Factors impacting the adoption and effectiveness of the World Wide Web in marketing

With the increased popularity of the World Wide Web, companies are rushing to have a presence on the Web. However, many companies do not know whether the Web will be effective for them, or what they can do to increase its effectiveness. Few empirical studies have been done on what companies can do to increase the adoption and effectiveness of the Web in marketing. By studying the practices of 110 marketers, we found that adoption and effectiveness of the Web can be positively influenced if a company 1) provides formal training to its marketing organization, 2) encourages an effective relationship between the marketing and IS/MIS organization, 3) demonstrates the usefulness of the Web to the marketing organization, and 4) uses younger marketing personnel. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.