Dissertation Idea Paper

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Professional Studies in Computing

at

Pace University

School of Computer Science & Information Systems

by

Carol Scovotti

December 1999

A firm determines strategy based on a combination of organizational characteristics, perceived needs and opportunities, and environmental factors. This study will identify and examine the factors and conditions that influence Internet strategy decisions, specifically the decision of consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, to sell or not sell their products to consumers via the Internet. The idea is to develop a model of the important factors that influence the Internet retailing decisions among large, nationally recognized manufacturers and retailers of durable consumer goods in seven different industries. The predictive powers of the SIRFS (Strategic Internet Retail Factor Synthesis) model will be tested using data captured from interviews with senior managers responsible for Internet strategy decisions in the firms sampled.

This study will focus on the following:

• The degree to which an organization considers its web site to be strategic
• The key factors or conditions that influence online retailing decisions among consumer goods manufacturers and retailers
• The development and testing of the SIRFS model that predicts if, when and how much of a manufacturer’s or retailer’s products would be sold online given the its response to questions about the key factors and conditions found to influence online retailing strategy

A firm determines strategy based on the combination of organizational characteristics, perceived needs and opportunities, and environmental factors [15, 21, 160]. Strategy can be defined in many ways. In studies involving the impact of technology driven innovations, such as the use of databases in managing customer communications, an application, activity or direction is considered strategic if it changes the firm’s product or the way it competes in its industry [69, 76, 77, 78]. With the Internet economy now estimated at $301 billion in revenue and with 1.2 million Americans employed in Internet-related fields, it follows that a firm’s web site is becoming an important component in its overall strategy [42, 150].

Practitioners and academics have created classification systems to identify how an organization uses its web site. For example, Ainscough and Luckett [1] developed a topology with four broad categories of web site usage: interactive brochure, information clearing house, customer service tool and virtual storefront. Griffith and Kramph [55] categorized web sites as being used for customer service, communications or online sales. In his dissertation on the strategic evaluation of electronic commerce technologies, Raisinghani [116] proposed a framework classifying web strategy as being virtual information space, virtual communications space, virtual distribution space or virtual transaction space. Quelch and Klein [115] suggested that web site strategy follows an evolutionary path with the starting point depending on whether or not the company existed prior to discovering an opportunity using the Internet. Startups (referred to as web-based businesses) generally begin by selling products via the Internet and then move toward providing more information and services. Existing companies (referred to as web-enabled businesses) start by providing information with some moving into product sales. While terminology and topology vary among these Internet strategy classification models, all make a distinction between those that use their sites to sell to consumers and those that do not.

According to the Hobbes Internet Timeline, for almost a decade the news media has reported on how organizations use the Internet as a channel for commerce [168]. Business journals are filled with case studies of companies using web sites to provide customer service or sell goods online. Scholarly research has identified, isolated and studied the impact of individual factors like product characteristics [80, 109], brand recognition [2, 46, 148, 156], use of the Internet’s a-spatial and a-temporal attributes [55, 109, 157], and influence of marketing channel member relationships [26, 47, 58, 128, 129, 142] on web site strategy. All of these works provide important building blocks in understanding the dynamics within each individual factor involved in determining web site strategy.

However, all of these studies fail to address how these factors interrelate with each other. What happens when another factor, such as direct marketing experience, is introduced? I believe that focusing on just one factor is insufficient in determining how web site strategy is formed. The more important issue is how various factors relate to each other. This study will focus on the elicitation of and interrelationships among factors that influence consumer goods and retailers’ decision to sell or not sell products via their web sites.

Companies adopt online retailing at different points in the development of their Internet strategies. Companies like Lands’ End, Dell Computer and Avon Products have sold products to consumers via their web sites since their sites went up. When the decision was made to establish the site, the intention was to use it to sell most if not all of their products to the general public. In this study, companies that have operated online stores for at least 50 percent of the time they have had a web site are considered experienced online retailers.

