Communicating in the newinteractive marketspace

Wilson OzuemHolborn College, London, UK

Kerry E. HowellPlymouth Business School, Faculty of Social Science and Business,

University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK, and

Geoff LancasterLondon School of Commerce, London, UK

Abstract

Purpose – The proliferation of the internet and world wide web (WWW) in recent years has resultedin the creation of new social and marketing spaces, and a new form of interaction and identityformation. This paper aims to investigate this phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach – Whilst cost benefits and profit derivation from the internet andother hypermedia mediated communication environments have been the focus of much research, themajority of these assessments have left many assumptions unarticulated. Questions of howcontemporary communication content and interactivity is different from the singular “one-to-many”communication models have been avoided in this research. This paper investigates these deficienciesand goes on to suggest how academics and practitioners can realign their thinking in the light of thesefindings.

Findings – Computer mediated marketing environments provide organisations with a medium thatcan be used to deliver content in a variety of ways to consumers. This capability highlights thedistinction between the information in marketing communication and the vehicle used to deliver theinformation: that is, content differs from communication.

Originality/value – The paper highlights how versatility of the internet as an instrument formediated communication means that organisations can integrate different modalities of marketingcommunications into a strategy that combines on-line and off-line tactics to meet strategic objectives.

Keywords Internet, Marketing communications, Marketing information

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionThe pace of change brought about by new technologies has had a significant effect onthe way companies and consumers relate to one another. New and emergingtechnologies challenge the traditional process of transactions and the waycommunications between consumers and companies are managed. The advent of theinternet is having a major impact in the way in which communications betweencompanies and consumers are conducted and maintained in the evolving marketingpanorama. Many of these changes have been characterised and explicated inunconnected links with marketing communication processes, which influencedconsumer behaviour in the evolving interactive marketplace. Current understandingstend to question whether the recent and most remarkable changes as a result ofinternet ubiquity warrant a paradigm shift in the practice of marketing, especially in

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0309-0566.htm

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1059

Received July 2006Revised March 2007Accepted May 2007

European Journal of MarketingVol. 42 No. 9/10, 2008

pp. 1059-1083q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0309-0566DOI 10.1108/03090560810891145

marketing communications and competitive advantage (Castells, 2001; Molenaar, 2002;Slevin, 2002; Tapscott et al., 2000).

In this context, it is interesting to recognise the profound influence of consumerschanging their behaviour in the province of marketing communications. Ordinarily,internet technologies breed higher order communication between organisations toconsumers and consumers to consumers. The essence of this communicativecontinuum within the medium tends to breed interactivity. Likewise, interactivitybreeds vibrant and active communicative environments where users act and conducttheir activities akin to analogous experience. Considering the dynamics of the internetas cohesive information repositories, as well as a marketing medium, the ways inwhich companies have encouraged consumer purchasing in the past, are nowtransmuting into a collaborative position where consumers are no longer under theinfluence of orthodox communications media.

Whilst there is a plethora of literature that explicitly accentuates the interactivemarketplace, Hoffman and Novak’s (1997) new marketing paradigm for electroniccommerce has become the main pointer in this exploration. Two bases of the changesin the interactive marketplace that have been identified by these authors are broadcategories of the consumption process (presence and telepresence). This is analogous toconsumers in hypermedia computer mediated environments, who experience“telepresence” (Steuer, 1992) or the perception of being present in the mediated,rather than real-world, environments. Following this line of thought, it is suggestedthat there is an expansion of perception and the experience of presence beyond thepresence. Hoffman and Novak (1997) urged the decoupling of hypermedia mediatedenvironments from the speculative, but offered few suggestions as to how this mightbe accomplished. When one talks about computer mediated environments, much thatdrives interaction does not exist in users’ conscious experience. Rather, consumersexperience seemingly introspective and unipolar environments. Hoffman and Novak(1997), in particular, influenced practitioners and researchers to start grappling withconsumers’ interactive trajectories in the evolving marketspace environment.Increased understanding of computer mediated marketing environmentschampioned by internet technologies should, in turn, enhance the design ofreflective and effective marketing communication programmes between marketersand consumers, which might lead to effective relationships within the consumptionprocess.

This paper assumes that in computer mediated marketing environments, thecommercial and operational facets that internet technologies provide, mean thatmarketers should enjoy a malleable medium that can be used to deliver contentthrough a variety of means. This capability highlights the distinction between theinformation in marketing communication and the vehicle used to deliver thisinformation: that is, content differs from communication. Furthermore, the versatilityof the internet as an agency for mediated communications, means that marketers canintegrate different modalities of marketing communications into a strategy thatcombines on-line and off-line tactics to meet strategic objectives (Coupey, 2001; Varey,2002).

EJM42,9/10

1060

BackgroundThe integration of conventional and hegemonic media into a hyper electronicmarketplace heralds a new vista in the consumption process by providing a flexibleand dialogic access between marketers and consumers in a way that challenges thefunctionalist view of communication. This is achieved by providing opportunitieswhere consumers are no longer passive recipients of communication, but activeparticipants in shaping the way they react to it. Despite the conundrum of asymmetricmarketing communication models as propagated in the technical-rational view of thenature and purpose of knowledge that is postulated in the pedagogical scientificapproach, marketing practitioners are prevalently incorporating this emergingmarketing medium as nothing more than informing technology. As a result,practitioners seek assumed “cause/effect” and “action/outcome” situations in whichmarketing communications are manipulated towards the achievement of rationalobjectives by departing from the realities of social exchange that is a fundamentalcomponent of the communication medium (Hackley, 2001a; Varey, 2002, 2005).

Driven by the perpetuation of mainstream quantification models, practitioners areindecisive about setting aside unsuitable conventional monological models. Thisabsence of understanding, resulting in the continued deployment of mechanisticcommunicational models, may impede practice. This undermines development inmarketing theory and practice resulting in the dominance of economic thinking andvalues, and a limitation of marketing to transactions involving exchanges (Buttle, 1990,1995; Varey, 2000a, 2000b). The result is that mainstream marketing tends to diffusewithin professional practice with lesser cognisance of the interactive nature of themediated marketing environment (Hackley, 2001b, pp. 106-7). In a recent study, Varey(2005) cautions that the nature and role of communication has been taken for granted.Likewise, marketing communications is more consolidated and associated withproduct promotional activities. Therefore, there is a need for conceptualisingmarketing communication in the evolving interactive marketplace with the primal taskof facilitating understanding in culturally and socially-constructed environments.

ApproachMuch has been reported on the cost effectiveness of a web presence in the business toconsumer (B2C) area and the predominant aspect of internet marketing business tobusiness (B2B). (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997; Hoffman and Novak, 1997; Shapiro,2000). However, research in web marketing theory and practice is not well developed.What does exist indicates that the written text, a predominant trait of world wide web(WWW), and the creation of virtual communities are important aspects of the webmarketing process. Whilst the literature pertaining to a web presence is not exhaustive,it does provide some possible clues for conceptualising the nature and segments thathave evolved from this paradigm. Prior to this study, there was not a great deal ofinformation available about marketing communication trajectories in cyberspace asvirtually all models advocate the passive, one-to-many, communications. Web presenceresearch has taken place in managerial, organisational, health therapy and educationalsettings and has focused on cost effectiveness and social support derivations (Berthonet al., 1996; Nettleton et al., 2002; Wellman, 2000).

The internet is a model of distributed computing that facilitates interactivemulti-dimensional many-to-many communications. As such, the internet supports

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1061

discussion groups (Usenet news and moderated and non-moderated mailing lists),global information access and retrieval systems such as the near ubiquity of the worldwide web (WWW). The WWW, the first and current networked global implementationof a hypermedia computer mediated environment (CME), is now established as animportant newly emergent commercial medium and marketing environment (Hoffmanand Novak, 1997). The proliferation of the internet and WWW in recent years hasresulted in the creation of new social and marketing spaces, and a new form ofinteraction and identity formation. Whilst cost benefits and profit derivation of theinternet and other hypermedia environments have been the focus of much research, themajority of these assessments have left many assumptions unarticulated. They haveavoided questions of how communication content and interactivity afforded by theinternet is radically different from conventional monolithic one-to-manycommunication models. Consumers, hitherto receivers of unidirectional modes ofcommunication have been transformed into potent participants in the emergingnetworked economy.

