interestingly, the combined Cl and TI

\alue for more than 85 percent of export-

ers' websites is less than 6, indicating that

a large percentage of cxpt)rters' websites

are weak in both dimensions. At the coun-

try ]e\'el, Canadian and Danish exporters

performed better than their Vlalaysian

counterparts on both of the indices, Eor

instance, the a\'orage Canadian and Dan-

ish exporter's website has two to three

communication or transaction compo-

nenls in its site design. However, a typical

Malaysian exporter's website has only

one communication site design feature

and one or two transaction site design

features.

An ANOVA test was conducted with

the null hypothesis that the a\ erage of the

communication (transaction) index is the

same for exporters' sites from the three

countries. Both of the tests for fhe commu-

nication and transaction index returned a

;j-\alue of 0,00, suggesting the rejection of

ihe null hypotheses (see "l'dble 2). Thus,

we ctmchide that there are significant dif-

ferences in site communication or transac-

tion capability between exporters from in-

ternet leading ct>untries (i.e., Canada and

September . October 2 0 0 2 JOOBOflL OF flQlJERTISillG 111

CORPORATE WEBSITES

TABLE 2

ANOVA Tests of H I and H2

Null Hypothesis for H I :

Mean Communication Index (Cl) Value

Danish Canadian Maiaysian

Exporters Exporters Exporters

2,23 2,07 1,:!/

ANOVA Test P-value 0.000

Conclusion: Reject null. Mean Cl value is

higher for internet developed countries

than for Internet-developing countries,

H I strongly supported.

Nuil Hypothesis for H2:

Mean Transaction Index (TI) Value

Danish Canadian Malaysian

Exporters Exporters Exporters

2,37 2,33 1.b3

ANOVA Test P-valuc 0,000

Conclusion: Reject null. Moan TI value is

higher tor internet developed courttries

than for internet-developing countries,

H2 strongiy supported.

Denmark), anti internet-dex'eloping coun-

tries sueh as Malavsia. In summary, our

LMTipirical lesiing results strnngl\ support

I iyp(.itlieses I and 2,

Nature of exporting business,

product-line type, and website

transaction capability

I xporti'rs may find the internet more ap-

propriate lor selling or prtiinoting certain

tV'pes nl producls, I l\'polheses .• and 4

posit thai exporU^rs selling standardized

or business producis are more likel\ lo

Lisr ,1 gri'.itei' number oi transaction fea

hires in ilieir v 'ebsites. The empirical t.lala

TABLE 3

ANOVA Tests of H3 and H4

and statistiLal tests pro\'ided strong sup-

port for 1 1.1 and marginal support Inr 1 14,

iis summarized in 'Kibie ^.

1 or exporters that engage in selling con-

sumer produels, the average nie:in I rans-

action Index is 2,33, higher than the a\'er-

age lor thosi* i-xporlei's seliing primariK'

business products. This data cunfirnis that

hi'CLnise bu.sines^-to-business transactions

ti'nd to he more coi"n|ilex ,ini.i rei.|uire per-

sonal interactions, L'Xporti'rs selling busi-

ness products are inclined to pLice less

emphasis nn the [ransactiurt featui"es ol

iheif websites tii.iii their ctnutterparts that

\ end consume! produels.

