Do traditional strategic concepts apply in the e-marketing context?

Abstract

This paper explores generic marketing strategies and competitive market positioning in the context of the Australian online book industry. The key research question is the extent to which traditional strategic concepts, like competitive market position and sustainable competitive

advantage (SCA), apply in the new world of e-marketing. The most important issue that emerges from the study is that the tools and concepts that are relevant for offline firms are equally applicable for online firms. Different generic strategies call for a different market position and this is borne out in our case study. Special attention is given to the importance of a channel management generic strategy in the e-marketing context. Firms contemplating this option need to have a high level of competency in relationship marketing skills.

Introduction

The diffusion of the Internet has revolutionized the business landscape. Not only has the Internet reconfigured the way companies do business and the way consumers buy goods and services, it has been instrumental in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Donthu & Garcia, 1999). The initial wave of research has investigated piecemeal components of e-marketing, notably banner advertisements and consumer information search processes (Ducoffe, 1996; Hoffman & Novak, 1996; Novak, Hoffman & Yung, 2000; Rowley, 2000). What is missing from this research platform are papers that address the organizationally broader, more strategic aspect of e-marketing. From this point of view, the current special issue of the Journal of Business Strategies is very timely. The agenda of the current paper is deliberately broad. The emergence of a new marketing channel requires testing of the traditional strategic tools to see if they are still applicable.

There is now a well-established kit of concepts that can be used to evaluate and/or develop a marketing strategy for a firm. The tool-kit includes:

* Overall marketing strategy, with an emphasis on distinctiveness

* Generic marketing strategy

* Competitive market position

* Key strengths and weaknesses

* Sustainable competitive advantage (SCA)

* Supporting capabilities

* The marketing mix, including the Four-Ps and overall branding of the company.