The potential of the networked economy, as a consequence of the internet, has notonly created a global economy, but has fashioned a means of communication throughthe popularity of the WWW. The inherent potential of the internet as a commercialmedium to speedily reach an extensive market has been widely documented in theliterature (Armstrong and Hagel, 1996; Blattberg and Deighton, 1996; Deighton andBarwise, 2001; Evans and Wurster, 1999; Hoffman and Novak, 1997; McKenna, 2002).For example, Kiani (1998) contended that the increasing popularity of the web hasgiven many consumers, marketers and users a new experience. Nonetheless, the factthat this is recognised as a central issue in the marketing communications literaturesuggests there is still a lack of rigorous cross industry empirical research oninteractivity and benefits of accessing the evolving marketspace.

Hoffman and Novak (1997) perceptively point out that the WWW has uniquecharacteristics that make it central to the perceived paradigm in the way in whichgoods and services are likely to be marketed in the future. Hoffman and Novak (1997)proposed that the web is a virtual, many-to-many hypermedia environmentincorporating interactivity with both people and consumers. Accordingly, the web isnot a simulation of a real world environment, but is an alternative to the real-world,where consumers may experience telepresence (Steuer, 1992), or the perception of beingpresent in the mediated world, rather than a real environment. Hoffman and Novak(1997) maintain that users of the medium can provide and interactively accesshypermedia content and communicate with each other. The authors assert that twounique properties, machine-interaction and person-interaction, have contributed to therapid diffusion of the web as a commercial medium during the past decade.Corresponding to Hoffman and Novak’s (1997) ontological perspectives of theuniqueness of the internet, Blattberg et al. (1994) counter that marketing is shifting intoa new phase they called fifth phase. The authors, by tracing the historical developmentof the market, and identifying five different stages of market development, explainedways in which the information revolution would probably transform business and thefunction of marketing.

The internet is a new form of mass communication. Mass communication, whileitself is a relatively new phenomenon, has always involved controlled broadcasts topassive audiences. As in most marketing communications, the mass audience has

EJM42,9/10

1062

never had any significant input, or control, over the content of mass communication.With the burgeoning internet, these characteristics of mass communication haveforever changed: on the internet we find many organisations broadcasting informationto incalculable numbers of audiences. With this background in mind, the authorsapproached the research problem using a theoretical sampling approach to analysedata which is explained in the next section.

Methodology, methods and analysisThe methodology used in this paper is constructivist ethnographic and based on twointer-related phenomenological perspectives. It is an approach in which analyticalcategories evolve and expand as the data are iteratively analysed; a key components ofthis approach is that it is data driven. In this way, value laden research andsubjectivity are accepted and critiqued. However, the question is by whose values areobservations to be guided? They may either be etic (values of the researcher) or emic(values of the researched). A further problem is how one comprehends the observedwhen their values are not those of the researcher. For this research, participants wereinvolved in the process as we attempted to overcome the power imbalance between theresearcher and the researched and provide a democratic structure to research. Humanbeings create reality through participation, experience and action (Denzin and Lincoln,2005, p. 206). It requires the researcher to move back and forth between the researchedand the literature, and involves multiple iterations of looking for themes and patternswithin and across respondents[1]. That is, we conducted a deep within-subject analysisto help identify central themes, and then looked for patterns across subjects. Severaliterations were needed to challenge, expand and refine the evolving themes and formthem into a coherent and consistent interpretation. Writing and data analysis wereintimately intertwined; writing was part of the analysis.

Reason for this approach: philosophical underpinningsThe methodological approach used in this paper is based on the phenomenologicalperspectives of Heidegger (2004, 1996, 1994) and Merleau-Ponty (1999). Heideggerposited an “existential analytic” which dealt with what we are in terms of “Dasein”which is to be of the world where it is manifested or made explicit. Dasein is the eventof world manifestation and as soon as a being such as Dasein exists then a worldexists. Dasein is existence; its essence is an entity that is becoming through fashioningits own existence. Fundamentally, “we are ourselves the entities to be analysed. TheBeing of any such entity is in each case mine. These entities, in their being comportthemselves toward their Being . . . Being is that which is an issue for every such entity”(Heidegger, 2004, pp. 22, 67). All research and analysis are driven by an attempt tounderstand self in relation to humanity as elements of becoming. For Heidegger “anunderstanding of being is already included in conceiving anything which oneapprehends as an entity”. Similarly, but from a different perspective, Merleau-Ponty(1999) saw any inquiry as being guided by what is sought. Consequently, the meaningof an entity must already be known to the inquirer prior to the investigation and mustalready be available to us in some way. “Phenomenology can be practised andidentified as a manner or style of thinking, that it existed as a movement beforearriving at complete awareness of itself as a philosophy” (Merleau-Ponty, 1999, p. vii).Phenomenology is only accessible through its method. Accordingly, let us bring

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1063

together the strands that have “grown spontaneously together in life” (Merleau-Ponty,1999, p. viii). From the start, Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology is a rejection of science(positivism). One is unable to understand oneself as more than a bit of the world. One isa sociological, biological entity that cannot shut out the world and exist in the realm ofscience. “All my knowledge of the world even my scientific knowledge is gained frommy own particular point of view, or from experience of the world without which thesymbols of science would be meaningless” (Merleau-Ponty, 1999, p. viii). Science is asecond order expression of the world. Hence, if we are to rigorously scrutinise sciencewe must begin with this and understand it as built on the world as it is directlyexperienced. Science will never be the same as the world because it is an explanation ofthe world. “I am not what science defines me, as I am the source. My existence does notstem from my antecedents, from my physical and social environments; instead itmoves out towards them and sustains them; I alone bring into being for myself anexistence I can understand” (Merleau-Ponty, 1999, pp. viii). A scientific point of viewthat considers that existence is a moment of the world is not only naı̈ve, but dishonest.It takes for granted consciousness through which a world forms itself around anindividual, and begins to exist for that person. When we return to things themselves,we return to a world that precedes knowledge; a world in which all scientific schemesare an abstract sign-language, e.g. as geography is in relation to the country-side, i.e.we have already learned what a river or a field is. The ethnographic approach in thispaper is based on these ontological and epistemological assumptions. There is directinteraction between the researcher and the researched as they continually interact,even though existence is fashioned through the mind. Indeed, technological change andcommunicative capability reflect these issues and illustrate examples of humanitybecoming in the world (Howell, 2004).

A constructivist ethnographic methodologyIn Western society ethnographic interest regarding the origins of humanity, societyand civilisation stemmed from an analysis of (what were labelled) less civilisedcultures than those exemplified in occidental society. This notion emanated fromimperial and colonial understandings usually perpetrated by explorers, missionariesand early entrepreneurs. Indeed, the initial conceptualisation of the West as benefactorwas replaced by distinct ideas of evolutionary progress linked to the ideas of Spencer(2001, 2005) and Darwin (1982). This intensified the positivist ethnographic position ofsuperior researcher analysing the “other” from an objective standpoint. EchoingMerleau-Ponty (1999) and post-modern constructivist approaches to ethnography weconsider that such a standpoint is very difficult if not impossible when analysinghuman activity. Indeed, based on the phenomenological perspectives, identified above,the ethnographic approach here considers human understanding to be subjective andrelative. Ethnographic studies should define human-kind and provide social scientificdescriptions of people and their cultural bases; in such a way we can developcomprehensions of “self” in relation to “other” in terms of becoming.

The difficulty is that the researcher’s world-view and decisions about which data isimportant, and which are not, guide observations. Fundamentally, research is valueladen. The question is by whose values are observations to be guided? As discussedabove they may either be etic or emic. A further problem is how one comprehends theobserved when their values are not one’s own (a difficulty with the colonial

EJM42,9/10

1064

comprehension of the so-called primitive practices observed from a Christian valueladen perspective). Furthermore, one may argue there are problems relating topost-modernism in terms of generality and validity.

