using corporate websites for export ivlarketing
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Using Corporate Websites for
Export iVlarketing
WENYU DOU
University of
Nevada-Las Vegas
wenyu.dou@cct"nail.
nevada.edu
ULRIK OLLIE" NIELSEN
ALTO CSI, Inc.
ollieinus@yahoo.com
CHEE MING TAN
tming98@yahoo,cotTi
The internet is becoming increasingly important for exporters to reach or seii to
potential customers in international markets. This study investigated how exporters
could utilize different elements of their corporate websites to achieve either their
communication or transaction objectives. First, relevant website attributes were
identified and analyzed. Second, website content analysis was conducted on a
random sample of exporters' websites selected from three countries: Canada,
Denmark, and Malaysia. The study results highlighted important website attributes
that are appropriate for exporters' online marketing objectives. Implications for export
promotions on the internet and government policies are also discussed.
Tur. DirrusioN oi- C;LOI5,\L e-cnmrncrce has spurred
the growth ul cxpt rt thniugh the internot, Ac-
cttrding to A report trom Forrester Research (|i.il\'
21)00), global online exports will surge to SI.-I- tril-
lion hy 2004. Exp(M"t eompanies are inereasiriglv
realizing the potential ol the internet to either en-
h<inee existing export aetivitiies or find new export
customers. Consider the garlic export company
LiBusine,ss Co. from China that was featured in the
VVeb@VVork Section of the Wull Slircl journal (Man-
Liel, 2()0()). The small export compan\, started in
1998 to tap into the internationai demand fiir Chi-
nese garlic, has garnered increasing sales throiiglT
its website: wwvv,prettygarlic.com. The companv
nov\ even transkitcs its website content into nine
diiterent languages to suit the needs of interna-
tional customers.
The internet may be an ettective marketing tool
for exporters in a eouple of wa\s, I laniill (1997)
argued that the ellcctiv'e use ol the internei ran
prov ide a lovv-cctst "gatewav" to the global market
lor companies intending to iir engaging in export-
ing, especially for small-to-medium enterprises lo-
cated in peripheral economii's and those operating
in global niche markets. Yeoh (2000) pointed out
that for expt^rters that lack the necessarv financial
and human resources to engage in formal market-
ing research, the internet olfers opportLinities to
support firms' market intelligenee acfi\'ities for ex-
porf planning and the de\'elopment of exporf
sh'ategies, hi addition to using the inlernet tor
global communications, companies can also use it
to engage in international trading with distant
buyers at lower cost. Fxporters hav e certainly not
overlooked these advantages. Dandridge and Lev-
enburg (2000), in a study of Ohio-area small ex-
porters, found that increasing numbers were using
the internet for such diverse acti\'ities as searching
for cotnpetitive product information, making pur-
chases, or reaching new markets.
While exporters may set up their websites for
different reasons, two types ol' online marketing
models are eommonU' used by eompanies that in-
tend to use the internet as an export marketing
took Export companies set up corporate websites
t\ir two primary reasons; as a commLinication me-
dium between the company and its business stake-
holders (e.g., customers, suppliers, and distribu-
tors); or as an electronic platform for conducfing
business transactions (Quelch and Klein, 1996).
Hainill (1997) suggested tliat in export marketing
fhe internet as a communication medium could
enhance an exporter's \ isihility through advertis-
ing and publicity. It may also provide customer
ser\ ice and tech suppcirt, and ev en generate t)n[ine
sales. '\o achieve these multiple goals, Hamill
September . October 2 0 0 2 JOURflflL OF flOOERTISKiG HES[flflCH 1 0 5
CORPORATE WEBSITES
(l9'-^7) argued thai gooti exporlers' siles
should he intormaiion rich, tretjueiitlv up-
datetk pr'ovide ad^k'd value, he interaciive
and easilv integrated with other markei-
inu chaiuu'ls. Ihis recommendation is
ketfiig models, the authors conducted a
comprtTieiisive conteni <inaivsis oi export-
ers' wehsites hased on a random sample
of exporters from i:hree i^ountries that rep-
resent different k'v els ol' counfrv inferiiel
consistent with otfier s tuda 'S aboLit web- literacy And euiiionsy reliance on fxport-
site design and tuiulional te<ilures, and
fheir appeal to users (see, e.g., (rhose and
Don, I99S). On the other hand, develop-
ing a transaction-based wehsite mav re-
cjuire dilierent emphasis on the websites'
design attribute as exporf trans,ictioii-
specitie intormation such as customs aiul
taxes (Shevvmake and Sapp, 2l)01)) nvvd io
he taken inlo account.
,-\ clear understanding cif the fwo online
marketiiig models lor exporf marketing
alknws exporters to si'lect the focusol' Lheir
exporl marketing pj'ograms in the online
woi'ld. Subsequentiv , the decision to ei-
ther emphasi/e coiTimunication i^v Iraiis-
action in cvberspciee will affect how ex-
porlers struchire their wehsites fo achieve
mg: Canada, Denmark, and Vkilavsia, Ihe
sludv lirsl ideiititied important websiie
functional attrihules Ihal are associated
with ditferent online marketing objective's.
Then empirical data were i.ollected to i>x-
amme how exporU'rs were appiv ing thest-
site lunctioiial teatures and how export-
ers' L haracti.M'istK s nia\' iiilluence sile>,'
leatures
Clur siudv results oiler valuable direc-
tion lor exporters in pursuit of the mosi
n^levant design lot adiieving marketing
goals, i'urther, Lhe einpirical evidence pro-
V ides i.|uantifjtiv e dafa tor export agencies
(e,s;,, Irade assoi-'iatiotis) or government
agencies (e.g., i'oreigti trade bureaus) lo
nuiiiitor and ev aluafe fhe current Lise ot
different market ing ohjecfiws. Hence, e,\- websi tes f|-ir i.>\port ps-omolion. k ' inalk.
porfers fhaf emphasi/e website sales gen-
eration may tavxii certain genres of weLi-
siie kMtures (e.g., detailed! cusfomer sup-
poi'i information), while exptiilers thai
stress communication ohjecti\'es mav rel\'
on fheir sifes to build their images.
The ahove wehsito design guidelines
derived from the i\\ o types of online mai'-
keling models are useiui but mav he too
broad lor exporters to implenx'iil. In iavi,
despite exporters' rising exiH'ctalions
about using websites in online expiM't
markefing programs, tew studies hav e ai,-
tiialh' identitird and examined wehsites'
luncttonal tealures ihal arc appri)pri,ite
tor the two difierent nuKiels, kack of em-
pirical I'videnci.' hiiKlers our ahilitv to pin-
point high-t|ualitv exporters' websites for
benchmarking purposes, h also impedes
exporters' abilitv to s(*t a clear direction
lor building elteclive wehsjies,
I o illuminate h{nv" exporters k an ik'sign
tilecUve websites toi' ditierent online mar-
this stud\' also fills a void in the eiiu'rging
liferature about cusLomer-mlerJaci' design
online tliixiugh the addifion ot an interna
lionai angle.
