Integrating the Internet and Marketing Operations: A Study of Antecedents in Firms of Different Size

• Adopting the Internet for advanced marketing operations opens up challenging opportunities for firms of all sizes. However, such adoption might destroy investments in present market channels and thus has the characteristics of radical innovation. In this article, we draw on the literature on innovation to investigate what differentiates adopters of advanced Internet-based marketing operations from non-adopters in firms of different sizes. The conceptual model for this study is centred on the set of internal and external factors size, willingness to cannibalize, entrepreneurial drivers, management support, and market pressure. Our analysis is built on survey data from 379 Swedish manufacturing firms. The results of analysis show that composition of factors on which firms base their decision to adopt advanced Internet-based marketing operations varies signifi cantly with fi rm size. A number of implications for further research as well as for managers and educators are discussed.

Nyckelord

adoption of innovation

channels

entrepreneurship

firm size

Internet

marketing

willingness to cannibalize

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