In relation to the shift from a positivist understanding of ethnography toward theconstructivist, Denzin (1994) identified three periods of ethnographic study: antiquity,middle ages, and modern. We were now entering a fourth; the post-modern, and theethnographic method for this period should be “dedicated to understanding how thishistorical moment universalizes itself in the lives of interesting individuals” (Denzin,1994, pp. 42, 120). Some people feel that the post-modern ethnographic approachmerely presents the words of respondents and accepts their perceptions of reality. Thisis not the case. This approach involves an analysis of respondents’ words. Whilstrespondents’ voices were pre-eminent in our analysis; we did not study their voicesuncritically. Rather, through analysis, we added our voices to their voices. We listenedto and preserved their voices, but our analysis did not end there. Through a deepunderstanding of the evolving relationship between marketers and consumers withinthe social context of computer mediated marketing environments, we developedinterpretations that went beyond the immediate voices of respondents to generate newinsights (Lancaster, 2005).

Methodology, data collection and analysisThe authors selected a qualitative constructivist ethnographic methodology as beingthe most appropriate for achieving a deeper understanding of evolvingcomputer-mediated marketing environments. A participatory/constructivistapproach was adopted to explore a range of perspectives on users’ interactivemarketspace. This was based on the premise that users’ knowledge and understandingof their own situation and experience as the essential components within the field ofinternet marketing. The study was conducted from a perspective that stressed real-lifeexperiences of users’ interactive marketplace. Collecting data in an area of study whichduring recent years has witnessed an exponential rate of publicity and hype createdsome initial concerns.

First, as the object of study is positively (negatively, in some cases) nascent, therewas a concern with keeping abreast of what is in the offing within the electronicmarketplace. The object of study has been inundated with, and surrounded by,numerous publications. Second, the topicality of the object of investigation has in someways created voluminous accessibility to data where participants were more willing toexpend more time than earlier scheduled. The initial concerns helped the authors gainmore grounded understanding in overcoming the latter. Respondents werepurposefully contacted by the researchers to participate in depth interviews. Lettersof solicitation were sent to prospective interviewees. In some situations, wereparticipants’ telephone numbers and email were readily available, telephone calls weremade personally by the researchers explaining the aim of the investigations torespondents. All participants gave their informed consent to participate in the study.They were assured that their participation was voluntary and that they couldwithdraw from the study at any time. Participants were assured that confidentialitywould be maintained and that the findings would be anonymous. This practice is inline with recommendations by Jansick (2001) that researchers should consultparticipants to be studied throughout the research process. This ensures that the

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1065

concepts and methods that were adopted were culturally valid and sensitive to thepopulation concerned (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005).

A purposive sampling approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1994) was used to seek outgroups and individuals where understanding and repositories of knowledge of the“interactive marketplace” were likely to be evident. The present authors constructed asample that was meaningful theoretically because it built on certain characteristics orcriteria where social explanations can be constructed on depth, complexity androundedness in data, rather than the kind of broad surveys of surface patternsquestionnaires might provide (Mason, 2001). In total, 31 in-depth interviews wereconducted by the researchers using a method described by Oppenheim (1992).Interviews were audio-taped with participants’ permission and lasted one to two hourswith breaks as required. A short questionnaire to collect demographic data was alsocompleted by respondents. Interviews started with the explanation of the study andallowed respondents to seek clarifications if necessary. Respondents were asked to talkabout their usage and experiences of computer-mediated marketing environments. Atthe end of each interview, key points made by respondents were reiterated to checkthat this was the true meaning of the points made earlier in the interview.

The explanatory frameworks of the sample used were modelled on the number ofresponses obtained, rather than the cumulative figures of those contacted. It was notedthat only those who were familiar with the concept, or in some cases, those who haveused the medium one or more times, would logically provide some indicators towards atheoretical framework. Some responses were discounted from the sample as inclusionsof these opinions would have had diminutive and interstitial inputs or, in some cases,no valuable inputs to the explanatory framework. The composition of the data followedtwo strands (control and interactivity) as perceived benefits in the computer mediatedmarketing environment (see Tables I and II).

As the analysis of these data developed, it triggered some interlocking categorieswhich replicated and compounded some of the key issues in the two major themes, butwhich were too complex and differentiated to be categorised using the two primarythemes. Although, responses could be broadly placed in one theme or the other, the keyissues arising from the responses were mutually exclusive. In most cases, responseswere reticulated in key issues which impacted on the primary themes, but which to acertain degree, could be independently “thematicalised”. Initially, the presentation ofdata was considered in two rudimentary themes, but two more themes emerged aspermeating the data-set i.e. themes which were not mutually exclusive to either

Major theme Perceived benefits Key issues

Control In digital-based marketing environments, customersare not passive recipients of marketing and selling,but instead central players who experience increasedcontrol in the on-line marketspace. Individuals do notconform to the social conventions of grooming andacceptable behaviour as shopping can be conductedin various ways

Co-creatingPresenceFlexibilityDirectDesirablePowerTrustSelf determinationFreedom of choiceMeditative

Table I.Major theme (control)

EJM42,9/10

1066

category, but which appeared throughout the transcripts. The permeating themes aredepicted in Tables III and IV with categorised key issues.

Analysis and findings: self, subjectivity and the interactive marketplaceAs noted, this paper takes a constructivist ethnographic methodological approach thatconsiders the field to be immediate, and part of the researchers’ experience and

Major theme Perceived benefits Key issues

Interactivity In the digital-based marketing environment,customers can initiate an interaction at any time andfrom anywhere connatively, as well as before,during, or after purchases. This makes theconventional exchange paradigm very limiting whenparticipating in computer mediated marketingenvironments. Interactions are based on a form ofdigital networked environment which encompassespotential relationships or specific exchanges

IterativeCollaborationInterfaceImmediate or notEvolvingFeedbackLearningIterationEmergeInformativeDialogicExplorationConvenience

Table II.Major theme

(interactivity)

Permeated theme Perceived benefits Key issues

Information In web-enabled marketing environments, there is awidespread availability of information that can beconveniently accessed at any time and fromanywhere. The costs of searching are minimal andthe speed of obtaining information is in real time

ChoicePersonalisationMediumDifferentiationImmediacyAccessibilityVariabilityFlexibility

Table IV.Permeated theme

(information)

Permeated theme Perceived benefits Key issues

Reach Individuals in on-line storefronts can participate indistal and proximal transactions beyond the realityof the physical marketplace. Users who participate intransactions transcend the confines of themarketplace and usually engage in the marketspace

DemocraticCommunityTransparencyPriceChoiceScopeCollaborationMarketspaceDiversityNetworksEmpowermentHeterogeneous

Table III.Permeated theme (reach)

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1067

understanding. It is not conveniently waiting to be “discovered” by the tenaciousresearcher, but part of our local knowledge by which we make sense of the world. Thisphenomenon is not reported in methodological texts, but is part of our interpretationsin line with the authors’ modes of dissemination.

The field also comprises the physical and cultural domains where discourse exists.This includes both physical characteristics as well as incorporating the socialprocesses in which discourse is embedded. Indeed, the internet extends this andchanges the convergence of communication and social interaction. People congregatein virtual neighbourhoods to discuss a range of topics. For this paper, mediateddiscussions such as newsgroups were explored to gain a comprehension of issuesinvolved in going on-line. Essentially, the researchers became part of an on-linecommunity and participated in the formation and continuation of this social structure.

Data were collected from these sources (i.e. individuals involved in thesecommunities) using purposive sampling. Individuals were contacted by post, telephoneand email. This correspondence explained the nature of the study and how the datawould be used. Interviews with 17 participants are reported consisting of eight femalesand nine males. Where possible, the age of the participant has been reported. Eachinterview was transcribed and interpreted using a number of processes and reflectiveactivities. The researchers reflect on data from different perspectives of self in relationto immersion in the field. Human personality if formed through plural and fluidphenomena and we all have different cultural perspectives. In our analysis, we acceptsubjectivity and accept the unfeasibility of universal truth:

We seek a model of truth that is narrative, open ended and conflictual, performance andaudience based, and always personal biographical. . .writing from an unstable place [we] areneither insiders nor outsiders (Denzin, 1994, p 265, authors’ brackets).

