A literature review on firms’ internationalisation through e-commerce
Abstract
The rise of e-commerce has brought considerable changes to the relationship between firms and consumers, especially within international business. Hence, understanding the use of such means for entering foreign markets has become critical for companies. However, the research on this issue is new and so it is important to evaluate what has been studied in the past. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of e-commerce and internationalisation studies to explicate how firms use e-commerceto enter new markets and to export. The studies are classified by theories and methods used in the literature. Moreover, we draw upon the internationalisation decision process (antecedents-modalities-consequences) to propose an integrative framework for understanding the role of e-commerce in internationalisation.
References
Aiello G. (2017). Products moving along channels, consumers cross channels. Mercati e Competitività, 1: 7-11. DOI: 10.3280/MC2017-001001.
Ajmal F., & Yasin N. M. (2012). Model for electronic commerce adoption for small and medium sized enterprises. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 3(2): 90.
Alcácer J., Cantwell J., & Piscitello L. (2016). Internationalisation in the information age: A new era for places, firms, and international business networks? Journal of International Business Studies, 47(5): 499-512. DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2016.22.
Bart Y., Shankar V., Sultan F., & Urban G. L. (2005). Are the drivers and role of online trust the same for all websites and consumers? A large-scale exploratory empirical study. Journal of Marketing, 69(4): 133-152. DOI: 10.1509/jmkg.2005.69.4.133.
Bell J., & Loane S. (2010). ‘New-wave’ global firms: Web 2.0 and SME internationalisation. Journal of Marketing Management, 26(3-4): 213-229. DOI: 10.1080/02672571003594648.
Bhattacherjee A. (2000). Acceptance of e-commerce services: The case of electronic
brokerages. IEEE Transactions on systems, man, and cybernetics-Part A: Systems and humans, 30(4): 411-420. DOI: 10.1109/3468.852435.
Bianchi C., & Mathews S. (2016). Internet marketing and export market growth in Chile. Journal of Business Research, 69(2): 426-434.
Brouthers K. D., Geisser K. D., & Rothlauf F. (2016). Explaining the internationalisation
of ibusiness firms. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(5): 513-534. DOI: 10.1057/jibs.2015.20.
Camisón C., & Villar-López A. (2014). Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 67(1): 2891-2902. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.06.004.
Carpenter M. A., Geletkanycz M. A., & Sanders W. G. (2004). Upper echelons research
revisited: Antecedents, elements, and consequences of top management team composition. Journal of Management, 30(6): 749-778.
Chatha K. A., Butt I., & Tariq A. (2015). Research methodologies and publication trends in manufacturing strategy: A content analysis based literature review. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management, 35(4): 487-546. DOI: 10.1108/IJOPM-07-2012-0285.
Chen S., & Lamberti L. (2016). Multichannel marketing: The operational construct and firms’ motivation to adopt. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 24(7): 594-616. DOI: 10.1080/0965254X.2016.1148759.
Cheung C. M., & Thadani D. R. (2012). The impact of electronic word-of-mouth
communication: A literature analysis and integrative model. Decision Support Systems, 54(1): 461-470. DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2012.06.008.
Davis F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance
of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 319-340. DOI: 10.2307/249008.
Easterby-Smith M., Thorpe R., & Lowe A. (2002). Management research methods. London: Sage Publications Examinership-Friel Stafford.
Elbanna S., Child J., & Dayan M. (2013). A model of antecedents and consequences of intuition in strategic decision-making: Evidence from Egypt. Long Range Planning, 46(1): 149-176.
Galvagno M. (2017). Bibliometric literature review: An opportunity for marketing scholars. Mercati & Competitività, 4: 7-15. DOI: 10.3280/MC2017-004001.
Glavas C., & Mathews S. (2014). How international entrepreneurship characteristics
influence Internet capabilities for the international business processes of the firm.
International Business Review, 23(1): 228-245. DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.04.001.
Gold S., & Seuring S. (2011). Supply chain and logistics issues of bio-energy production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(1): 32-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.08.009.
Gregory G., Karavdic M., & Zou S. (2007). The effects of e-commerce drivers on export marketing strategy. Journal of International Marketing, 15(02): 30-57. DOI: 10.1509/jimk.15.2.30.
Guo J., & Jaafar N. I. (2011). A study on consumers’ attitude towards online shopping
in China. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(22): 122-132.
Hilmersson M., & Johanson M. (2016). Speed of SME internationalisation and performance. Management International Review, 56(1): 67-94.
Hoehle H., Scornavacca E., & Huff S. (2012). Three decades of research on consumer
adoption and utilization of electronic banking channels: A literature analysis. Decision Support Systems, 54(1): 122-132. DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2012.04.010.
Johanson M., & Kalinic I. (2016). Acceleration and deceleration in the internationalisation process of the firm. Management International Review, 56(6): 827-847.
Kauppi K., Salmi A., & You W. (2018). Sourcing from Africa: A systematic review and a research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20: 627-650. DOI: 10.1111/ijmr.12158.
Kim T. Y., Dekker R., & Heij C. (2017). Cross-border electronic commerce: Distance
effects and express delivery in European Union markets. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 21(2), 184-218. DOI: 10.1080/10864415.2016.1234283.
