Internet marketing: a content analysis of the research

J Ken Corley,W Rhea Ingram,Zack Jourdan

doi:10.1007/s12525-012-0118-y

J Ken Corley, W Rhea Ingram + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-012-0118-y

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Abstract

Abstract The amount of research related to Internet marketing has grown rapidly since the dawn of the Internet Age. A review of the literature base will help identify the topics that have been explored as well as identify topics for further research. This research project collects, synthesizes, and analyses both the research strategies (i.e., methodologies) and content (e.g., topics, focus, categories) of the current literature, and then discusses an agenda for future research efforts. We analyzed 411 articles published over the past eighteen years (1994-present) in thirty top Information Systems (IS) journals and 22 articles in the top 5 Marketing journals. The results indicate an increasing level of activity during the 18-year period, a biased distribution of Internet marketing articles focused on exploratory methodologies, and several research strategies that were either underrepresented or absent from the pool of Internet marketing research. We also identified several subject areas that need further exploration. The compilation of the methodologies used and Internet marketing topics being studied can serve to motivate researchers to strengthen current research and explore new areas of this research.

Highlights

In the early years of the Internet Age, the potential of using the Internet as a distribution channel excited business managers who believed this tool would boost sales and increase organizational performance (Hansen 1995; Westland and Au 1997)
We hope to paint a representative landscape of the current Internet marketing literature base in Information Systems (IS) in order to influence the direction of future research efforts in this important area of study
In order to examine the current state of research on Internet marketing, the authors conducted a literature review and analysis in three phases: Phase 1 accumulated a representative pool of articles; Phase 2 classified the articles by research method; and, Phase 3 classified the research by research topic

Summary

Introduction

In the early years of the Internet Age, the potential of using the Internet as a distribution channel excited business managers who believed this tool would boost sales and increase organizational performance (Hansen 1995; Westland and Au 1997). These believers suspected an online presence could offer advantages to their customers, while providing a shopping experience similar to the traditional bricks-and-mortar store (Jarvenpaa and Todd 1996). The research is summarized with a discussion of the limitations of this project and suggestions for future research

Methodology

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Results

- Evaluation of Online Performance

Limitations and directions for future research