The internet has created a complex environment that is neither local nor global, and theanalysis in this paper reflects this new phenomenon as verified in our methods of datacollection and findings. We offer an understanding or interpretation of inter-subjectiveexperience in the interactive marketplace. This provides analysis through anexploration of the authors’ cultural beings and relationships with a new environment,as well as the individuals interviewed and their relationships with the emerginginteractive market place.

A new paradigm of controlControl refers to the ability of users in computer mediated marketing environments toaccess content at will, modify content to pertain to needs, and communicate withcompanies or their agencies concerning these needs. Participants are exposed toseemingly twin perceived benefits: distal and proximal transactions, as they utilisevirtual storefront proximity and on-line shopping environments. Providing consumerswith a timeless avenue to access product information as desired at any given time, thismedium allows users to exercise their willpower exclusively, even in the mostintractable of transactions. The uniqueness of such dealings depends on the timeflexibility of on-line content. Study participants indicated that in their on-line usagethey have less control compared to their off-line marketplace activity. A respondentwho was a web developer and lecturer in a British university stated:

EJM42,9/10

1068

Internet content has less control over it. There is a lot of material within the medium which isnot suitable for children. What I’m trying to say is that stuff on the television or radio is moreregulated than the internet. In the old media, people are more accountable to what they projectout to the public: they are more stringently regulated. In the internet, there is no stopping ingetting any data, that is, both raw and refined information. . .shopping is no longer a questionof time as witnessed in the conventional stores. Access to these stores can be reached at willregardless of location.

This participant saw control as a considerable benefit of (if not the very reason for)being at the marketspace storefronts. He seemed to view web-enabled businessenvironments along a continuum from one connative transaction to a perception oflimitless shopping adventure. His description envisaged an expanded definition oftransaction, but he also expressed pessimism about the lower control of the medium,although he emphasised that it provided remarkable shopping experiences. Computermediated marketing environments allow other users to make cogent reference toparticular products being advertised in the conventional broadcast-based media. Themedium was perceived as providing non-constrained information accessibility as userscould research product information utilising its global reach. The respondent went onto say that consumers could access companies’ diverse databases, adding thatinformation and content were not restricted to a particular audience. Content within thecomputer mediated communication could be modified and altered by users accordingto their needs. Marketing content is a co-creating process and recipients can beconsumers or organisations depending on their motives.

A 35-year-old management accountant, reflecting on her on-line activities noted:

Clearly, the web content offers important advantages over its predecessors. First, itrepresents a much more efficient way for consumers to manage how much they want, byallowing consumers or users to purchase only the functionality they need when they need it.With this, consumers have unlimited power regarding the amount of information allowed.Second, and perhaps more importantly, the web supports more flexibility than catalogues,TV and radio. Consumers are more likely to think outside the box when involved in theinternet, than (they would) with conventional media. Because there are huge choices to make,it creates flexibility, which is rarely witnessed on TV or radio. By thinking outside the box,one is not subjected to any particular programme such as news and advertising as on radio orTV when consumers hardly have a choice to make. Such fundamentally new and superiortraits have given consumers more power than has earlier been witnessed on radio and TV.

As indicated by this respondent, computer mediated marketing environments offeredher greater control than traditional marketing communication channels, such as TV orradio. According to this respondent, computer mediated marketing gave her the powerof self-determination and the willpower to access product[2] information regarding herneeds and enabled her to make purchases when necessary. As this participantindicated, computer mediated marketing opens up a vista of opportunities which areunlimited in nature, unlike monolithic communication channels such as TV or radio.For her, there were tremendous advantages in using the internet. Despite initialconcerns noted by the respondent, she was explicitly optimistic that the evolvingcommunication technologies are integrating some elements of sensory authenticity –appeals to sight (enhanced by colour and higher definition); sound (by better highfidelity through developments of stereophonic systems) and kinaesthesia (by means ofmultiple, portable, high-fidelity cameras) into a hyper shopping environment. In the

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1069

absence of haptic sense (touch), this respondent’s optimism about computer mediatedmarketing environments was largely rooted in content integration.

While the respondent considered “thinking outside the box” as a useful metaphorfor describing the medium, as she interacts and transacts in the computer mediatedmarketing environment, she more literally perceived the medium as being an integralcomponent of existing broadcast-based media rather than a distinctive new channel ofcommunication.

Another key issue to emerge from control was its meditative features, as noted by achartered occupational psychologist:

I think you get a better and more meditative medium than radio or TV. By meditativemedium, I’m referring to the relaxation and freedom to choose what you want to buy or tolisten to the areas that interest you most. Whereas on TV or radio you just assimilate andabsorb whatever content you’re given at any moment. While on the Net, you choose, but inradio or TV you’re told. Although you can choose channels, all the same, you still have to takewhatever you’re given at that particular moment. Choice is highly limited when one is in needof some pressing information. For example, if you want to know about weather, you have towait until a certain time on TV within a given time interval. On the Net, you can immediatelyand swiftly get this information within seconds.

As was noted by this respondent, internet transaction gave him that meditative[3]control unlike radio or TV, as once programmes or advertisements are missed, it isdifficult to access by choice such programmes until the sender decides to repeat orsequence the action. The sequential feature of internet transaction is the mostformidable innovation of communication technologies and such internet marketingwas described by this respondent as a meditative medium because of its controllablecontent.

Another emerging theme from one respondent was the swiftness by which thecomputer mediated marketing can be conducted. It is a marketing environment wheredelay of response has now given way to immediate action. As pertinently noted by a28-year-old shopkeeper:

On so many occasions I have used the internet for transactions. The most remarkable one waswhen I was renewing my passport. The passport office needed certain documents. I find outthat the web is the quickest and swiftest place to forward such documents. I have done thisseveral times (in different contexts). There are limitations on what personal details I canprovide to on-line companies. It depends on the degree of trust I have for the company. Really,the internet has improved communication and created closer bonds between my extendedrelatives in India and myself. Since I’ve been connected, communication has becomecommonplace as it can happen whenever I want it.

The power of the web-enabled marketing environment has improved communicationsand deepened the way consumers communicated with companies and individuals. Asconsumers use this medium to coordinate their daily activities beyond the confines oftraditional communication channels, computer mediated marketing environments areenhancing their bonds with friends and organisations. Once connected, communicationis a matter of personal decision-making as consumers learn the inherent advantages ofthe medium. The rise of computer mediated marketing environments is changing thebalance of power by putting technology and tools in the hands of consumers. Theseempowered individuals can navigate information from several locations and makepurchases to suit themselves. Products purchased no longer rely on a physical interface

EJM42,9/10

1070

between buyers and sellers as internet connectivity is redefining marketing as a virtualnegotiation where corporeal presence is not necessary in some transactions.

One of the intriguing issues that emerged with regard to control was indicated by arespondent who was a trainee solicitor:

. . . internet content has recently come of age. Much injustice has been done to this mediumowing to the get rich overnight mantra. We have underestimated what the Net could offer usbecause of the failures of some individuals who unknowingly or knowingly wanted to reapwithout sowing. internet content is much more detailed than TV and radio put together. Tosay the least, it is there all the time for consumption. As long as you’re connected to the Net, itcan be accessed at will, in all almost all locations. One is never switched from the medium likeradio or TV. One can read, listen and get information as and when desirable.

For him, understanding a web-enabled business environment was based on afundamental understanding of computer mediated communication as a conduit forinformation exchange. The medium is an encyclopaedic information repository thatone can control if one has the skills to operate the system effectively. One can controlthe form and flow of information to accomplish certain tasks that are done separatelyin the conventional media. Consumers participating in computer mediated marketingare not constrained by store opening hours. This distinctive feature, as noted by somerespondents, is broadening the scope of transactions. Because of the virtuality ofon-line transactions there is no specific time of opening as consumers can access theseon-line storefronts at any time and anywhere. Similarly, a 32-year-old social workerstated:

I get more valuable information on the Net than in the Store. In the store, they may be biasedtowards their (current stock) items, but on the Net, you’re not confined to a certain store.There is that freedom to choose and move around the world. The choices are numerous andthe information one gets is too large in certain ways. In this case more is better than less.