For a growing number of companies, web strategy evolves into online retailing. Companies like Adidas, Compaq Computer and Clinique have followed Quelch and Klein’s proposition that many web-enabled firms move from only providing information to selling products online. Compaq, Mary Kay and others previously went on record stating that they would not sell products to consumers online [99]. Yet, pressure caused by competitive actions prompted them to change their plans and establish online stores. In this study, companies that have operated an online store for less than 50 percent of the time they have had a web site are considered transitional online retailers.

However, the majority of large companies still do not offer consumers an online retailing option. In a study published by Deloitte and Touche [123], only 22 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered basic online retailing applications in 1999. Most sites offered passive information like company brochures or product specifications. Spokespeople from companies like Tupperware and Electrolux have publicly stated that the decision not to sell online was ‘strategic’ in nature [99]. In this study, companies that do not sell products online are considered information/service providers.

Experienced online retailers, transitional online retailers and information/service providers that offer no online retailing are commonly found among manufacturers and retailers in the same industry. For example, Avon Products has sold all of its cosmetic products from its beauty division direct to consumers via Avon.com since it was first established in early 1997. Mary Kay Cosmetics established MaryKay.com almost two years before Avon but did not begin selling online until 1999. The amount of product sold online is up to the discretion of each individual Mary Kay sales consultant. Revlon.com was established in 1997 and provides only company and product information.

Why do companies that manufacture and/or sell similar products and target similar consumer segments have such different web site strategies? For example, a consumer may purchase any athletic shoe manufactured by Asics Tiger at any time on the company’s web site but only an occasionally featured model on the Nike site. Both have similar retail distribution strategies. Their products are found in specialty stores, general retailers and department stores. Yet each uses the Internet for different purposes – Asics for sales, Nike for providing information.

• What factors or conditions influence the decision to use or not use the Internet as a retail channel?
• How does a manufacturer or retailer determine which and how much of its product line to offer?
• How important is the web site in the overall business strategy?

This study will focus on the following:

• The degree to which an organization considers its web site to be strategic
• The key factors or conditions that influence online retailing decisions among consumer goods manufacturers and retailers
• The development and testing of the Strategic Internet Retail Factor Synthesis (SIRFS) model that predicts if, when and how much of a manufacturer’s or retailer’s products would be sold online given the its response to questions about the key factors and conditions found to influence online retailing strategy

This study will show that the difference in perception of strategic importance as well as other influential factors and conditions explain why some companies have embraced the Internet as a means of selling to consumers while others have not.

This study will serve both practitioners and scholars in several ways. First, it will identify the factors that organizations consider important when determining web site strategy. To date, there has been no empirical work on how organizational and environmental factors impact web site strategy. While many have hypothesized about the importance of variables, such as type of goods, distribution channel structure and competitive activities on Internet retailing decisions [2, 80, 98, 109, 128], no one has systematically evaluated such factors individually or in conjunction with each other. This study will attempt to fill that void.

Second, it will identify factors and conditions that best differentiate between experienced Internet retailers, transitional Internet retailers and those who use their web sites for proposes other than completing sales transactions. The collection of factors affecting each of these classifications of users are the building blocks for the SIRFS model, which is critical in predicting a manufacturer’s best web sales strategy.

Third, the SIRFS model will provide insight for strategic planners who must allocate resources, define strategy and measure outcomes. Using easy-to-compile information about the firm, its products and its environment, SIRFS will help manufacturers and retailers determine if, when, and how extensive their involvement in Internet retailing should be.

A researcher views the Internet much like a gourmet views a buffet of finely prepared foods. The areas open to exploration are vast and the possibilities are exciting. However, just as the gourmet cannot consume all of the dishes of an extensive buffet in a single sitting, a researcher cannot address all of the aspects of the Internet in one study.

