Internetbased sales channel strategies of born global firmsWord文档格式.docx

1、b International Marketing, University of Vaasa, FinlandReceived 6 July 2008; revised 30 April 2010;accepted 3 May 2010.Available online 15 June 2010. Abstract 摘要Recent changes in the technological environment have had a significant impact on the available sales channel alternatives. At the forefront

2、 of this development are the born global firms, which have been relatively quick to adopt Internet-based channels. Interestingly, many of these firms have relied not only on Internet-based channels, but also used combinations of conventional channels and the Internet. This study describes and analyz

3、es the structure and development from single towards multiple sales channels. It develops a framework consisting of three independent factors: （1） the globalization process, （2） market structure and Internet suitability, and （3） long-term channel relations. These are examined in a multiple case stud

4、y consisting of 35 cases. The Internet-based multiple sales channels proved to be more common in born globals that had reached a higher globalization degree than in those which were still at a preliminary stage. A novel finding was that relationship development with small local channels and MNCs als

5、o remains important when Internet sales channels are used. These results contribute to a relatively under-researched area focusing on international Internet-based sales channels and use of multiple channels.Keywords: Born globals; Channel strategies; InternetArticle Outline1. Introduction2. Multiple

6、 sales channel strategies and the Internet3. Theoretical framework and proposition development4. Research design, data gathering and analysis5. Empirical results5.1. Internet-based channel strategies 5.2. Impact of globalization phase 5.3. Market structure and Internet suitability 5.4. Long-term cha

7、nnel relations6. Discussion and conclusionsAcknowledgementsReferences1. IntroductionThe existence and importance of born global firms has proved to be significant in many markets （Knight and Cavusgil, 1996, Madsen and Servais, 1997, Oviatt and McDougall, 1994, Rennie, 1993 and Zahra, 2005）. Born glo

8、bals have been researched in over 20 countries, including many small and open economies such as Ireland, New Zealand, Greece, Israel, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Australia. However, they have also originated in larger economies such as the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK and Canada （e.g

9、., Dana, 2004）. The research has also identified the characteristics of born globals （Madsen, Rasmussen, & Servais, 2000） and the factors facilitating early and rapid globalization of these firms （Rialp, Rialp, & Knight, 2005）. Nevertheless, more emphasis on development of theory and conceptual fram

10、eworks has been called for in research on born globals （Jones and Coviello, 2005 and Rialp et al., 2005）. Although the international and global marketing literature has contributed much to our understanding of the marketing strategies of large global firms （e.g., Levitt, 1983 and Yip, 1989）, little

11、has been written specifically on the marketing strategies of born globals with the exception of a few studies （e.g., Knight, 1997）. Moreover, few of these studies are related to the challenges facing born globals in their strategic marketing channel selection （Gabrielsson & Kirpalani, 2004）. This is

12、 striking, given the great changes that have taken place in the marketing environment due to introduction of the Internet and other modern technologies that enable bypassing of conventional channels （Frazier, 1999）. It therefore seems justifiable to study the Internet-based channel strategies of bor

13、n globals （Moen, 2002）. It is particularly interesting to examine the global expansion of the born globals and their use of the Internet as a sales channel （Servais, Madsen, & Rasmussen, 2007）. Furthermore, earlier literature has examined single channel strategy alternatives （direct/indirect）, but h

14、as focused limited attention on multiple channel strategy alternatives （Anderson, Day, & Rangan, 1997）. The multiple channel alternatives are of considerable importance for the investigation of Internet-based sales channel strategies. Hence, Internet-based channel strategies as a means of internatio

15、nal expansion have been under-researched and clearly form a research gap （Gabrielsson, Kirpalani, & Luostarinen, 2002, p. 93）. This leads to the following research questions:（1） What kind of Internet-based sales channel strategy alternatives are available for born global companies?（2） What factors i