l'\poili>i-s with ditterent t\ pes ol prod

uct lines (i.e,, standard Izi'd \'ei'sns i. i islnni-

i/ed) also exhibited ;.lit-terent transaction

teatures in their wehsite designs. I'he a\'-

eivige T'i tor exporters IhaL sell sKmdan.!-

i/ei.1 producis is 2,0M, while the a\'erage

lor those thai seil customized products or

sei\iu.'s is 1,8! , i'he dillerenci' '.'dn prob-

ahK be explained l'\' Ihe (lifk'rent rei.]uire-

nsetits ol potent ial custonieis in iy ing

[i iudurts from ioreign exporters. I3u\'ing

•uistoiiiized products or sen ites eerlainh

retjLiin's more pi.M"sonali/ed attention ov

services behire the piUential i.cHisumers

can e\en think abinit [purchasing deci-

sions. I hus, it makes more ênse lor those

exporlers to inslal ! more (ransaction-

taciiitating teaUires in their \'.'ebsites. \ e \ -

eriheless, the i.iit!"erences as demonstrated

b\ the ei!"ipiricai dala <ire marginally sig-

nificant sLitisticaiJw

Website design stage and

transaction index

I he testing ot 1 \'^ should lend ci'etleiue to

iht' \ 'alidity ol Ihe 1 ransat:lion Index con-

slr iKl , Our daia showed thai lor about (S9

percent of the exporl iug websites with

Stagi.' I wehsite design, the averat;e TI was

i,îS, whi le ior about 10 percent of (he

ANOVA Test p-value

Conclusion

Business

Products

1,98

0,002

Ditferences

Mean Transaction Index (TI)

Nature of Business

Consumer

Products

2,33

Both Business

and Consumer

Products

2,30

in the mean TI values arnons the

Value

Product Standardization

Standardized

Products

2,09

0.08

Customized

Products

1,8b

Level

Both Standardized

and Customized

Products

2,17

throe different export businesses are

statistically significant.

H3 strongly supported.

different export businesses that emphasize different

product lines are tiiarginally signiticant,

H4 marginally supported.

1 1 2 JOyRflflL OF HOOERTISIflG RESEARCH Sep lembe i . October 2 0 0 2

OORPORATE WEBSITES

websites with Stage II design, the a\'erage

TI increased to 2.96. Finally, for the less

than I percent of exporting websites with

Stage III website design, the a\erage IT

rose further to 3.33. The ditterenees

among the T! values for wehsites in dit-

ferent design stages were also significant

statistically witb a ;'-\'alue of IkO (see Table

2). Therefore, it can be concluded that the

construct Transaction Index i eonsistent

with other site design indicators. This con-

clusion also supported H5.

In summary, the empirical data pr(v

vided clear support for most of the re-

search hypotheses. Implications of the re-

sults are discussed below-

DISCUSSIONS

The internet is quickly changing the ex-

port marketing domain (e.g., Hamill, 1997;

Samiee, 1998), spurring both business in-

terests and academic attention. The "Com-

munication/Transaction" framework pro-

posed b\' Quelch and Klein (1996) serx'es

as a usefLiI starting point for understand-

ing the roles the internet can play in ex-

porters' online markehng programs. Ihis

stud)' empirieally in\'estigated the appro-

priateness of this framework, and it added

a number of new perspectives to the

framework. A numher ol important weh-

site design attributes were alsc identified.

Managerial implieations for exporters en-

gaged in online marketing are detailed

below.

Enhancing the communication or

transaction capability of

exporters' websites

To help exporters communicate effec-tively with their potential consumers on-line, this study has identified the follow-ing critical website components: tangibleevidence ot trustworthiness, independentdomain name, comprehensi\'e product in-formation, multiple languages, customiza-tion capability, and electronic contact in-

formation. UnfortunaUTv, the empirical

data collected sluiwed that exporters were

quite deficient in their communication ea-

pahilities, averaging slightlv fewer than

two (1-83) eommunication components in

their wehsites. This often transkites into

exporters' websites that: (I) tall to demon-

strate their trustworthiness in cvherspace;

(2) have an URL atfiliated with somebodv

else's domain name; (3) provide sparse in-

formation about their products: (4) offer

single language weh content; (5) have no

customization capability for diffi'rent

types of site users, or (6) do not provide

electronic means of eontact. Those prob-

lems will ini'vitahlv' hamper the effective-

ness ol the electronic communications that

can be completed at the exporters' weh-

sites. Thus, we reconmiend that exporters,

especially those pursLiing the communica-

tion objectix'e, should îgtiifieanlli/ im-

prt)\'e the eommunication capahilities of

their websites by adding more communi-

cation components in their websites.

A successful example of using wehsites

for communieation by an exporter exam-

ined in oiu' studv illustrates OLir points

above. Sweetwater Technology .A/S is a

Danish exporter that produces portable

water purification systems for husiness

and government buvers, 1 he firm has an

independent URL, \vv\w,sweetwater.dk,

whicii is easy to remember. The website is

offered in both Danish and I'uglish to suit

international audiences. The trustworthi-

ness of the company and its products is

shown through the downloadable original

government lah test results of its equip-

ment. Prcxiuct informatic^n presented at

the website is comprehensive with de-

tailed produet specifications, i'inally, the

site can he customized to sisit the unique

information needs of its registered mem-

her users. Overall, the exporter's website

is very ellective in communicating its

corporate image and produets to online

visitors.