Computer mediated marketing environments have enduring human needs and desiresthat outweigh traditional marketing transactions. On-line activities have becomecommonplace among cyber consumers. The nascent medium, with its limitlesssequence of accessibility, is unscrambling consumer control of the marketingenvironment. As respondents indicated, the contours of marketing are giving morecontrol to consumers; this espouses greater freedom to consumers than the traditionalmarketing concepts.

In summary, while there was a consensus among the respondents that computermediated marketing environments allow more freedom to consumers, there was aconcern that, in the not too distant future the liberty accorded to consumers would besidestepped by some of the risks currently being perpetuated in the environment. Thenext section discusses interactivity and its implications for computer mediatedmarketing environments (see Table I).

An elasticised form of interactivityUsers and participants in computer mediated marketing environments interactivelyengage in message substance modifications. This produces matrices of real-timeinteractions and modifications which involve consumers and companies participatingin a process driven, co-creating environment. The iterative landscape of such

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1071

participation involved collaborative effort and relationship building. As noted by a55-year-old internet technologies lecturer:

Basically, the whole idea of the uses of the internet is self-taught. The whole idea is that thereis so much material on the internet. I often visit the library and most cases I read magazines.Everything I know and teach about the internet is learnt from the internet itself. All that I’mdoing is to propagate the whole thing. Just take it away and put more on it.

Individuals in computer mediated marketing environments were able to accessretrospective content and modify it. As noted by some respondents, users have twinaccessibility traits: input and output. Consumers can interact with each other whilstsimultaneously having direct access to companies. Consumers participating incomputer mediated marketing environments are adventurous in exploring productdetails. For them participating in on-line activity boils down to research as they use themedium to fulfil some off-line needs. A legal assistant, noted:

Yes, in some cases it gives me much more than what I expected. There are certain web sitesthat give me certain stuff that I needed without any fuss. It’s not the best stuff that one caneasily find or feel free to purchase in the market, but I like the sites because of theiruniqueness in providing information which stores will not have the time to explain or discussin detail with you. I prefer to use the internet for certain products when I know I will not havetime to visit stores. On-line stores provide that novel interface for eclectic dialogue.

For this respondent, the on-line marketspace provided him with a selective interface tosearch for information and to interact with others. He cited access to information in thecomputer mediated environment as a valuable interactive phenomenon where one canfreely interact with others. As noted, one can participate in the web-enabled businessenvironment because the medium provided that anonymous interface where covertshopping needs are made possible. Individuals participating in the medium can usedifferent persona to interact and purchase items when they are not willing to disclosetheir true identity. This would be more difficult in an off-line marketplace. It was notedthat anonymity was often perceived by some respondents as one of the most vitalbenefits of the web-enabled business environment. On-line shopping experiences createavenues for “identity play” as consumers could adopt any persona as and whendesired. As asserted by some respondents, on-line shopping allows anonymoustransactions and enhances exploration of certain items shrouded in genderidentification. Corresponding to the idea expressed by most respondents, a19-year-old student asserted:

Satisfaction depends on your knowledge of the product. If you know about the product, Iwould say that the internet is more informative. There is much more information relating toproducts from manufacturers than in-store. For instance, when a GP prescribes somemedication, you can search for the manufacturers’ web sites and get more detailedinformation about the product than the leaflet enclosed when you bought the drug.

According to this respondent, satisfaction with the medium depended on one’sknowledge of computer usage. To a certain degree, the on-line marketplace is a tool forfurtherance of off-line transactions. Since the proliferation of the internet as amarketing medium, it has circuitously given consumers opportunities to exploreproduct information in tandem with the manufacturers’ background. The nature ofasymmetrical communication prevalent in some of the push based media is resurfacing

EJM42,9/10

1072

on-line as an interactive medium, where consumers explored available resources as andwhen it suited them. The appositeness of computer mediated marketing, as noted bymany respondents is redefining consumers’ locale in the marketing activity. However,consumers, once the recipients of purely orthodox media, are beginning to exerciseautonomy in the decision-making process. As noted by a 51-year-old Evangelist andCounsellor:

The web has been helpful to me. It has in a way. If I want to know anything that is beyond myreach in the physical world, I swiftly visit the web. It is round the clock world and there is noclosing time for consumers. I always find some valuable answers and solutions to my querieson the Net. If I need to know where to purchase certain things, it gives me the opportunitypersonally to exploit it at my own convenience. It’s very useful because anything you want tofind out will be available to some extent. I have made so many friends through the Net. I meanreliable friends. As a Christian, I often chat (over the net) with folks around the world andhave (subsequently) met so many of them in real life. They are wonderful people and the webis not as bad as some people think. I’ve visited a Christian family I met on-line.

This respondent demonstrated a keen awareness of web-enabled businessenvironments. He evinced such descriptions in a twin paradox: it permitted one toexperience the world beyond one’s physical boundaries, for example, the on-linemarketspace; and the medium is capable of providing varied and instantaneousinformation. The increasingly rapid free flow of information and knowledge isenhancing consumers’ collaboration with remote consumers. As the web transformsitself into a vibrant marketing medium, consumers within computer mediatedenvironments have started playing different roles which contrast with traditionalmonolithic-communication models. Marketing activity that filters down informationfrom companies and agencies is now evolving into partnership and deliberation.

The virtual storefront accommodated transactions in a timeless manner andparticipants were utilising the medium extensively to sharpen and widen theirmarketing activity. Computer mediated marketing had ushered in a myriad of ways inwhich consumers could portray themselves in the marketplace. These avenues havenot only given consumers multiple means of positioning themselves, but the medium isalso enhancing the conversational reach and richness available to consumers. As notedby respondents, one of the perceived benefits of the Net rests on the anonymity whichthe medium provides. As consumers congregate in the virtual storefront, individualpersonal issues can be addressed and channelled to the public domain within themarketspace where experts and peers can contribute and offer variegated opinions andsolutions. As maintained by this respondent, meaningful and fruitful interactions onceconducted on-line have contributed to his well-being, and products relating to thison-line interactivity can be easily ascertained (see Table II).

Permeated themesA new form of connectivityIndividuals participating in on-line environments were not fazed by the temporallocality of physical storefronts. Because the medium fostered wider coverage beyondconsumers’ spatial environments, content accessibilities are much moremulti-dimensional in connectivity or “reachness” than in the traditional marketplace. The endearing corollary of computer mediated marketing has not onlybroadened interactivity between businesses and customers (B2C) businesses and

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1073

businesses (B2B) and amongst consumers (C2C), but has inadvertently shrunktransactional horizons of the conspicuous binary marketing realm (between businessesand customers) to atypical levels. Several issues emerged concerning the perceivedbenefits of “reachness” within computer mediated marketing environments. A 21 yearold female media student noted:

The onus is that in the store you’re limited to that store’s particular information such asproducts and prices. But on the web, once you visit an on-line store, you can access otherstores to see what competitors are charging for the same product. This transparency is aprimary motivating factor and why I visit web sites. That’s the great advantage of the webover physical stores. First, you’ve got the catalogue on-line. Second, you can search tocompare prices, as the information is richly available worldwide. The internet gives one thatempowerment through its interactive communication.

Her description rests on the medium’s transparency to provide wider and reliableinformation beyond one’s physical marketplace. Her conceptions patterned themedium’s capability in enabling access to divergent product information in a degreethat can surpass one’s locale. As companies began to market their products on the Net,the hierarchical structures of the traditional buying process, where consumers ordertheir products via intermediaries was now being dismantled as consumers gain directcontact with companies through their web presence. As noted by the respondent,on-line shopping availed her of so many possibilities. It offered the opportunity toretrieve divergent information regarding products, especially as there is world-wideaccess to information.

Consumers within a computer mediated market have the opportunity to suppressthe domestic control and regulation of information that exists in a particular country.Product information was easily ascertainable beyond the dictates of one’s domesticgovernment. The “reachability” of the internet to global audiences was blurring thetime and space continuum of respective national boundaries. Similar to the espousedidea of spatial configurations and marketability, a 26-year-old Security Officer stated:

At the moment it is less available than people think it is. It is a medium solely dominated bythe rich in society. It discriminates against the poor, as most of these people cannot affordcomputers. internet content is always constant whenever you wish to get information nomatter where you live. I would say that the internet is like a trade show where all sort ofthings are being displayed. It is a place for finding and learning about something withoutmuch constraint if you can afford it. It gives you the time to learn for yourself and take yourpersonal decisions. With the internet one can easily get the real information from the sourceonce you know the web address.