The resi of Ihis paper is organi/ed as
follows, [n the next section, the ixTation^
ship hetwi'en ex}"sort pr(.)inotioiis arui rel-
evaiif website attributes is exploii'd, J he
design ot the empirical sludv is explained
iii tlu' lollowing sei.lioii, Studv results are
next presented, aiul linally, we provide
managerial implicatiojis and future i e-
seLirch Lhreclions.
EXPORT PROMOTION AND WEB
SITE ATTRIBUTES
,\ fiiiukinienlal goal of export promoUon
is to ck'arly communicate an exjtorter's of-
le]"iiig to potenfial customers w"(M"ldwide.
I raditionaiiy, Lhei'e are iwo Iypes ot ex-
porL promotion^: gov ei'nment-sponsori'd
and firm-initiated promofions (johaiissini,
I ~^97), <.TOV"ernnient-sponsored promo-
lions olten involve (rade [Policies tiiat are
nsuallv bevoiul I'XporSers' control, i'irns-
initiaied prorTiotions otten im hide inler-
nafional adv<'i lising (I e^vis .md I lou>den,
I9MS], sales p iomof ion {BeiineU, l^MHl,
iMihlicitv, and personal selling (e.g., m
trade shows) While these e\|"'orl promo-
lioii methods have (.onlribiited to the en-
ha iuemen t ot t irnis ' export ing acfi\'ilies,
thev have also I'een u' i t ici /ed for a varietv
o\ reasons, 1 or instance, Ihev oOi'n require
sign ii ica nf inv esltnenl, hav e to uniform to
1 ounirv'-speciiii regulaiioiis; ov are otten
run inlreqiH^iitlv (see kevv is and I lousden,
I'i98; Bennett, IWS; lohansson, 1997),
Direct market ing ( lohansson, 1997) is
thiL> n e w e s t g l o b a l p r o m o t i o n a l ionI
adopted hv exporters. Through the use ot
mail, telephone, tax, or more recenLlv, the
infernef, exporlers [odA\ can dir i \ i iv ' cofii-
itiunicati.^ wilh jheir customers and husi
ness partners . In laci, as traditional wa\ 's
oi e,\port proniot ions Iiave vielded mixed
results and ht-wiuse ol the last g rowth ot
the global internet, expork ' rs are ineii-as-
inglv' looking al thi^ iniernel as a viable
[itedium tor prouiot ing their ol ier ings di-
rect iv- to [he global a u d i e i x e (Melita, (ire-
wal, and SiviJa>, t99(V|,
Roles of the internet in
export promotions
l,ffeetiv"e websi[<'s a d d lo the pool ol t i rn i -
k-onlrollahlf p r o n i o l i o n a l ioo i s ior e x p o r t -
ers , ! h e r e l o r e , it i- i r u c i a l tha t e x p o r t e r s
th(>roughl_\ learn a h o u t fhe v a r i o u s tv^pes
of ro les tha t tJie i n t e r n e i ^an p l a v in Iheir
o n l i n e mark t^ t ing p r o g r a m s , l h e "(. o m -
ni i in i^ 'a l ion '' I r a n s a i - t i o n " t r a n u ' w o r k a s
d i s c u s s e d m Qdi ' I ch a n d Klein (I'-l'-'h) p r o -
v i d e s An i n i t i a l l o u i u l a i i o n i o r u n d e r -
s | .Hid ing th is i s sue ,
I h e i n t e r n e t a s a i . on ' imun ica t ion n ie -
d i n m h a s s o m e at t ract iv e l e a t u r e s , s u c h a s
inii ' racliv iiv (I l o l l m a n a n d , \ o v a k , !99f-i),
h ig[ i -va[ iaci t \ i i i t o r m a l i o n ,s iorage ( i ' a i m e r
And t . r i l f i lh , I'-'MS), And i h g i t i / ^ i d o u ahilitv
1 0 6 JiyRflflL OF Soptombc- • October ?00?
CORPORATE WEBSITES
(Hanson, 2000). These promising feafures
enable exporters to build their corporate
and brand images, enhance their relation-
ships with foreign customers, and pro-
mote themselves to new prospects. One
example is u'lru'.pg.coni, which promotes
Procter & Camhle and its products to con-
sumers from \5 counfries in their nafi\'e
languages.
The infernef can also be used as a direct-
marketing channel if fho oxporfers' web-
sites are enabled wifh e-commerce capa-
bilities. Through their websites exporters
can generate sales leads, accept online or-
ders, engage in online transactions with
customers through secure online payment
processing, or conduct transactions with
suppliers through secure extranets. An ex-
ample of fhis type of application is rcrr-
zv.dell.coni where customers from 86 ccuin-
tries (or regions) can huv Oell producfs
priced in local currencies.
Naturally, fhese fv\o different fypes of
online marketing emphases call for differ-
ent fypes of website features and func-
tional attributes, in this stLidy, we sum-
mari/e and analy/e a range of website
functions and their marketing applica-
tions for online communications. The two
lists of site components, based on relevant
marketing theories and on insights from
preliminary investigations of exporters'
websites, are detailed below.
1. Trustworthiness of the company andits offering. To ser\'e as a communication
channel, the exporter's website has fo
build a reputable corporate image in cy-
berspace where few physical cues (e.g,,
magnificent bank buildi.ngs) exist to sug-
gest fhe quality oi the company behind
the wehsife (Hanson, 20i)U). This is espe-
cially important for first-time exporfers
fhaf ma\' not enjoy high brand recognition
among international users. For instance,
shcnving that the exporter has attained the
internationally reco^ni/ed ISO 9000 certi-
fication on its website mav project an im-
age ot credibility to site \isikirs and po-
tential customers.
2. Domain name type. The use oi a
st'parate domain name (e.g., www.
myc(Mnp<invname.com), as ct>mpared io
an affiliated dcimain name (e.g., www.
aokcom /mycompan\), offen bolsfers
brand recognifion and recall of the export-
er's name (Wong, 2000). Ihe sense of per-
manency associated with the independent
domain name is likely to signal the export-
er's commitment to its site v isitors,
3. Product information. Displacing com-
prehensive product information on fhe ex-
porter's website provides insfanf ufilify to
prospects because thev can access needed
information right at the websife. It also
complements fhe corporate image infor-
mafion and allows site \ isitors to form an
overall picture ol the exporter's offerings.
In contrast, an exporter's website wifh
spott\' prcxluct information (e.g,, just a
few lines of piXKiiicf descriptions) is likely
to disappoint site visitors who expect to
find tangible information about lhe firm's
offerings.