To enhance the utility of this research, the scope of this study will be limited in several ways. First, it will focus exclusively on the web sites of companies that manufacture and/or sell goods to consumers. Companies involved in strict business-to-business activities will not be included. Extranet and intranet activities of participating companies are also excluded. While business-to-business online trade far exceeds consumer purchases, (according to Forrester Research, business-to-business trade over the Internet in 1998 reached $43 billion while consumers spent $7 billion), the use of intranets and extranets make it difficult for an outsider to experience the commerce portions of these Internet sites. All participants in this study will have web sites that are accessible to the general public via a standard (e.g. dial up, cable modem, DSL, etc.) Internet connection.

Also, all of the companies participating in this study will be either American- or Canadian-based. Although e-commerce is growing around the world, the greatest concentration of consumer goods manufacturers and retailers with a web presence is still found in North America. Using this geographic restriction will reduce the complexity of data collection and increased the homogeneity of the subjects.

The focus of this study is on web strategies of large manufacturers and retailers of highly recognized brand-name consumer durable goods. Durable goods are defined as those that last over an extended number of uses such as appliances, consumer electronics and apparel [15]. Nondurables like food products and fuel as well as services are excluded, as are regional and lesser-known brands.

The SIRFS model will be a tool to help business managers involved in consumer goods manufacturing and retailing predict whether or not they have the interest, facilities and skill sets to sell their products to consumers online. The SIRFS model will be created, tested and verified in stages.

This study will utilize both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in the creation and testing of the SIRFS model. Combining qualitative with quantitative methodologies is known as triangulation. Creswell defines triangulation as the use of multiple and different sources, methods and theories to corroborate evidence [29]. The purpose is to reduce the risk of distortions inherent in the use of only one method because no single method is free from threats to its validity [16].

Creswell defines qualitative research as:

Burns and Bush define quantitative research as:

The grounded theory approach will be used to identify factors and conditions that impact a firm’s Internet retailing decision. Findings from the qualitative approach will be used to create the SIRFS model and develop a suitable measurement instrument. Structural equation modeling will then be used to analyze the quantitative data captured through the SIRFS Input Questionnaire in order to determine the accuracy of the model in predicting web site retailing strategy.

A qualitative approach is being used in the first stage of this study because, as Rudestam and Newton explain, qualitative methods seek to understand phenomena in their entirety in order to develop a complete understanding of a situation [126]. Since no theory currently exists to explain why a firm decides to sell or not sell their products via their web sites, in depth discussions with practitioners who have made Internet retailing decisions are needed to uncover the critical factors and create the model. Given that no empirically substantiated theory about how companies make their Internet retailing strategy decisions exists, an approach that is not dependent on a theoretical framework provided by previous works is necessary.

The grounded theory approach is useful in such situations. The grounded theory approach is used in circumstances where subject matter is known but only in general terms [37]. In grounded theory, "general terms" are known as the general disciplinary perspective of the study. The intent of this approach is to generate or discover theory through an iterative process of data collection and analysis. Creswell describes data collection in a grounded theory study as a "zigzag" process where the researcher goes out into the field and gathers information, analyzes the data, then gathers more information, analyzes the data, and so forth [29]. The ultimate result from this qualitative approach is a theory closely related to the context of the event being studied.

As previously mentioned, the SIRFS model will be a tool to help managers determine Internet retailing strategy for large consumer goods manufacturers and retailers. Criteria for inclusion in the study will be:

• Consumers utilized the goods manufactured and/or sold by the company. Organizations selling in the business-to-business marketplace were eliminated because organizational buyer behavior causes a company to develop a different marketing strategy.
• Goods manufactured and/or sold by the company were more durable in nature. By using durability of goods as a selection criterion, food products, fuel and other products used within a limited number of uses are excluded. This restriction also eliminates organizations classified as service providers.
• Companies existed prior to the development of their web sites. This eliminates web-based companies from the study.
• Products manufactured and/or sold by the company are nationally recognized brands. This criterion eliminates firms with regional and lesser-known brands.
• Annual gross revenue exceeded $50 million. This eliminatedssmall, niche and lesser-known firms.
• All companies had maintained web site accessible to the general public through standard Internet connection methodologies. Companies fulfilling all the above criteria but with no web sites will be excluded from the study. By excluding such firms, the study will be able to distinguish between intended and actual actions.
• Competition exists among multiple companies in the same industry.
• All companies have operations in North America.