As indicated by this respondent, computer mediated marketing environments haveshrunk geographical transactions, but at the same time have extended them. On-lineshopping offers opportunities to shop at multiple locations without expending effortvisiting physical locations. The “virtuality” of these storefronts, and consumers beingable to navigate stores from a single location, is dramatically changing traditionalshopping experiences. On-line shopping was a borderless transaction where productinformation was easily reachable beyond national boundaries. As the respondentindicated, the medium provided divergent storefronts where accessibility can begained from consumers’ homes. Correspondingly, a 36-year-old managementaccountant premised:

EJM42,9/10

1074

I found out the uses of the internet through word of mouth in the early years. As amanagement accountant, reading professional journals which discuss the benefits of theinternet, especially as people talk of e-banking made me further explore how this could bebeneficial to my profession. Most of these articles or whatever, tell you about the hugebenefits of e-banking. By e-banking one can easily use a password to conduct payments forgoods and services without having any physical contact with one’s bank. For example, directdebit can be easily set up through the internet.

The diffusion of on-line storefronts have (in most cases) been attributed to peercollaboration. This respondent revealed that her initial attraction to on-line shoppingwas based on professional affiliations. The medium was seen as a gateway whereissues of disparate proportions could be further explored. It presently had little or nonotable geographical barriers such as those prevalent in the physical environment andone could swiftly configure information beyond the traditional marketing locality. Acommunity practice nurse stated:

I have not made any comparison. But I should imagine the internet is more conducive to whatI was looking for a few weeks ago than catalogue pages which are focused on a particularstore or product. With catalogues you can clearly see the items to purchase. The degree of thepictures is much better than those on the internet. On the other hand, internet gives you farmore information than catalogues. Yes, it is more convenient to contact companies when oneis confronted with some pressing needs.

It is suggested that on-line participation might allow people to become swiftlyconnected with others at a distance and receive feedback. The accessibility embeddedin internet connectivity makes resources accessible on a global basis. As indicated bysome respondents, the medium fostered, and made possible, the much herald axiom“experience the world at one’s fingertips”. As consumers reach out to other parts of theworld from the leisure of their homes, the internet makes it possible to connect andengage in a myriad of shopping adventures that are beyond the proximalenvironments of users. Corresponding to the distal gloss of on-line marketing, a28-year-old home painter stated:

It depends on what your motives are. internet content gives you more detailed informationthan TV or radio. The essence of this is that you can personally explore which content you’reinterested in. It gives you the opportunity to know about products or services instead of thesnappy information one gets on TV or radio. Surfing the Net helps me strike a chord in theglobal scope (arena) and get the meaty information when I need something at the particulartime I need it, unlike TV or radio. The Net gives me the immediacy and constancy that Irequire any time I’m desperate for information. I easily do this without leaving my room.

Participants indicated that the global reach of the medium provided immediate, butconsistent detailed information feedback. Users of computer mediated marketing wereable to access off-line projected advertisements to further explore informationconcerning advertised products. As indicated by respondents, off-line advertisementsfeatured on TV and Radio are proportionately restrictive as the “pull” tactics ofmanufacturers and agencies dominates the projective nature of those media.Respondents considered that the advent of on-line storefronts was creating deep bondsand engagement where shared perspectives and experience can be globally diffused atminimal cost or in some cases when applied to digerati, at no cost at all. As a33-year-old traffic warden indicated:

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1075

I’m quite satisfied with the medium. You know there that some sites are not worth lookinginto. They place all sorts of rubbish down there on the internet. Otherwise the content isrichly informative. No store can hold all the variety and offer the chatting that I want. With aclick of a button, I can have access to an array of products and chat with friends that have awider reach than TV, radio or physical stores combined. And I can search for what I wantanytime without the interference of meddling sales people or programme moderators.

Another key issue that emerged concerning global reach was the ability to providechannel miscellanies. Experience in computer mediated marketing involved the idea oftripartite marketing media. Users in computer mediated marketing environments canremotely access television by audio and visual means; radio at a singular medium leveland store catalogues through fixed visual means. On-line contents, as noted byrespondents were agglomerations of tripartite media which are separable in traditionalmarketing media. Akin to these perceived benefits, some respondents expressed thatthe medium is an effective channel of supportive off-line advertising for which productclarifications are best suited. To those respondents, the medium allows individuals theultimate mind share to reach out to others. An administrative accountant stated:

On the internet, you have all the time in the world to look for different products. By the world,I mean being connected to various web sites which may be within or outside one’s vicinityand national boundaries. On the internet, you’re there 24 hours a day. Unlike TV or the radiowhen you miss an advert, it is gone and you might as well forget the advert. If you’re luckyenough, it will be shown within the hour or the next day. Seeing the advert again is not theend of the show as one may need to carry out further investigation regarding the advert viaweb, which gives you instant information of the product, place of manufacture and also theprice of the item. The internet is such a boundless world that information gleaned from theadvert on TV or radio can be explored to get as much information as needed regarding theproduct.

Another important issue that emerged concerning reach, was that wider and moreencyclopaedic information was available. Some respondents indicated that computermediated marketing availed them of the opportunity to clarify and verify some of thedistal information in the off-line terrain. Other respondents averred that the computermediated marketing environment goes beyond information validation, as the mediumoffers a profusion of information that integrates the tripartite traditional channels. Torespondents in this position, the perceived benefits of computer mediated marketingover-steps the monological exposition of conventional media. Respondents indicatedthat the evolving medium offers a global connative reach where “comfortability” and“accessibility” is the bond that is lacking in traditional marketing communicationmodels. Information as a permeated theme logically follows this proposal (seeTable III).

The liberation of informationThe advent of the internet and its widespread deployment as a means ofcommunication was changing the information environment where oncefragmentation was the ruling condition. This technology is creating a defragmentedsociety. By providing a new common interface for shopping at a “lightning” pace in acompetitive environment, the traditional idea that a valuable shopping experiencedepends on a corporeal marketplace is now giving way to virtual computer mediatedmarketing environments. Study participants, especially those who have used the

EJM42,9/10

1076

medium to gather intelligence, noted that the web-enabled marketing environment isbest suited for information gathering. An IT consultant averred:

I’ve been using the internet for so many years now. I was there very early on. The first time Iactually came across the internet to be very honest with you is when I was studying for adegree course at University in 1974. So this is a few years ago when the internet was invented.I was about 19 years old. The internet was quite boring then because things were alltext-based and there were no sites around. My interest in the internet became raised again in1990 and 1991 when I was following what Tim Berners-Lee was doing. I was really interestedin what he was doing as he invented the world wide web on the internet. Since then, I havebeen using this medium before the invention of web browsers. I was really following how theHTTP protocol and HTML language would improve the use of the internet. I think that Icreated one of the first few web sites in this country and in this college.

This respondent believed that web-enabled business is a valuable facet of his family’swell-being and describes his motivation towards commercial web development ascoming from his disabled wife’s inability to access information connatively in theoff-line marketplace. Her inability to access some information and conduct some basicshopping in the conventional marketplace engendered his embarking on e-commercedevelopment projects. Such engagement in information disembodiment is veryinteresting in terms of post-modern ideas, as users are increasingly relying on thecomputer screen to access resources at will. The detachment created by the computerscreen, and increasingly, the omnipresent nature of the internet is creating unmitigatedinformation accessibility where minimal physical exertion is needed. Congruent to thisassertion, a 29-year-old disabled solicitor stated:

The information on the web is pretty much handy. The medium is purposeful and helpful tome as it serves as a yardstick to reduce incertitude of product information and someinternational legal resources. Whenever I’m not fully satisfied with the information attachedto a product, a click of the mouse will unveil an inundated information threshold.