4. Language options. Sfudies ha\'e found
that gkibal inlernet users prefer to browse
websifes in their own languages (Clobal
Reach, 2000). Thus, it is important that ex-
porters de\elop multilingual websites to
appeal to potential \ iewers from differenf
counfries, k'urfher, having a multi-
language option itself may show that fhe
exporter is sensitive fo the cultures oi in-
ternational customers.
5. Personalization capability. Perscmal-i/ed web pages can enable the exporter tohLiild a one-to-one relationship with itscustomers (Hanson, 2l)0tl). By tailoringweh pages for different users wht mayhave different information needs, the ex-
porfer can more clearly ccimmunicate its
benefits to each unique buyer. Since an
exporfer's infernafional user base is likely
to he mt)re heterogeneous than its domes-
tic cu.sfomer base (e.g., because of differ-
ences in counfry fariffs, lisage ticcasions,
etc.), fhe personalization capability may
he e\'en more valuable in online export
marketing.
6. Contact information. As it is rare that
all export transactions can be completed
exclusively online, exporters need to pro-
\ide means of contact for their website
visitors. Different modes of contacting the
exporter for in-depfh negotiations are as-
sociated wifh differenf lev els of speed and
efficiency in communicafion. Online-
based contact forms are the fastest and
easiest for the visitor who can just send
the inquiries right at the website, li-mails
may facilitate text communications but re-
quire the operation ot' an e-mail program.
Providing only traditional contact infor-
mati(m (e.g., snail mail address) falls shorf
of meeting fhe rising communicafion ex-
pectations of global internet users who de-
mand quick answers.
Together, fhese six wehsife components
discussed above demonstrate fhe exporf-
ers' capability to fulfill the online contiuii-
iiicatiou objectives with their websites.
In a similar fashion, we identified the
folk)wing imporfant sife design affribufes
fiir exporfers fhaf use the internet as a
transaction channel:
I. Proiiiii'f infornintioii: Consumers oftenbase fheir purchase decisions on com-prehensive information searches, espe-ciall)' when they intend fo purchasefrom foreign vendors. Spotty informa-tion abouf products on an exporter'ssite uould most likely discourage po-tential buyers frctm mo\'ing closer todecision points.
September . October 2 0 0 2 JDURORL OF flOyERTISlOG BEOERRCH 1 0 7
CORPORATE WEBSITES
2, !'rn-iin^ luUniiui'idii. P r i c i n g i n i o r m a t i o n ,
coupled with product inlormation, pro-
V ides a hasis ou which potential cus-
tomei's mav make qu i ik initial value
judgiiieiits about potenLial j iurchases.
Without su(;h iiiioi'iiiation, potent ia l
huvei ' s mav he hesiUiiit to e x p l o r e
hirlher,
3. Pi^liihutor nit'eniiiulii'ir. . \ < . p o t L M i l i a l
(Ustomers move fi,irther along the de-
cision [irocess, "w hei'e to huy" inlor-
malioii beeomes more ci'iiical (l',nge! et
LII., \^>'->5), particularlv it the expoi ier
delegates the actual selling to its for-
eign dis l r ihutors , Sinte verv fev'v ex-
ma I'ke I ing sector otten use ^l, Prov id ing
exh-Lint/t capability on exporters ' weh-
siles laiiiijates si,'i m-e w eh-hased busi-
ness transaclkiiis wilh expor ters ' trade
pLirlners, such as treighi lorwai 'ders ,
cairiers, and loreign distr ibutors,
I ogefher, the above componenK demon-
strate fhi' lapabihtv of an exporlei'V weh-
-ile lo lulfill its Irriii-^anu'ii ohje^•tive^
O i i l i i i e
Research objectives
I he wehsite attrihules summari/ed ahove
e s e s vvei"e [">rt>pos[\| the
p o r L e r s a c t u a l l v se l l t h e i r p r o d u c t s p r o v i d e a s t a r t i n g p o i n t t r o m w h i c h ex
(•"u/I ' /s/rr/ i /from t h e i n t e r n e t , t h i s s i i e a t - p o r k - r s nia_\ d e v i s e t h e i r w e b s i f e s to c o n -
trihnte may he critical lor the prospee
live huv ers who an^ serious ahoui buv
ing Irom the exporiei.
I'urcliU'M'ii-^<isliincc- I oi' consumers , huv
torm hi the requiremeiits oi the !w o online
market ing models tor e\poiiet"s, ^'et, lo
lest ihv veraeitv ot Ihese iJeiiLified site at-
irihiUes, il is netessarv lo examine the ac-
ing Irom a foreign expor ter mav in- tual usai;e oi those at tr ibutes hv exporters
V olve a lot more s teps thaii huyirsg on Iheir websites, kurther, we must alst*
Irom a i.lomestic lirm (lohansson, l'-)'-,l7), investigate lhe ('aclors ihai mav alfect an
. \ considerale expoi'lei 'sail prov ide de- expor ter ' s cluiice ahout wiiRh oi the two
tails about t us toms, taxes, exporier au caicgoi'ies oi online markel ing models lo
thor i /a t i i 'ns , aiui import i,]LHitas [I kiLvh, nse.
200!)) on iis website so potential con-
suniers mav bv encouraged lo make
fiister [lurchase decisions hecause lhe
evpoi ier has taken care ot the "'techui-
cal" coiisidei'afions.
Quelch and Kk^iu (:')"('! posited that
\v\^ll-established niulhnat ional expor ters
leg . , Phillips) tend to aiiopt the c o m m u -
nicatioii moLlel v\ hile sLarl-ii|"i l o m p a n i e s
unid to atlo['t the "ti 'aiisaclion" model . In
/ ('(IliiiCiil -^iippoi I: "I e e h n i c a l s u p p o r t " Lheir d e l i m i i o i i , a s l a r l - u p ret e r s io a p u i ' e
sec t ions , such ,is I requei i t lv , ' \sked " internet" companv such as ama7on,com.