16、mpact the selection of the Internet-based sales channel strategies of born globals?This research examines the Internet-based sales channels from the perspective of born global firms. In this research, a born global firm is defined as one that “from inception, seeks to derive significant competitive

17、advantage from the use of resources and the sales of outputs in multiple countries” （Oviatt & McDougall, 1994, p. 49）.2. Multiple sales channel strategies and the InternetThe internationalization process literature recognizes two main groups of marketing operations that form the base for channel str

18、ategies; these are export operations and sales subsidiary operations （Johanson and Vahlne, 1977 and Luostarinen, 1979, p. 110）. The marketing literature becomes useful in a further examination of the sales channel structures in countries. Accordingly, the conventional sales channel can be one of the

19、 two main alternatives, a direct sales channel in which the producer sells directly to industrial or consumer end-customers or an indirect sales channel in which independent channel members located in the target market are used （Frazier, 1999）. A producer may also use a combination of both direct an

20、d indirect sales channels.However, the potential role of the Internet and information technology in international marketing should be taken into account （Samiee, 1998）. This becomes particularly important for born global firms that have been found to use the Internet intensively in support of their

21、export activities （Moen, 2002）. Research has argued that the Internet is one of the ways for born globals to obtain substantial revenues and cash flow rapidly （Gabrielsson & Kirpalani, 2004）. As a matter of fact, some evidence shows that when properly applied, the Internet can reduce the liability o

22、f foreignness and newness （cf., Kotha, Rindova, & Rothaermel, 2001, p. 771） and resource scarcity, and thus contribute to faster globalization （Arenius, Sasi, & Gabrielsson, 2005）. Within this study, Internet usage is investigated with respect to both export and sales subsidiary operations. Special

23、attention was placed on the extent to which Internet-based sales channel strategies were used by the born global firm itself. Use of the Internet by middlemen in the next layer was not examined in this paper since it would merit a separate study.Previous research has placed Internet usage in differe

24、nt categories. For instance, Angehrn （1997） classifies use of the Internet for virtual information space, virtual communication space, virtual transaction space, and virtual distribution space. This has been further developed by Servais et al. （2007）, who divide the categories into information shari

25、ng, interaction, transaction, and integration. In the context of international sales channel strategies, the important functions that can be partly covered by the Internet include promotion, customer generation, and product fulfillment （stockholding, distribution, etc.） （cf., Buckley, Pass, & Presco

26、tt, 1994）. Internet promotion based on information sharing is already common in most of the companies and therefore this usage alone does not qualify as an Internet-based sales channel strategy. Hence, in this study an Internet-based sales channel strategy should consist of either customer generatio

27、n based on two-way interaction between born globals and their customers or channel members in order to process sales orders, or then product fulfillment based on exchange of products or services over the Internet.The four major channel strategies offered by the Internet are illustrated in Fig. 1 and

28、 Fig. 2. They can be divided on the basis of two major dimensions: directness and number of channels. The Internet can be used as a direct sales channel （1st alternative） in which the born global producer carries out all the channel functions by itself and applies the Internet for both promotion and

29、 to generate customers and/or handle product fulfillment. The Internet may be used in a similar way by the born global firm in selling to indirect channel partners （2nd alternative）. These two single channel strategy alternatives available for born global firms are illustrated in Fig. 1 （use of the

30、Internet is shown with a dotted line in the figure）. Although the focus of this study is on the producers Internet-based sales channel strategy, the figure also shows that a distributor or reseller may apply either a traditional or an Internet-based sales channel when reselling to the end customer.F

31、ull-size image （19K）Fig. 1.Direct and indirect Internet-based sales channel strategies. （Note: Use of Internet shown with dotted line.）View Within ArticleFull-size image （26K）Fig. 2.Dual and hybrid Internet-based sales channel strategies. （Note:Moreover, research has indicated that in born global firms the direct Internet sales channel can be used in combination with indirect channels to create multiple sales channels （M