To insure that results would not be skewed because of a particular industry’s use of the Internet, companies from several industries will be selected for inclusion in the study. The specific industries chosen for inclusion are apparel, small and large appliances, computer hardware, consumer electronics, cosmetics, footwear and sporting goods.

Several different business directories, such as Standard Directory of Advertisers, Thomas Register and Simmons Report will be utilized to determine how many companies fit these criteria in the selected industries. The goal is to have enough companies to obtain a representative sample from each industry.

A three-stage multi-firm field study will be conducted to gather data for this study. A small set of specific subjects will be hand-selected from the sample set for the first stage of the research process, while stages two and three will use a random selection

In the first stage, a small set (10-20) large, nationally known, brand name manufacturers and retailers in apparel, appliances, consumer electronics and cosmetics will be identified and interviewed from the sample set Specific companies within each industry will selected to represent different experience and interest levels with online retailing. One company in each industry will have significant experience as an online retailer while the second will have recently changed the strategy of their web site to include retailing functions. The third uses its web site strictly as an information/service site and provided consumers no means of purchasing their products online.

Initial data collection in this stage will take place through a series of semi-structured, in depth interviews averaging 60 minutes in length. Participants will be senior managers responsible for the formulation and management of web site activities for their companies. Interviews will focus on when and why the site was established; whom it was intended to serve; what was offered; and if/how success of the site was measured. Participants will be asked about their personal opinions and company activities relating to online retailing, specifically the degree to which the site has changed the way the company conducts its business; whether the site replaced or supplemented business procedures and processes; and the factors that influenced their decisions to sell or not sell to consumers online.

Utilizing a panel of experts to capture and analyze data on an ongoing basis is known as the Delphi technique. Williams, Rice and Rogers describe this method as a research approach that uses the consensus of a panel of experts. Each panel member possesses knowledge about a certain aspect of the research without overlapping the other experts so that the pooling of opinions adds up to a multifaceted forecast [163]. Hibbert and Liu suggest that the Delphi method should be used when no past data is available and a panel of experts willing to participate over an extended period of time is available [64].

Once the model has been created, hypotheses formed and qualitative characteristics of the predictor variables have been identified, questions and scales to measure the predictor and outcome variables will be developed. Since predictor and outcome variables have never received empirical attention in a retailing or Internet retailing context, extensive scale development will be necessary

The final task to be completed by all Delphi group members is completion of the SIRFS Input Questionnaire. This will help determine how well the instrument worked. It is expected that the Delphi group members will be helpful in the development of the development of the survey instrument because they will have understood the constructs being researched. Secondly, having them complete the questionnaire provided important quantitative data that had not yet been obtained from this group.

During the second stage of the research process, a more structured round of interviews will be conducted. The nature and purpose of these interviews is different from those in the first stage. In addition to semi-structured discussions about their web sites and opinions of online retailing, stage two participants will complete the SIRFS Input Questionnaire. It is expected that telephone interviews during this stage will average 45 minutes in length.

The goal in stage two is to gain sufficient data to test and refine the SIRFS model. Results of this round of interviews will be compiled and shared with members of the Delphi group. Based on their results and opinions, refinements to the model and the survey instrument will be made.

As a final step in the research process, the SIRFS Input Questionnaire will be mailed to additional companies that did not participate in stages one and two. Results from the third stage will be used to confirm the findings and provide validity generalization to the model.

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