CJueslions, can ollen solve lhe r o m m o n In realiiv , iiiost expor te is are not pure in-
prt ihlems encountered hv consuriiers tetnet companies , \v[ nol all cit ihem mav
who mav hav e shown initial iiiterest in UAW b r o a d e n o u g h niai 'kel e x p o s u r e
Lbe pi'cHtucl. Having this {ipti{>ii oii a wor ldwit le lo he classitii,'^! as ti'Ui' multi-
w ebsite is also reassuring tor potential nationals either. The ret ore, the clistinelion
buvci's as ihev know technical help i.s be tween "a multin.i l ioiial Ani.\ a ["une-
iust a click awa\,
f.xfrnnct ciipuhiliU/: An extranet is a se-
cure inlormation n<'lwoi"k ior exporters
Lo commLiiiicate ami in husj-
ness transai lioits with theii' sn | ipl iers ,
partiiers, o i us tomers (Kleindk 2()lH ),
Compan ies in Lhe hi.isines--~Lo-business
internei l o m p a n v " and iLs impact on the
choice oi online market ing models is noi
direeth appli{'able ior this stiidv on online
export i i iarkeimg. Insteatl, a itimiber o\
addit ional I'oiish'in'ts, w hii h we believ e lo
be impor tant , w ere idenLilied and ana
Iv/ed I-urther, a number ol reseaixli hv -
hirsi, exporter'- trom iiUcriiet-advanced
countries, such as ihi> "hi)-) n Intenu^i
( ounl r ies" as evaluated hv Cdniiuitci In
ilii-.n-ii Mninmic (?,()(i()} l\ised on criteria
•-uci"! as "per capiia interiuM usage," ari.'
likelv to have at lopU\l the internei lor
hus iness j ransactioiis ea rher than their
c o u n t e r p a r t s ii'om iillei ne[-d(. 'velo]iing
countr ies lnteriu'1-dev ek'ping, i"ountries
are tiiosi- w h o are still exper imenl ing with
Using their sites ,is glorilied eleeironic hro-
c h u r e s io s h o w c a s e Uiei r c o m p a n i e s ,
wiiich was the onginaJ use (it Lhe commer
cial inlernet, Heni.e, exporters from inter-
net-developed countries are more likelv to
feel u imtor tab le emplov ing websites io!'
Iraiisaeiioj"! ohjet'tiv es I hus:
I M : I X[">oiiers tr(iiu in le rne t -de vel -
opei,l countr ies ai'e more likelv
isi empusv ihi,' " t ransact ion" iea-
iure in iheir wehsi tes ihan ex-
poriLM's irom mternet-dev elof'ing
c o i ; n i r i e s
•-lecniuk e,x p o r L e r s i r o m in terneL •
advanced kiuinlrics, in addit ion to theii
relative tamiliantv wilh using theii sites
tor transaction purposes , an* also likelv to
he nuire sophisLiuitetl at emftloving more
k'omnumiealmn teaiures it) wehsiie.s. This
IS irue hecause ihe ov erall quaiilv ol web-
site design in tluisi- mternet-ilev e loped
countries ma\ be higher, and Iht' hench
nirirk lor com[\ir ison mav also be highei',
Ovi lhe other haiul, exporlei 's in inti'rnef-
deve loping countr ies niav have lowei ex
[X'ctalions about Oieir siles' comiiuinica"
tion I ai^ahilitii^s as I hi- ov erall wel.)siie de-
sign benchmark mav be low (e,g., c\nv \.o
Hie ku k o\ experience in design) aiui com-
peti tors with, cu t t ing-edge w\'bsifes AW
relativelv rare ^o , s inipler " h r o c h u r e "
websii^'s a re likelv in be obseivei i loi'
those ex|"ioi'lei's irom internet-tlev elof^ing
V o i n U r i e s . '\ l u i s :
108 J Of flOUEfiTlSinG flESEdflCti Sepfember . Oclober 2002
CORPORATE WEBSITES
H2: Fxporters from internet-devel-
oped countries are more likely to
employ more "communication"
teatures in their websites than ex-
porters from internet-developing
countries.
Third, buyers of husiness products (e.g.,
commercial plants) often require detailed
negotiations with sellers (Moriarfy, 1983)
and such complexities are less likely to be
tackled easily in an online enx'ironment. In
contrast, transactions of consumer prod-
ucfs (e.g., fruit candies) are likely to be
quick and relahvely straightforward pur-
chases that can easily be conducted o\er
the internet. Therefore, it is nafural fhat
exporters selling consumer products are
more likely to emphasize transaetion fea-
tures on their sites, at least at this stage of
e-commerce de\elopnient. Thus;
H3; Exporters that sell consumer
products are more likely to em-
ploy the "transaction" feafure in
fheir wehsifes than exporters that
sell business products.
Fourth, fhe purchase of customized
products (e.g., landscaping for a new sta-
dium) often requires detailed faee-fo-faee
negofiafions with the seller abouf confract
cHetails, so the process is less likely to be
undertakt?n online, tin the olher hand,
buying standardized products with clear
and near-universal product specificafions
(e.g., a car sfereo sef) is likely fo be quick
and relafively sfraighfforward over the in-
ternet, even for international buyers.
Therefore, exporters thaf sell cusfomized
prociucts are more likely to emphasi/e
transaction features of the site. Hence:
H4; Exporters that sell standardizedproducts are more likely to em-ploy the "transaction" teature on
their websites than exporters that
sell eustomi/ed products.
I'ina lly, high-transaction-capahilitv
websites are likely to he associated with
more .idvanced site designs. Hanson
(2000) classified websifes info fhree differ-
enf stages; simple publishing, interactive,
and personalized, with each stage empha-
si/ing different k'VL'ls of design sophisti-
cation. .A "simple pLihlishing" websife is
primarily a "brochure" website, thus it is
generally not capable of enabling online
fransactions. .An "lnteraetiv e" website al-
lows site users to actix'i'ly control informa-
fion refrieval (e.g., search function) or
voice their views through online-based
forms. A "personalized" website is de-
signed to display web pages that are eus-
tomized to the unique needs of its regis-
tered members. Compared to "simple
publishing" sifes, "interactive" and "per-
sonalized" sites contain more tocils (c?.g.,
online product inquiry t'orms) for inter-
esfed consumers fo furfher explore their
purehase deeisittn process. Such capabilify
can he especially powerful in "personal-
ized" 'vvebsites wTiere individualized
produet reeommendafions can be tailor-
made to each registered customer, thus
enhancing the likelihood ot online pur-
chase, ConsequeiitK', it an exporter in-
tends to emphasize transaction features
on its sife, tben the corresponcHing website
design should he m(ire ad\'anced. Hence:
H5: k'xporters that emphasize trans-
action featm'es of fhe site are
morL' likely to empk)y advanced
site desigiis.
STUDY DESIGN
An empirical sfudy was designed to ex-amine how exporters are using their web-sites for exp(M"t marketing and t(i test thereseareh hypotheses. 1 hree randomsamples ot expc^rters were selected trom
each oi the three countries: Canada, Ma-
laysia, and Denmark, which represent
economies in three difierent regions—
North America, Asia, and Europe.
Canada was selected because it is
ranked numher one in per capita internet
usage [Conqitilcr Uuinstry Alntanac, 2000).
Den ma rk was selected because it is
ranked high in per capita internet Lisage
(No. 6) and also because of its economy's
heavy reliance cn exports (its 1999 exports
were S49.5 billion, about 38.8 percent of its
GDP: W'drhi Faet Book, 2000). In compari-
son, Vlalaysia is a developing coimtry fhat
relies heavily on exports (its 1999 exports
were S83..3 billion or 36.4"o of its GDP;
World Fact Hook, 2000), However, Malay-
sia's internet development is not yet as ad-
vanced as the other two. Overall, the three
countries selected represent three differ-
ent geographic regions and different lev-
els of internet or economic development.
