Product characteristics and Internet commerce benefit among small businesses
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420010316311 |
| Date | 01 February 2000 |
| Pages | 21-34 |
| Published date | 01 February 2000 |
| Author | Simpson Poon,Matthew Joseph |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Product characteristics and
Internet commerce benefit
among small businesses
Simpson Poon
Associate Professor in Electronic Commerce, Department of IT,
Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
Matthew Joseph
Associate Professor of Marketing, School of Business, Georgia
College and State University, Milledgeville, Georgia, USA
Keywords Product attributes, Internet, Shopping, Small firms
Abstract Conventional wisdom indicates that companies offering digital and
information-based products that can easily be delivered online, are likely to benefit from
Internet commerce. However, the validity of this statement is not clear. Endeavours to
explore the relationship between product characteristics and their impact on Internet
commerce among small businesses. We classified products into search and experience,
tangible and intangible goods and examined their effects on Internet commerce benefit.
The key finding is that product characteristics alone might not have significant influence
on Internet commerce benefit and further research into market scope, characteristics of
business sector and value chain is needed to understand more precisely what contributes
to Internet commerce benefit.
Introduction
The benefits of using the Internet as a marketing tool are varied. They range
from introducing a new product to consumers worldwide to enhancing
corporate image. However, it could be argued that the Internet's potential for
revenue generation (Shi and Salesky, 1994) and /or cost reduction (Phillips et
al., 1997) is what makes it an attractive proposition to most companies.
Prominent examples of success in Internet commerce seem to focus on firms
which are offering products which can be sold and delivered electronically
over the Internet (e.g. software companies, information service providers).
For smaller firms, however, there are success stories describing those who
are not necessarily selling software or IT-related products (Adams et al.,
1997). Although it is logical to expect products that can be purchased
without the need to examine them physically are more suitable for online
trading, empirical evidence is needed to support this view.
To have a clearer understanding of the issues surrounding the impact of
product characteristics on the successful use of the Internet, a discussion on
product classifications is warranted. When looking at product classifications,
marketers divide products and services based on the types of consumers that
use them ± consumer products and business to business products. This
discussion will be limited to consumer products. Consumer products are
those which are purchased by the final consumer for his/her consumption.
These products are further classified into convenience, shopping, specialty
and unsought products. Convenience goods are those that are purchased
frequently with little planning or shopping effort. They are usually at low
prices and widely available. Shopping goods are those which are purchased
less frequently, such as furniture and major appliances, and which are
compared on the bases of suitability, quality, price and style. Specialty goods
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
Varied benefits
Product classifications
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 9 NO. 1 2000, pp. 21-34, #MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1061-0421 21
An executive summary for
managers and executive
readers can be found at the
end of this article
To continue reading
Request your trial