Kumar S., Tiffany M., & Vaidya S. (2016). Supply chain analysis of e-tailing versus
retailing operation: A case study. Enterprise Information Systems, 10(6): 639-665. DOI: 10.1080/17517575.2014.986218.
Kurnia S., Choudrie J., Mahbubur R. M., & Alzougool B. (2015). E-commerce technology
adoption: A Malaysian grocery SME retail sector study. Journal of Business Research, 68(9): 1906-1918. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.12.010.
Kushwaha T., & Shankar V. (2013). Are multichannel customers really more valuable?
The moderating role of product category characteristics. Journal of Marketing, 77(4): 67-85. DOI: 10.1509/jm.11.0297.
Mathews S., Healy M., & Wickramasekera R. (2012). The internetalisation of information, knowledge, and interaction components of the firm’s internationalisation
process. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(5-6): 733-754. DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2011.560887.
Neslin S. A., Grewal D., Leghorn R., Shankar V., Teerling M. L., Thomas J. S., & Verhoef P. C. (2006). Challenges and opportunities in multichannel customer management. Journal of Service Research, 9(2): 95-112. DOI: 10.1177/1094670506293559.
Ngai E. W., & Gunasekaran A. (2007). A review for mobile commerce research and
applications. Decision Support Systems, 43(1): 3-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2005.05.003.
Parvinen P., Oinas-Kukkonen H., & Kaptein M. (2015). E-selling: A new avenue of
research for service design and online engagement. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 14(4): 214-221.
Peltier J. W., Zhao Y., & Schibrowsky J. A. (2012). Technology adoption by small businesses: An exploratory study of the interrelationships of owner and environmental
factors. International Small Business Journal, 30(4): 406-431. DOI: 10.1177/0266242610365512.
Pezderka N., & Sinkovics R. R. (2011). A conceptualization of e-risk perceptions and implications for small firm active online internationalisation. International Business Review, 20(4): 409-422. DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2010.06.004.
Prasad V. K., Ramamurthy K., & Naidu G. M. (2001). The influence of Internetmarketing
integration on marketing competencies and export performance. Journal of International Marketing, 9(4): 82-110. DOI: 10.1509/jimk.9.4.82.19944.
Ramanathan R. (2010). E-commerce success criteria: Determining which criteria count most. Electronic Commerce Research, 10(2): 191-208. DOI: 10.1007/s10660-010-9051-3.
Resciniti R., & Matarazzo M. (2012). I nuovi mercati e le strategie di entrata delle medie imprese: evidenze e miti. Sinergie, 89: 209-230.
Reuber A. R., & Fischer E. (2011). International entrepreneurship in internet-enabled
markets. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(6): 660-679. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2011.05.002.
Risselada H., Verhoef P. C., & Bijmolt T. H. (2014). Dynamic effects of social influence
and direct marketing on the adoption of high-technology products. Journal of Marketing, 78(2): 52-68.
Rogers E. M. (2002). Diffusion of preventive innovations. Addictive Behaviors, 27(6): 989-993. DOI: 10.1016/S0306-4603(02)00300-3.
Schu M., Morschett D., & Swoboda B. (2016). Internationalisation speed of online
retailers: A resource-based perspective on the influence factors. Management International Review, 56(5): 733-757. DOI:10.1007/s11575-016-0279-
1007/s11575-016-0279-6.
Sedera D., & Dey S. (2013). User expertise in contemporary information systems:
Conceptualization, measurement and application. Information & Management, 50(8): 621-637. DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2013.07.004.
Sinkovics N., Sinkovics R. R., & Bryan Jean R. J. (2013). The Internet as an alternative
path to internationalisation? International Marketing Review, 30(2): 130-155. DOI: 10.1108/02651331311314556.
Skudiene V., Auruskeviciene V., & Sukeviciute L. (2015). Internationalisation model revisited: E-marketing approach. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213: 918-924. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.505.
Srivastava S. K. (2007). Green supply‐chain management: A state‐of‐the‐art literature
review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 9(1): 53-80. DOI:
1111/j.1468-2370.2007.00202.x.
Trainor K. J., Andzulis J. M., Rapp A., & Agnihotri R. (2014). Social media technology
usage and customer relationship performance: A capabilities-based examination of social CRM. Journal of Business Research, 67(6): 1201-1208. DOI:
1016/j.jbusres.2013.05.002.
Verhagen T., & Van Dolen W. (2009). Online purchase intentions: A multi-channel store image perspective. Information & Management, 46(2): 77-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2008.12.001.
Verhoef P. C., Kannan P. K., & Inman J. J. (2015). From multi-channel retailing to omni-channel retailing: Introduction to the special issue on multi-channel retailing. Journal of Retailing, 91(2): 174-181. DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2015.02.005.
Xia Y., & Zhang G. P. (2010). The impact of the online channel on retailers’ performances: An empirical evaluation. Decision Sciences, 41(3): 517-546. DOI:
1111/j.1540-5915.2010.00279.x.
Zhang K. Z., & Benyoucef M. (2016). Consumer behavior in social commerce: A literature review. Decision Support Systems, 86: 95-108.