In addition, all three countries have put
comprehensive and official directories ot
exporters on the web that served as our
sampling frames.
Sampling
.'\n extensive internet search was con-
ducted and inquiries were made to the
three countries' trade bureaus fo pinpoinf
fhe best sampling frame; this lead to the
discovery of three comprehensive online
directories of exporters for each country.
Fach exporter listecH in these directories
has at least a rridimentary weh page.
lhe Canadian directory (www.
workiexport.com) waspuhlished by Inter-
national Publishing & Development (IPD)
and endorsed by the federal and pro\'in-
cial government ol Canada. It indexed
more than 5,0011 Canadian exporters in a
variety ot industries from agriculture to
telecommunications. The Danish Exporter's
Dircclori/ is an official directory oi prod-
ucts and services from Denmark pub-
lished hv the Rova! Danish Vlinistrv of
September - October 2 0 0 2 JOIJIlllflL OF RDy[BTIEIflG RESEHRCti 1 0 9
CORPORATE WEBSITES
Foreign .Affairs, lonl.iining nitire thiin
100,(100 rjanish exporters. The Malavsian
Ii;-L of exporters- Malii\'siii M.miilLicturcrs
and f-'\porter'^ \\ ehsilc (http:/ ,/asiaep.
com/mv) was eiidorsed h\ the Minister
of M,il,i\'si,i Intertidtional Trade and !n-
iiiistr\' til prnnu'tc Malaysia's pr{.)ducts to
international cusliuners. This comprelx'n-
sixT list co\ ej's ,1 wide \ .lrii'tx" ni industries
from abrnsi\('s to /ini and includes Ihon-
san(,i,s ot companies.
Fo ensure the grnerali/iibiMK of our
stLid) results, we chose lo emplo\ the ran-
dom sampling method. Also, bcCtUisr nf
the significant amount of time (,"ibi")ul H
20 minutes) invoh'od in anakving I'.ich
website, vs't' decided to randoml\' sclrcl
around ITII cixpork-rs Irom eiu h country.
This approach taki's into acc(Hm[ the w-
sourcr limitations i>l [he ri'se.nvhers and
Lhc fart thai a roughk equal sample si/r
laciiitatt's [he rrciss-roiintrx' cumparisoii.
A svsti'matii randi)m sampling iriefliod
was ust\"i lo exir.irl a ranilom sample ui
1 7 Danish exporters from the alphabrti-
rai list in ihe Danish dircc!or\. As the Ca-
nadian exporters' directory was arranged
b}' indifslries, a proportioiitil sjimpling
method v\'as usfil tii ensure that Ihe num-
ber ol exporters dr.nvji hnni LVKII industr\"
was proportioiKil to the total number ol
exporlrrs lisUni ior each inditsti'v. Within
e a c h I n d LI s t r V, a s \ s t e m a t i c r a n d o m
sample (v\'ith a cakniatei.1 spacing to get
ihc ds'sircd lumibcr of exporters) was tlu'n
drawn Ircrni the alphabeticalK' listed ex-
porters, Ihc tinal sample of randomly se-
lected Canadian exporters consists of 1 4
companies. The Malaysian exporters' i.ii-
rector\' was arrangL'd alphabeticalK' b\'
prodiiii ratcgoi'}'. We again applied the
svsti'niatii. random approach (with .i cal-
culiiied spacing io get the desired number
oi exporters) and selected a total of 151
Malav'sian exporters. While dillcrenci's in
the tliriH tor\ loniiai lorcrti us io use
different sampling ineHiods, all
three samples (it exp()i-ters are nonetheless
random in naiure.
Data collection
A v\'obsit(' content ana I v sis pixicedure (see,
.•,g,, Philport and Arhittier, 1997; Griffilh
and KrcU-npl, 1*I98| was adopted to aiia-
Iv/.o the attributes of tlie exporters' v\-eb-
sites in thi* Ihree samples. A detailed tod-
ing sheet (a\'ailable Irom tlie authoi's upon
request) was de\elopei.l tirst and the re-
searchers practiced independenth' eodirii;
12 randomh' selected exporters' sites irom
the Ihree countries (foui" each). Then the
coded results vveroiompared ,]\M\ Jilter-
enees were reconciled through discus-
sions, ! his step ensured the consistencv nl
coding results. In addition lo collecting
dafa about the ditt'crent wehsite design
coinponenis in site communication and
transaction iiinetions, we also colleried in-
iormati(,)n ahiHif tiie tolkiwing \'ariables:
1, flic nut lire ('/ ///(' I'xpoilrr's /'//s/zfi'ss; Will
the exporter's products be used bv
businesses, ordinary i onsumers, or
both? 1 he classilieation here was based
on whellier tlie main product differed at
the site vx'as intended for use by ordi-
nar\" ctinsumers, organizational bu\ ers,
or both.
2. ExporU'y''^ proiinci liiw chiD'udcri^tic^: Is
the exporter's major pr(Hhki line stan-
dardized, customized, or both? If prod-
uct specificiitions were clearh shov\n
as the onl\' <i\'ailah!e oplions ior poten-
tial bus ers (e,jv, 11 \' lar piivvoi .ulaj)-
(or), then \\'e consider th<> product line
to be primarily "standardized," On the
other hand, ii the exporter riearK men-
iinned its ability to eustnini/e prodticts
to suit different needs ot buyers, we
tiassilied the product line as "custnin
ized," I ,astl\", \v e cofirhided thai the ex-
portei"'s produi.t line is both "slandard-
i/ed" and "customized" it the exporter
listed sfaiuiard models and alsii eleark
shUed ils ability to customize products
tor user needs.
3, Shigc of arb^itc ilcbign: Is [he exporter's
site .! "brochure" type, "mteractix'e." or
"persoiidli/i'd"? The guidelines used
here were directly troni I lanson (2000):
,1 "brochure" sile lacks an\ elemenl ot
interaction, an "iiUeraclix'e" site tilUns's
users to perlorm leriain tasks; ani.i a
"pei'sonali/ed" site tvpicalk has a li>g-
in iuiiction lo diilereniiiit-{' ils regis-
tered usei's,
Ihe complete data etillection process
lasteil from September to October 2000,
RESULTS
Descriptix'e resiiils oi this slutiy are pri'-
sented tirst, tollovved bv h \po thes i s ti'st-
ing results.
