Internet marketing research is a rapidly growing area of interest. Many consumers are becoming aware of the power of the Internet and its advantages in business. As a result, a wide range of businesses are turning to the Internet to advertise, distribute information, and sell products. However, a lack of regulation on the internet makes it difficult to obtain objective information. This translates into a lack of clarity when it comes to the internet’s role in public policy. The government is now taking steps to regulate Internet marketing, as a way to ensure consumers are not misled by companies and marketers.
Internet marketing research is a multidisciplinary field. It encompasses both traditional qualitative studies, as well as new approaches to research such as online focus groups and concept testing. These studies can support traditional qualitative methods such as interviews, but also provide unique insights into consumer awareness and product purchase.
Research on the Internet has a history of being published in top-tier marketing journals. The number of articles in these journals has been growing since the early days of the Internet. In fact, 68.5 percent of articles published in the last eight years were Internet marketing related. Of these, only one article appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research.
A literature review of Internet marketing was conducted using the Google Scholar and the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS) citation databases. For each of these databases, researchers searched for a specific time period and key search terms. Ultimately, they analyzed 411 Internet marketing related articles. The results are illustrated in Table 9. They find that the majority of articles were found in the following three areas: Formal Theory/Literature Review, Sample Survey, and Formal Theory/Literature Review.
While these research strategies are likely to be used in future research projects, the study showed that there are gaps in the Internet marketing literature. Among these gaps were a few sub-areas that were not investigated in the current literature. Therefore, these subject areas may present countless opportunities for researchers.
One of the most intriguing findings of this study was the distribution of internet marketing related articles. While this study is hardly a comprehensive study, the results show that the number of articles that have been produced during the past 18 years has significantly increased. This is particularly the case in the US, where internet communication and analytics are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Another area that should be examined in the near future is the role of Internet marketing research in the broader context of the Internet as a medium of trade and information.
Other research strategies that have been employed in the literature include: a special call for papers, and a formal theory/literature review. The special call for papers identified potential target journals for a study, while the formal theory/literature review defined the types of topics under investigation. Similarly, the sample survey is appropriate for early stage research, while the Formal Theory/Literature Review defines the research strategy.