Title: The role of WWW sites in delivering brand's value: the user-based evaluation

Authors: Rainer Breite, Kaj U. Koskinen

Addresses: Industrial Management and Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Pori, Pohjoisranta 11, P.O. Box 300, FIN-28101 Pori, Finland. ' Industrial Management and Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Pori, Pohjoisranta 11, P.O. Box 300, FIN-28101 Pori, Finland

Abstract: During the last few years, the utilisation of WWW sites has played a significant role in transferring information to the customer and thus supporting the company|s brand making and trustworthiness as a supplier. Therefore, in this paper we introduce a taxonomic model that can be utilised in the estimation of measures needed in the improvement of knowledge communication in different ontological situations, and moreover, in the improvement of a company|s abilities to deliver value to customers via WWW sites. The created model is applied to an empirical study in which the WWW sites of two car brands were compared. The comparison revealed that in spite of the good quality of both WWW sites, differences between them can be found and analysed from the decision-making point of view. The study also highlighted that the reputation of the car brand affects decision-maker|s choices more than the quality of the WWW sites.

Keywords: brand value; knowledge management; WWW sites; world wide web; car sales; internet; trustworthiness; ontology; websites; reputation; taxonomy; knowledge sharing; knowledge transfer.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEMR.2008.016816

International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 2008 Vol.2 No.1, pp.39 - 58

Published online: 24 Jan 2008 *

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