Characteristics of the exporters
Table 1 prov'ides a breakdown of export-
iTs based on nature of She export husint\ss
and degreeoi standardization ol the prod-
uct line iov each ccnintry, iixporters selling
business products (iiiUuiuihered I hose
selling consumer products, which is con
sistent across Ihe Ihree countries and co-
incided with statistics reports [hat global
B2B e-commeree is bigger than the global
B2C e-commerce (cMarkctrr. \^W). We
also t'i,iund that exporters that produce
reiati\ elv standardi/etl products outnum-
bered exporters that sell products requir-
ing indi\'idua! eusti.>nii/ation (e,g,, iiali-
x'idu.il insiaNations), Because j">ersonai-
i/ed websites are still rare tor exporters
(less than 3 percent in our samples), ihose
exporters might \i.i\\v decided thai il the\'
had to meet tlu' unique information net.'t.ls
oi clients through buildini; expensix'e per-
soriali/i'd websites, the\' risav just as well
stick io [lie Iraditional eiiinniunieation
means (e.g., personal si,'lling) instead ot
usiiiii the web.
1 1 0 JOyflflRL OF RESEIlfiCR September - October 2002
CORPORATE WEBSITES
TABLE 1Characteristics of Exporters from Three Countries
Nature of Business
Business
Products
Consumer
Products
Both Business
and Consumer
Products
Product Standardization Level
Both Standardized
Standardized Customized and Customized
Products Products Products
Canada
Denmark
Malaysia
Total
99
108
101
308
1
33
23
57
54
16
28
98
58
94
100
252
6
33
15
54
90
30
37
157
Exporter's website communication and
transaction capabiiity
In this study ^n exporter's website's capa-
bility to "communicate" w ith potenhal us-
ers and engage in transactions with poten-
tial customers was quantified using the
Communication Index and the 'Iransac-
tion Index, respecti\'ely,
Tiie Communication Inde,x [or Cl) was
constructed by totaling the codes for dif-
ferent components within this index. I'or
instance, exporters that ha\'e adequate in-
fdrni.itic^n about their trustworthiness
(e,g., thrcHigh customer testimonials) were
assigned " 1 " for this attribute and other-
wise assigned "0," Those with indepen-
dent domain names were assigned " I "
and others were assigned "0," Exporters
that ha\'e adequate or comprehensi\'e in-
fi>rmation about their prcxiucis were as-
signed " ] " and others were gi\en "{)" for
this attribute. Those hci\ ing multiple lan-
guage options were assigned " ] " and "{)"
otherwise. Those ha\ing personalization
capability were assigned "]" and "()" oth-
erwise. Finally, exporters that provide
electronic means oi contact (e.g., e-mail,
forms, chat) were assigned "I" and those
listing only traditional contact means (e,g,,
mail, fax) were assigned "0," The sum of
the "Is" indicates the capability of an ex-
portei''s website to effecti\'ely communi-
cate its offering ti> site \ isitors. According
to this C()ding scheme, the maximimi
\-altie of C-1 for an exporter's website is 6,
Ihe I ransaction Index (or TI) was con-
structed in a similar way. Eor instance, ex-
porters that ha\'e comprehensix e or ad-
equate information about their products
\\'ere assigned "I" for this attribute and
otherwise they were gi\en "0." Ihose
with pricing information were assigned
" 1 " and others "0," Exporters that ha\e
distributor information were assigned "\"
and othei's were assigned "()" for this at-
tribute. Those with purchase assistance
were assigned "\" and otherwise "()."
Those with a section dedicated to techni-
cal support on the site w ere assigned " 1"
and "0" otherwise, Einally, exporters that
pr(i\'ide extranet capability were assigned
"I" and those without were assigned "(1,"
Consequently, the larger thcTI, the bettt'r
an exporter's website can facilitate trans-
actions with site \'isifors. The maximum
\ alue ot TI for an exporter's website is b.
Country internet development ievel and
website capability
Cii\"en the une\en distribiifit>n ol country-
wide internet usage (Conipnter Jndustri/ Al-
viaiiac, 2000), we explored whether export-
ers from internet-de\'eloped countries are
more sophisticated in de\ ehiping compre-
hen.si\"e websites that ha\ e more site com-
munication or transaction components, as
proposed in Hypotheses 1 and 2. Our em-
pirical data supported these hypotheses,
Interestingly, the combined Cl and TI
\alue for more than 85 percent of export-
ers' websites is less than 6, indicating that
a large percentage of cxpt)rters' websites
are weak in both dimensions. At the coun-
try ]e\'el, Canadian and Danish exporters
performed better than their Vlalaysian
counterparts on both of the indices, Eor
instance, the a\'orage Canadian and Dan-
ish exporter's website has two to three
communication or transaction compo-
nenls in its site design. However, a typical
Malaysian exporter's website has only
one communication site design feature
and one or two transaction site design
features.
An ANOVA test was conducted with
the null hypothesis that the a\ erage of the
communication (transaction) index is the
same for exporters' sites from the three
countries. Both of the tests for fhe commu-
nication and transaction index returned a
;j-\alue of 0,00, suggesting the rejection of
ihe null hypotheses (see "l'dble 2). Thus,
we ctmchide that there are significant dif-
ferences in site communication or transac-
tion capability between exporters from in-
ternet leading ct>untries (i.e., Canada and
September . October 2 0 0 2 JOOBOflL OF flQlJERTISillG 111
CORPORATE WEBSITES
TABLE 2
ANOVA Tests of H I and H2
Null Hypothesis for H I :
Mean Communication Index (Cl) Value
Danish Canadian Maiaysian
Exporters Exporters Exporters
2,23 2,07 1,:!/
ANOVA Test P-value 0.000
Conclusion: Reject null. Mean Cl value is
higher for internet developed countries
than for Internet-developing countries,
H I strongly supported.
Nuil Hypothesis for H2:
Mean Transaction Index (TI) Value
Danish Canadian Malaysian
Exporters Exporters Exporters
2,37 2,33 1.b3
ANOVA Test P-valuc 0,000
Conclusion: Reject null. Moan TI value is
higher tor internet developed courttries
than for internet-developing countries,
H2 strongiy supported.
Denmark), anti internet-dex'eloping coun-
tries sueh as Malavsia. In summary, our
LMTipirical lesiing results strnngl\ support
I iyp(.itlieses I and 2,
Nature of exporting business,
product-line type, and website
transaction capability
I xporti'rs may find the internet more ap-
propriate lor selling or prtiinoting certain
tV'pes nl producls, I l\'polheses .• and 4
posit thai exporU^rs selling standardized
or business producis are more likel\ lo
Lisr ,1 gri'.itei' number oi transaction fea
hires in ilieir v 'ebsites. The empirical t.lala
TABLE 3
ANOVA Tests of H3 and H4
and statistiLal tests pro\'ided strong sup-
port for 1 1.1 and marginal support Inr 1 14,
iis summarized in 'Kibie ^.
1 or exporters that engage in selling con-
sumer produels, the average nie:in I rans-
action Index is 2,33, higher than the a\'er-
age lor thosi* i-xporlei's seliing primariK'
business products. This data cunfirnis that
hi'CLnise bu.sines^-to-business transactions
ti'nd to he more coi"n|ilex ,ini.i rei.|uire per-
sonal interactions, L'Xporti'rs selling busi-
ness products are inclined to pLice less
emphasis nn the [ransactiurt featui"es ol
iheif websites tii.iii their ctnutterparts that
\ end consume! produels.
l'\poili>i-s with ditterent t\ pes ol prod
uct lines (i.e,, standard Izi'd \'ei'sns i. i islnni-
i/ed) also exhibited ;.lit-terent transaction
teatures in their wehsite designs. I'he a\'-
eivige T'i tor exporters IhaL sell sKmdan.!-
i/ei.1 producis is 2,0M, while the a\'erage
lor those thai seil customized products or
sei\iu.'s is 1,8! , i'he dillerenci' '.'dn prob-
ahK be explained l'\' Ihe (lifk'rent rei.]uire-
nsetits ol potent ial custonieis in iy ing
[i iudurts from ioreign exporters. I3u\'ing
•uistoiiiized products or sen ites eerlainh
retjLiin's more pi.M"sonali/ed attention ov
services behire the piUential i.cHisumers
can e\en think abinit [purchasing deci-
sions. I hus, it makes more ^ense lor those
exporlers to inslal ! more (ransaction-
taciiitating teaUires in their \'.'ebsites. \ e \ -
eriheless, the i.iit!"erences as demonstrated
b\ the ei!"ipiricai dala <ire marginally sig-
nificant sLitisticaiJw
Website design stage and
transaction index
I he testing ot 1 \'^ should lend ci'etleiue to
iht' \ 'alidity ol Ihe 1 ransat:lion Index con-
slr iKl , Our daia showed thai lor about (S9
percent of the exporl iug websites with
Stagi.' I wehsite design, the averat;e TI was
i,^iS, whi le ior about 10 percent of (he
ANOVA Test p-value
Conclusion
Business
Products
1,98
0,002
Ditferences
Mean Transaction Index (TI)
Nature of Business
Consumer
Products
2,33
Both Business
and Consumer
Products
2,30
in the mean TI values arnons the
Value
Product Standardization
Standardized
Products
2,09
0.08
Customized
Products
1,8b
Level
Both Standardized
and Customized
Products
2,17
throe different export businesses are
statistically significant.
H3 strongly supported.
different export businesses that emphasize different
product lines are tiiarginally signiticant,
H4 marginally supported.
1 1 2 JOyRflflL OF HOOERTISIflG RESEARCH Sep lembe i . October 2 0 0 2
OORPORATE WEBSITES
websites with Stage II design, the a\'erage
TI increased to 2.96. Finally, for the less
than I percent of exporting websites with
Stage III website design, the a\erage IT
rose further to 3.33. The ditterenees
among the T! values for wehsites in dit-
ferent design stages were also significant
statistically witb a ;'-\'alue of IkO (see Table
2). Therefore, it can be concluded that the
construct Transaction Index i eonsistent
with other site design indicators. This con-
clusion also supported H5.
In summary, the empirical data pr(v
vided clear support for most of the re-
search hypotheses. Implications of the re-
sults are discussed below-
DISCUSSIONS
The internet is quickly changing the ex-
port marketing domain (e.g., Hamill, 1997;
Samiee, 1998), spurring both business in-
terests and academic attention. The "Com-
munication/Transaction" framework pro-
posed b\' Quelch and Klein (1996) serx'es
as a usefLiI starting point for understand-
ing the roles the internet can play in ex-
porters' online markehng programs. Ihis
stud)' empirieally in\'estigated the appro-
priateness of this framework, and it added
a number of new perspectives to the
framework. A numher ol important weh-
site design attributes were alsc identified.
Managerial implieations for exporters en-
gaged in online marketing are detailed
below.
Enhancing the communication or
transaction capability of
exporters' websites
To help exporters communicate effec-tively with their potential consumers on-line, this study has identified the follow-ing critical website components: tangibleevidence ot trustworthiness, independentdomain name, comprehensi\'e product in-formation, multiple languages, customiza-tion capability, and electronic contact in-
formation. UnfortunaUTv, the empirical
data collected sluiwed that exporters were
quite deficient in their communication ea-
pahilities, averaging slightlv fewer than
two (1-83) eommunication components in
their wehsites. This often transkites into
exporters' websites that: (I) tall to demon-
strate their trustworthiness in cvherspace;
(2) have an URL atfiliated with somebodv
else's domain name; (3) provide sparse in-
formation about their products: (4) offer
single language weh content; (5) have no
customization capability for diffi'rent
types of site users, or (6) do not provide
electronic means of eontact. Those prob-
lems will ini'vitahlv' hamper the effective-
ness ol the electronic communications that
can be completed at the exporters' weh-
sites. Thus, we reconmiend that exporters,
especially those pursLiing the communica-
tion objectix'e, should ^igtiifieanlli/ im-
prt)\'e the eommunication capahilities of
their websites by adding more communi-
cation components in their websites.
A successful example of using wehsites
for communieation by an exporter exam-
ined in oiu' studv illustrates OLir points
above. Sweetwater Technology .A/S is a
Danish exporter that produces portable
water purification systems for husiness
and government buvers, 1 he firm has an
independent URL, \vv\w,sweetwater.dk,
whicii is easy to remember. The website is
offered in both Danish and I'uglish to suit
international audiences. The trustworthi-
ness of the company and its products is
shown through the downloadable original
government lah test results of its equip-
ment. Prcxiuct informatic^n presented at
the website is comprehensive with de-
tailed produet specifications, i'inally, the
site can he customized to sisit the unique
information needs of its registered mem-
her users. Overall, the exporter's website
is very ellective in communicating its
corporate image and produets to online
visitors.
Lxamination of the use of transaction
ecimponents in exporters' wehsites told a
similar story. The study pinpointed six es-
sential components: comprehensive prod-
uct information, prices, distributor infor-
mation, purchase assistance, technical
support, and extranet capability. Yet, the
empirical data showed that on av erage ex-
porters' wehsites employed just two trans-
action components. This often kvids to
sites that have limited product informa-
tion, nt) pricing information, no distribu-
tor information, little help for ealculafing
customs, taxes, etc., no technical support
lor product-specific questions, or not ex-
tranet-enabled. Those deficiencies are cer-
tainly going to impede the potential cus-
tomers' purchase decision-making pro-
CL'ss. For exporters pursuing a transaction
orientation, the detrimer\tal etfects to their
online marketing efforts and bottom lines
eould be significant.
.A successful example of using a wehsite
for export transactions was identified
through our study. Better Living I'roduets
International is a Canadian exporter
(www.dispenser,com) that primarily en-
gages in consumer husiness; it clearly
adopts a transaction orientation in its on-
line export marketing. The company's
website offers comprehensive information
ahouf various t\'pes of dispensers, com-
pk?te v\'ith product specifications, photos,
and warranties. Technical questions about
the products can be answered using the
" froubleshooting" section, which even
lists replacement parts information. Pric-
ing information is clearly presented at the
WL'bsite. Currently, customers from
C anada or the United States can huy the
dispensers online. I'he U.S. customers are
shown a separate page that ineludes tbe
eustoms, tax, and international shipping
information. O\'eralk the design oi the ex-
porter's website seems to he eapable of
signifieantly facilitating online transac-
tions with international huvers.