Lxamination of the use of transaction

ecimponents in exporters' wehsites told a

similar story. The study pinpointed six es-

sential components: comprehensive prod-

uct information, prices, distributor infor-

mation, purchase assistance, technical

support, and extranet capability. Yet, the

empirical data showed that on av erage ex-

porters' wehsites employed just two trans-

action components. This often kvids to

sites that have limited product informa-

tion, nt) pricing information, no distribu-

tor information, little help for ealculafing

customs, taxes, etc., no technical support

lor product-specific questions, or not ex-

tranet-enabled. Those deficiencies are cer-

tainly going to impede the potential cus-

tomers' purchase decision-making pro-

CL'ss. For exporters pursuing a transaction

orientation, the detrimer\tal etfects to their

online marketing efforts and bottom lines

eould be significant.

.A successful example of using a wehsite

for export transactions was identified

through our study. Better Living I'roduets

International is a Canadian exporter

(www.dispenser,com) that primarily en-

gages in consumer husiness; it clearly

adopts a transaction orientation in its on-

line export marketing. The company's

website offers comprehensive information

ahouf various t\'pes of dispensers, com-

pk?te v\'ith product specifications, photos,

and warranties. Technical questions about

the products can be answered using the

" froubleshooting" section, which even

lists replacement parts information. Pric-

ing information is clearly presented at the

WL'bsite. Currently, customers from

C anada or the United States can huy the

dispensers online. I'he U.S. customers are

shown a separate page that ineludes tbe

eustoms, tax, and international shipping

information. O\'eralk the design oi the ex-

porter's website seems to he eapable of

signifieantly facilitating online transac-

tions with international huvers.

September . October 2002 MMl OF HQUEBTISIOG RESEflllCH 1 1 3

CORPORATE WEBSITES

Transaction index or communication

index: Which direction to pursue?

While ,111 exporter can certainly choost to

strengthen its eommuniealion and trans-

action ca|->ahilitii.'S at the same time, ior

I'xportei s with 1 imi led rescûrces (e,g.,

tinu' and financial) targeting one oi the

two i^rientations mav be a tnore L'Tlieienl

and i"|UR"ker appio.idi to take, lhe studv

shows that exporters selling coiisunu-r

prodiuis (e.g., canned Iruits) tend to em-

phasi/e the transaclion capabilitv lu iheir

v\ehsiies more Ihau those selling husiness

products (e.g., wood mill eijuipment) do.

kurtluM-, exporters selling standardized

pnidiirts (e.g., batteries) are nn're likely to

etihanre lheir sile I ransacliiiii leatures

than th(!se selling customized producls

(i:.2,., laixlscaping green plants tnr sports

sladiutnsi, .As \)o signiiicant interaction et-

lecls v\'ere ftnind lor the Iwo variahles, ex-

porters eoukl earetuliv e\ aluate the nature

ol lheir business or produi t type lo decide

vvhethtM' or not lo strengthen websile

transai. tion ca|\ibili|v.

Country differences and

poiicy impiications

The sltkiv results also provide inipoiianl

policv implications ror governments thai

inleni.i tii kei'[") llieir eeonomii^s m sU'j^

with the global e'i.'ommerce trend, lhe

Makivsian governnien 1, kir example, is re-

nov\ned lor ils inlernet push (/•'!/>/;;(•'-.-•

7 lines, ^llOtt). Vet our empirical results

showed that the websites huil l bv Malav-

sian exporters lag signi l icantlv behind

thi'ir Canadian aiid Danish counterparts

hoth in terms oi site transaction and com-

niu i i ica l i i ' i i i . ipabil i t ies. As exporters'

wehsites detieierit in either capabilitv are

nol hkelv to be attractive to visitors, it is

(juite possible Ihai a [toi'tioii ot potential

eiistomers mighl have been turned awav

bv poorlv planned wehsites that f<iil lo en-

gage them, Ihus, a government push ior

Ibv internei should lio be\'ond urmnî

("ompani{'s to sei u["» v\"ebsites. Rather, et-

foi'ts should be directed at helping expoi i-

ers I Li]|_\ i i l i l i /e lhe com m tin ica tion or

transaction capabilities of ihe weh. I or in-

stance, a go\'ernmetit mav sponsor web-

sitL' henrhmark siutJies or propagate hest

practices for hui lding efieclive w^'bsites

\i'\' exporting vompanies. kor countries

such lis Makivsia, whose eeonomies rei\

lieaviK oi) exporting, siR'h policies wi i l

most likelv make a big dillereiiee in this

digital age ol global tradi'.

Limitations and future research

li i is present studv was baseti on three

ratidom sampli's oi exporiers' websites

trom online directories lor three countries:

Canada, Denmark, aiKi \kikivsia. Though

the three countries wen* selerieci io re|~>re-

seut a mix ot internet-advaneed atul inter

iK'l-developing i:i.>untries, extrapolating

tliL' conclusion'^ reached in Ihe sltulv to

other economies should be done \\-\ib can

Mou. I urther, as the three sampling trarnes

coTisist onlv ot those expoi'tei"s wi lh weh

pages, exporters that do not h.ave anv wi'h

pages yet were ex( luded, Ntinetheles^, we

believe the percentage ol ext luded expori-

ers from L'ach eoiintr)' should he relativelv

small as Ihe Ci.»mmercial itilernet has been

arouud lor more than six vears.

This studv iti\'estigated lhe "coniniuni--

catitm versus transaction'" tramework L'v

Quelch and Klein (199h), whieh provided

a ready modei for this stLidv. However,

allernative or mori; speeitiL tlu'oretical

construcis should he explored for devel-

oping etteeti\e online marketing strati>-

gies lor exporters. The content anaKsis

procedure' used in lhe studv, whik' pr(.!-

viding much usetiil intormalion about Lhe

design (."(iinponents 11 the exporters' wr!">-

siies, leaves a number iii i.[uestions tor tu-

ture studies. 1 uli ire stuihes e.tii send sur-

\'evs lo expoiiers that have tiilJerinj,; lev els

ot transaetion or ccinimunication capabili-

ties. Then, Ihe tjuantitativ e ouicoine \'ari

ahles siirh a^ website \ isit rates, number

of online inquiries and sales leads, or on-

line sales \ o l un ie i a i i he USLH.! to evaluate

whether websites wi lh better communica-

lion or Iransdi tiou uipabilities iiuk'ed per-

torin better.

Ihe internet has blurred the geogi'aphic

boundaries ol work i Irade and made ex-

porting to work lwide i onsumers more ac

eessible. l o l u l K ul i l i /e its potentiii l, hovv-

e\'i>r, exporter-. JirsI have Ui design w in-

n ing w ehsH es w i l h e i ther e t iec t i ve

(.ommunication or li'ansaelion wipahil i-

iii.'s. C()nsei.|Lientlv, thev should either

communicate il"ieir produci heiietits to po-

tential buv'ers m c\ be rs pace or dir<\t lv

market their (itterings to internationai in-

ternet users.

WENVU DOU L-; ^ssistai 't proff'sso' af •"r'aiKciirig ;i[ Ihf

Ui:iVi.'rsit\ ot Nevadj-L. js VcgiJb. His pcfivioiis

|)i:;Vina+'.'j>is 'na\f' amn-Atrd ni Ihi loiiuhi! ni

AdK'V'i.iSiii'd ResLwrciK UKILAIIICH M:-}i'h:-'!ing

M-loaflf'-neri!. .ir^d Qiiiulrily lonrihu oi I Co'iiirie'CC.

aniopsg ol'Hifs. Mis s>i,-i!n '•fiseairt" mtnisf.ts. include

•luirko'h'v; coniiiîintM: ony on tJic internei ana

ULRIK "OLLIE" NitisEN K] iiMi"kcf!i,'> -ti^sririiic'i 3{ ALTO

CSi i!C he link!;; an MBA dei'/ee t ioi i ' S! Cleiid

Cnrr MINK TAN tiOiii;. rii ' VIDA (.)(.';',!(.';• liiiîi ST Ck)L(

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September . October 2 0 0 2 JOURflflL OF flOOERTISIHe REBEflRCfl 1 1 5

Documents

Using Corporate Websites for Export iVlarketing