The inconsistent nature of information variability and accessibility in a web-enabledbusiness environment is redefining the ways in which one can access information.According to one respondent, the on-line marketspace provides a choice of interfacethat enhances one’s participation in the physical marketplace. For her, the off-linetraditional marketing environment was less adaptable to her basic needs, whereason-line participation provides her with the tools to access information easily. It is worthnoting that the development of this volitional information orientation, as described bymany respondents, accords with the post-modern concept of fragmentationalover-centralisation. Another respondent noted:

Probably very wide knowledge gained about the internet came from reading newspapers andalso from college. The college advice office advised me to use the internet to diversify my jobsearch. This I did. I was able to gain access to thousands of employers whilst sitting in frontof the computer. In some ways it does help me to get details of employers who are locatedhundreds of miles away.

The flexibility of information configurations within a computer mediated environmentemerged as one of the perceived benefits of the medium. According to somerespondents, the computer mediated marketing environment provided one with agestational shopping interface where product assessments are best suited. Thediversity of content within the medium avails individuals to indulge unlimited

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1077

preferences, unlike conventional marketing environments where information flow isgeared towards hierarchically pushing consumers forward towards the purchasingtransaction.

One of the intriguing issues noted by respondents is that a web-enabled businessenvironment handles product specification in a more detailed manner than thetraditional shopping environment. According to respondents, individuals tend to bemore up-to-date in acquiring an ever-growing richness of information interface thanthat offered by conventional media. This is because consumers were more up to datewith prevailing trends as companies strive to propel their marketing propositions tothe ever-changing environment. Information relating to these products and servicesgave consumers disparate choice and helped them make informed decisionsconcerning their needs and demands. The uniqueness of the computer mediatedmarketing environment is multidimensional in nature, as the medium incorporates theelements of audio (radio), visual and print media. The collation of these features, mostespecially the capability to offer information within the means of an individual’s ownvolitional domain, is a challenge that affects marketing communications concepts.

One of the key issues that emerged from respondents concerning information is theadditive experience which some respondents accorded to the medium. For these, themedium serves as a supplementation to the off-line experience. They actively used it asa gestation period for physical transactions. Because information can be generated atwill, and is within one’s reach, it tends to overcome the inherent constraints of off-linetransactions. The availability of information in the web-enabled business environmentprovided individuals with a new shopping experience. Shoppers within theenvironment are more prone to information glut than those in the off-line marketingenvironment. Respondents noted several perceived benefits of the medium overunmediated storefronts. Whilst the activities of both media traverse across thepurchasing process, consumers are wary of the distinctive features evolving from themediated marketing environment. However, it is important to note that the computermediated marketing environment is fundamentally a text-based medium and usersnavigate their way within websites through text-based search engines in disparateways. Considering its text-based positioning, marketing content within the mediumportrays information and supports efforts in furtherance of future purchases (seeTable IV).

Final reflections and marketing implicationsIt is crucial to appreciate that marketing activity that has been appropriate to productsand services in the past can now be conducted without buyer/seller contact in thephysical domain. As indicated by respondents, information accessibility is completelyporous as users can remotely access information relative to their areas of interests atanytime and anywhere. Instead of waiting for such information to be delivered inperson or to their place of abode, it can be delivered in real-time and obtained withinseconds. Whilst individual perceptions of the evolving medium have been at theforeground, the impact of the medium at the transaction stage is driven by product andconsumer-related factors.

One obvious determinant of the accessibility of on-line transactions is the ratio ofinformation content versus physical content for certain products. When a product can

EJM42,9/10

1078

easily be digitised, then delivery is easy, as is now the case with music andvideo-on-demand and shortly programmes-on-demand will become widely available.

A major bottleneck for the development of web-enabled business in the consumerenvironment is the difficulty of evaluating products through the internet. This alsoaccounts for the gap between on-line search and transaction completion. Successfulchoice amongst multifaceted product alternatives often requires certain levels ofconsumer expertise:, e.g. understanding the features of products and knowledge abouthow various alternatives can be moulded on these attributes.

As a tool for transaction, the medium is more suited for information gathering thanproviding an active communicational capability. Marketers may need to conceive newapproaches if they are going to succeed in the interactive marketplace. Indeed, anover-reliance on traditional marketing communication models, such as the original oneproposed by Shannon and Weaver (1949) in The Mathematical Theory ofCommunication, might entirely fail to capture the new dynamics.

The evolving interactive marketspace holds significant challenges for marketersand managers in terms of enabling their organisations to deal with increasedcomplexity in communicating with their multifaceted stakeholders, especiallyconsumers. As the emerging interactive marketspace evolves, companies havetended to focus on technological infrastructure with scant regard to the wideningagenda for marketing communications.

New internet technologies have undermined traditional media by providing newopportunities for marketing communications. Computer-mediated marketing is a newchannel with distinctive characteristics and it is essential for organisations and policymakers to focus on changing customer behaviour. Marketing communicationscompetencies, based on the interactive marketspace have been expressed. However,many marketing practitioners tend to regard communications as a tactical tool. Whenapplied correctly in a strategic manner, this should provide a key source of competitiveadvantage for companies in an information based marketing environment.

Marketing communication is in need of “reinvention” in respect of its key concepts,methodologies and prevailing procedures to ensure their appropriateness for theevolving global interactive marketspace. This is a challenge for both theoreticians andcommunications professionals.

For academics, it means making a significant change of direction in their researchportfolios; in particular, the need to avoid simply researching and reporting currenttechnological procedures and processes. Instead, they should build new ideas from amethodological vantage point, and provide practitioners with applicable conceptualand methodological pathways for advancement, based on the changing behaviour ofconsumers (Wind and Mahajan, 2001). After all, this is what underpins marketingorientation that starts with customers, rather than the product led view that apparentlyprevails in terms of considering technological advances and then attempting to applythese to customers.

For marketing practitioners, there is a need to realise that the new marketspacecreates the need for a new perception of the customer. Practitioners are no longer themasters of communication because products and messages should be co-created in theconsumption process. This is already happening, but its pace will accelerate. Providerswho disregard these warning signs might find it difficult to survive. Consumers in thenew interactive marketspace are no longer passive targets for marketing propositions.

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1079

They are creative and innovative partners in the creation of experiences in theconsumption process. It is with this suggestion in mind that may perhaps shape theideas of communications researchers and practitioners to readdress their fundamentalthinking.

Future researchThis study has dealt with the perspectives of users in the interactive marketplace: ithas not given an organisational understanding of the evolving situation. Furtherresearch could identify an organisational perspective and develop an all-roundinterpretation of the new marketplace. Furthermore, Google has ambitions to maximisethe personal information it holds on people and organise a source of global information.However, there are concerns regarding the potential for Google to build a detailedpicture of individual behaviour and the impact this may have on personal liberty(Financial Times, 2007). Certainly, this paper has identified issues concerningindividual behaviour, and in future studies the authors would like to investigate theethical implications of the new marketplace.

Notes

1. Believing respondents is a key principle in post-modern research, in contrast to positivisticmethods that maintain a sceptical stance. Furthermore, while positivists assume a real andobjective reality that exists independently of individuals’ perceptions, postmodernists viewreality as socially constructed. That is, there is no objective reality independent of the socialmeaning people give to it (Gergen, 2001). Respondents’ perceptions of computer mediatedmarketing environments are their reality, and it is these perceptions that impact theirattitudes and behaviours (e.g. interaction, likelihood of feedback, accessibility).

2. Product as implied here encompasses information in relation to both tangible and intangibleproducts. The usage here is for personal preference and does not limit the meaning accordedto the term. However, it is not intended to make any distinction between them.

3. Although the term “meditate” with its qualifier “meditative” has often dominated corereligious texts, the respondent’s usage of the term lacks this thread-like contribution to theconcept. For him, internet Transaction offers users much more nuanced freedom thantraditional communication media. Freedom is what he wants, regardless of distance and aconsummate relaxation of mind in obtaining important information.

References

Armstrong, A. and Hagel, J. (1996), “The real value of online communities”, Harvard BusinessReview, May-June, pp. 134-41.

Berthon, P., Pitt, L.F. and Watson, R. (1996), “The World Wide Web as an advertising medium:toward an understanding of conversion efficiency”, Journal of Advertising Research,Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 43-54.

Blattberg, R.C. and Deighton, J. (1996), “Manage marketing: exploiting the age of addressability”,Sloan Management Review, July-August, pp. 136-44.