September . October 2002 MMl OF HQUEBTISIOG RESEflllCH 1 1 3
CORPORATE WEBSITES
Transaction index or communication
index: Which direction to pursue?
While ,111 exporter can certainly choost to
strengthen its eommuniealion and trans-
action ca|->ahilitii.'S at the same time, ior
I'xportei s with 1 imi led resc^urces (e,g.,
tinu' and financial) targeting one oi the
two i^rientations mav be a tnore L'Tlieienl
and i"|UR"ker appio.idi to take, lhe studv
shows that exporters selling coiisunu-r
prodiuis (e.g., canned Iruits) tend to em-
phasi/e the transaclion capabilitv lu iheir
v\ehsiies more Ihau those selling husiness
products (e.g., wood mill eijuipment) do.
kurtluM-, exporters selling standardized
pnidiirts (e.g., batteries) are nn're likely to
etihanre lheir sile I ransacliiiii leatures
than th(!se selling customized producls
(i:.2,., laixlscaping green plants tnr sports
sladiutnsi, .As \)o signiiicant interaction et-
lecls v\'ere ftnind lor the Iwo variahles, ex-
porters eoukl earetuliv e\ aluate the nature
ol lheir business or produi t type lo decide
vvhethtM' or not lo strengthen websile
transai. tion ca|\ibili|v.
Country differences and
poiicy impiications
The sltkiv results also provide inipoiianl
policv implications ror governments thai
inleni.i tii kei'[") llieir eeonomii^s m sU'j^
with the global e'i.'ommerce trend, lhe
Makivsian governnien 1, kir example, is re-
nov\ned lor ils inlernet push (/•'!/>/;;(•'-.-•
7 lines, ^llOtt). Vet our empirical results
showed that the websites huil l bv Malav-
sian exporters lag signi l icantlv behind
thi'ir Canadian aiid Danish counterparts
hoth in terms oi site transaction and com-
niu i i ica l i i ' i i i . ipabil i t ies. As exporters'
wehsites detieierit in either capabilitv are
nol hkelv to be attractive to visitors, it is
(juite possible Ihai a [toi'tioii ot potential
eiistomers mighl have been turned awav
bv poorlv planned wehsites that f<iil lo en-
gage them, Ihus, a government push ior
Ibv internei should lio be\'ond urmn^i
("ompani{'s to sei u["» v\"ebsites. Rather, et-
foi'ts should be directed at helping expoi i-
ers I Li]|_\ i i l i l i /e lhe com m tin ica tion or
transaction capabilities of ihe weh. I or in-
stance, a go\'ernmetit mav sponsor web-
sitL' henrhmark siutJies or propagate hest
practices for hui lding efieclive w^'bsites
\i'\' exporting vompanies. kor countries
such lis Makivsia, whose eeonomies rei\
lieaviK oi) exporting, siR'h policies wi i l
most likelv make a big dillereiiee in this
digital age ol global tradi'.
Limitations and future research
li i is present studv was baseti on three
ratidom sampli's oi exporiers' websites
trom online directories lor three countries:
Canada, Denmark, aiKi \kikivsia. Though
the three countries wen* selerieci io re|~>re-
seut a mix ot internet-advaneed atul inter
iK'l-developing i:i.>untries, extrapolating
tliL' conclusion'^ reached in Ihe sltulv to
other economies should be done \\-\ib can
Mou. I urther, as the three sampling trarnes
coTisist onlv ot those expoi'tei"s wi lh weh
pages, exporters that do not h.ave anv wi'h
pages yet were ex( luded, Ntinetheles^, we
believe the percentage ol ext luded expori-
ers from L'ach eoiintr)' should he relativelv
small as Ihe Ci.»mmercial itilernet has been
arouud lor more than six vears.
This studv iti\'estigated lhe "coniniuni--
catitm versus transaction'" tramework L'v
Quelch and Klein (199h), whieh provided
a ready modei for this stLidv. However,
allernative or mori; speeitiL tlu'oretical
construcis should he explored for devel-
oping etteeti\e online marketing strati>-
gies lor exporters. The content anaKsis
procedure' used in lhe studv, whik' pr(.!-
viding much usetiil intormalion about Lhe
design (."(iinponents 11 the exporters' wr!">-
siies, leaves a number iii i.[uestions tor tu-
ture studies. 1 uli ire stuihes e.tii send sur-
\'evs lo expoiiers that have tiilJerinj,; lev els
ot transaetion or ccinimunication capabili-
ties. Then, Ihe tjuantitativ e ouicoine \'ari
ahles siirh a^ website \ isit rates, number
of online inquiries and sales leads, or on-
line sales \ o l un ie i a i i he USLH.! to evaluate
whether websites wi lh better communica-
lion or Iransdi tiou uipabilities iiuk'ed per-
torin better.
Ihe internet has blurred the geogi'aphic
boundaries ol work i Irade and made ex-
porting to work lwide i onsumers more ac
eessible. l o l u l K ul i l i /e its potentiii l, hovv-
e\'i>r, exporter-. JirsI have Ui design w in-
n ing w ehsH es w i l h e i ther e t iec t i ve
(.ommunication or li'ansaelion wipahil i-
iii.'s. C()nsei.|Lientlv, thev should either
communicate il"ieir produci heiietits to po-
tential buv'ers m c\ be rs pace or dir<\t lv
market their (itterings to internationai in-
ternet users.
WENVU DOU L-; ^ssistai 't proff'sso' af •"r'aiKciirig ;i[ Ihf
Ui:iVi.'rsit\ ot Nevadj-L. js VcgiJb. His pcfivioiis
|)i:;Vina+'.'j>is 'na\f' amn-Atrd ni Ihi loiiuhi! ni
AdK'V'i.iSiii'd ResLwrciK UKILAIIICH M:-}i'h:-'!ing
M-loaflf'-neri!. .ir^d Qiiiulrily lonrihu oi I Co'iiirie'CC.
aniopsg ol'Hifs. Mis s>i,-i!n '•fiseairt" mtnisf.ts. include
•luirko'h'v; coniii^iintM: ony on tJic internei ana
ULRIK "OLLIE" NitisEN K] iiMi"kcf!i,'> -ti^sririiic'i 3{ ALTO
CSi i!C he link!;; an MBA dei'/ee t ioi i ' S! Cleiid
Cnrr MINK TAN tiOiii;. rii ' VIDA (.)(.';',!(.';• liii^ii ST Ck)L(
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