International e-marketing: Opportunities and issues

Purpose - E-marketing is growing at a dramatic pace and is significantly impacting customer and business market behaviors. As a result, most firms have started developing e-marketing strategies for the web. However, the evolution and strategic direction of e-marketing strategies in international environments has not been discussed and is the focus of this paper. Design/methodology/ approach - In this paper, the authors examine two issues based on extant literature and our previous research in this area. The authors discuss e-marketing in an international context and develop a framework that will allow researchers and managers to understand the impact of country level effects on e-marketing strategies. The paper proposes that the evolution of e-marketing strategies is based on the countries infrastructure and marketing institutional development. Findings - It is found that international e-marketing strategies are fundamentally changing, and will continue to change, marketing thought and practice in international markets. The paper suggests that the e-markets of tomorrow may have little resemblance to the markets of today. Research limitations/implications - The paper suggests that additional conceptual and methodological research is required in this area. Propositions are derived that will provide directions for future research. Practical implications - Firms need to better monitor their international environments to determine the type of strategy that they need to follow. The proposed strategies are - brick and click strategies, digitization, disintermediation, buying groups and alternative infrastructure, firm driven e-marketing strategies, and corporate exchanges. Originality/value - This paper is the first attempt to examine the relationship between a country's infrastructure, marketing institutions and the appropriate e-marketing strategies.