Blattberg, R.C., Glazer, R. and Little, J.D.C. (1994), (Eds) The Marketing Information Revolution,Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Buttle, F.A. (1990), “Marketing communication theory: review and critique”, 1990 ConferenceProceedings, Marketing Education Group.

EJM42,9/10

1080

Buttle, F.A. (1995), “Marketing communication theory: what do the texts teach our students?”,International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 14, pp. 297-313.

Castells, M. (2001), The internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business and Society, OxfordUniversity Press, London.

Coupey, E. (2001), Marketing and the Internet: Conceptual Foundations, Prentice-Hall,Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Darwin, C. (1982), The Origin Of the Species by Means of Natural Selection: The Preservation ofFavoured Races in the Struggle for Life, Penguin Classics, London.

Deighton, J. and Barwise, P. (2001), “Digital marketing communication”, in Wind, J. and Mahajan,V. (Eds), Digital Marketing: Global Strategies from the World’s Leading Experts, JohnWiley and Sons, New York, NY.

Denzin, N.K. (1994), “The art and politics of interpretation”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S.(Eds), Handbook Of Qualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (2005), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, SagePublications, London.

Evans, P. and Wurster, T. (1999), “Getting real about virtual commerce”, Harvard BusinessReview, November-December.

Financial Times (2007), 23 May.

Gergen, K.J. (2001), An Invitation to Social Construction, Sage Publications, London.

Hackley, C. (2001a), “Towards a post-structuralist marketing pedagogy: from irony to despair (atwo by two matrix approach)”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 Nos 11/12,pp. 1184-96.

Hackley, C. (2001b), Marketing and Social Construction: Exploring the Rhetorics of ManagedConsumption, Monograph, Routledge, London, pp. 106-7.

Hagel, J. and Armstrong, A. (1997), Net Gain: Expanding Markets through Virtual Communities,Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Heidegger, M. (1994), Basic Questions of Philosophy: Selected Problems of Logic (translated byRojcewicz, R. and Schuwer, A.), Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN.

Heidegger, M. (2004), Being and Time (trans. Macquarrie, J. and Robinson, E.), Harper and Row,New York, NY.

Heidegger, M. (1996), in Krell, D.F. (Ed.), Basic Writings, Routledge, London.

Hoffman, D.L. and Novak, T.P. (1997), “Marketing in hypermedia computer-mediatedenvironments: conceptual foundations”, Journal of Marketing, July, pp. 50-68.

Hoffman, D.L. and Novak, T.P. (1997), “A new marketing paradigm for electronic commerce”,The Information Society (special issue on Electronic Commerce), Vol. 13, January-March,pp. 43-54.

Howell, K.E. (2004), Europeanization, European Integration and Financial Services: DevelopingTheoretical Frameworks and Synthesising Methodological Approaches, PalgraveMacmillan, Basingstoke.

Jansick, V.J. (2001), “The choreography of qualitative research design: minuets, improvisationsand cystallization”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds), Handbook of QualitativeResearch, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Kiani, G.R. (1998), “New game, new rules: will traditional mentality work in the marketspace”,Management Research News, Vol. 21 No. 6.

Lancaster, G. (2005), Research Methods in Management, Oxford, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, pp. 103-4.

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1081

McKenna, R. (2002), Total Access: Giving Customers What They Want in an Anytime, AnywhereWorld, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Mason, J. (2001), Qualitative Researching, Sage Publications, London.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1999), Phenomenology of Perception (trans. Smith, C.), Routledge, London andNew York, NY.

Molenaar, C. (2002), The Future of Marketing: Practical Strategies for Marketers in thePost-internet Age, Financial Times, Prentice-Hall, London.

Nettleton, S., Burrows, R., Pleace, N., Loader, B. and Muncer, S. (2002), “The reality of virtualsocial support”, in Woolgar, S. (Ed.), Virtual Society? Technology, Cyberole, Reality, OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford, pp. 176-88.

Oppenheim, A.N. (1992), Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement, PinterPublishers, London.

Shannon, C. and Weaver, W. (1949), The Mathematical Theory of Communication, University ofIllinois Press, Urban, IL.

Shapiro, C. (2000), Setting Compatibility Standards: Cooperation or Collusion?, University ofCalifornia at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, available at: http://haas.berkeley.edu/, shapiro/standards.pdf (accessed December 14, 2005).

Slevin, J. (2002), The Internet and Society, Polity Press, Cambridge, MA.

Spencer, H. (2001), Factors of Organic Evolution, Elibron Classics, Adamant Media Corporation,Austin, TX.

Spencer, H. (2005), First Principles, Elibron Classics Series, Adamant Media Corporation, Austin,TX.

Steuer, J. (1992), “Defining virtual reality: dimensions determining telepresence”, Journal ofCommunication, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 73-9.

Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1994), “Grounded theory methodology an overview”, in Denzin, N.K.and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks CA,pp. 273-85.

Tapscott, D., Ticoli, D. and Lowy, A. (2000), Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of BusinessWebs, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Varey, R.J. (2000a), “A contemporary communication theory for marketing communication”,paper presented at the 29th European Marketing Academy Conference, ErasmusUniversity, Rotterdam, 23-26 May.

Varey, R.J. (2000b), “A critical review of conceptions of communication evident in contemporarybusiness and management literature”, Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 4,pp. 328-40.

Varey, R.J. (2002), Marketing Communication, Principles and Practice, Routledge, London.

Varey, R.J. (2005), “The orthodoxy and hegemony of marketing communications: frominteractive communication to communication interaction”, International Journal of AppliedMarketing, Vol. 1 No. 2.

Wellman, B. (2000), “Physical place and cyber-place: the rise of networked individualism”, paperpresented at Community Informatics: Connecting Communities through the Web,University of Teesside, 26-28 April.

Wind, J. and Mahajan, V. (2001), “The challenge of digital marketing”, in Wind, J., Wind, Y. andMahajan, V. (Eds), Digital Marketing: Global Strategies from the World’s Leading Experts,John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, pp. 3-25.

EJM42,9/10

1082

Further reading

Denzin, N.K. (1989), Interpretive Interactionism, Sage Publications, London.

Jones, S.G. (1997), “The internet and its social landscape”, in Jones, S.G. (Ed.), Virtual Culture:Identity and Communication in Cybersociety, Sage Publications, London, pp. 7-35.

Peppers, D., Rogers, M. and Dorf, B. (1999), “Is your company ready for one-to-one marketing?”,Harvard Business Review, January-February.

Spradley, J.P. (1979), The Ethnographic Interview, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Austin, TX.

Vidich, A.J. and Lyman, S.M. (1994), “Qualitative methods: their history in sociology andanthropology”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds), The Sage Handbook of QualitativeResearch, Sage Publications, London.

About the authorsWilson Ozuem is a Senior Lecturer in marketing who researches communications issues incomputer-mediated marketing environments at Holborn College (UK). He is a Fellow of theChartered Institute of Marketing and adjunct professor at the American IntercontinentalUniversity and has worked as a marketing consultant for several companies and organisations.He received his BA in Business from the University of Portsmouth, MA Marketing from ThamesValley University, MBA from London Metropolitan University and PhD in e-marketing fromAnglia Ruskin University. He is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:will.oz@talk21.com

Kerry E. Howell holds the Chair in Governance and Leadership at the University of Plymouth.He is Plymouth Business School Director of Research, Director of the Peninsula Centre forSustainable Governance (PCSG), a Jean Monnet Teaching Fellow, Salzburg Seminar ResearchFellow, Academic Board Member of DNA Wales and acted as Chair of the PractitionerCommittee for the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES).

Geoff Lancaster is Dean of Academic Studies at the London School of Commerce. He is alsoChairman of the Durham Associates Group of Companies, Castle Eden, County Durham who arein receipt of the Queen’s Award for Exporting. The Group engages in corporate communicationsand e-marketing, education and training in the UK and the Middle East. He was formerly withLondon Metropolitan University, University of Newcastle upon Tyne and University ofHuddersfield and was Senior Examiner to the Chartered Institute of Marketing for 12 years.Currently, he is Chief Examiner to the Association of Business Executives.

Communicatingin the interactive

marketspace

1083

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.comOr visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints