Title: The impact of buyer perceptions and situational factors on internet usage

Authors: Thomas Tellefsen, Alan Zimmerman

Addresses: Department of Business, The College of Staten Island, CUNY, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA. ' Department of Business, The College of Staten Island, CUNY, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA

Abstract: The internet is rapidly gaining prominence in business-to-business marketing. As a result, there is a strong need to understand the role that it plays in inter-firm relationships. This paper addresses this issue by examining internet usage from the perspective of industrial buyers. We draw upon conceptual material, as well as a survey of 100 industrial buyers, to examine factors that may affect a buyer|s likelihood of using the internet. The findings suggest that an industrial buyer|s likelihood of using the internet is affected by the buyer|s perceptions of value and trust, as well as situational factors such as product type, decision stage, and the buyer|s overall internet experience. These findings have implications for how industrial marketers design their websites and integrate their internet strategies with their more traditional marketing programmes.

Keywords: business-to-business; B2B; e-commerce; industrial purchasing; value; trust; purchase decision making; product type; website design; internet strategies; buyer perceptions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2004.005018

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2004 Vol.1 No.3, pp.268 - 282

Published online: 23 Aug 2004 *

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