Identifying internet marketing principles relevant to generic marketers
Abstract
To deliver the type of marketing graduate that meets industry demand necessitates that
marketing curricula content be continuously updated to keep pace with the dynamic
marketing environment. One of the major trends influencing the twenty-first century
marketing environment is the advent of the Internet and substantial growth in Internet
usage and Internet-based commerce. Not only is the Internet driving major marketing
environmental change, it is also emerging as a new marketing tool of significant
potential. The widespread implications of the Internet to marketing is making it
increasingly necessary for general marketing practitioners, even those not actively
engaged in Internet-based commerce, to be equipped with an understanding of Internet
marketing principles.
For marketing education to remain relevant in the twenty-first century, it is essential that
Internet marketing content elements be included in undergraduate generic marketing
curricula. The first step in this process, and the one addressed by this study, is to identify
and reach consensus on which Internet marketing content elements are relevant to generic
undergraduate marketing students.
The primary purpose of this study was to develop an empirically derived inventory of
Internet marketing content elements relevant for inclusion in generic undergraduate
marketing programmes, based upon both marketing academic and marketing practitioner
perspectives. Five focal questions were asked and answered by the study.
*Which Internet-driven marketing environmental changes do marketing academics
consider relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students?
*Which principles guiding the use of Internet as a marketing tool do marketing
academics consider relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students?
*What do marketing academics consider to be the most suitable approach to
implementing Internet marketing principles within higher education
undergraduate business programmes?
*What do marketing academics consider to be the relevant Internet marketing
learning outcomes for generic marketing students at undergraduate level?
*Do marketing practitioners hold the same opinion as marketing academics
regarding research questions one, two, three and four?
For the purpose of this study, research was undertaken amongst two groups of
respondents. Firstly, a census of the marketing faculties/departments of each of South
Africa's public higher education institutions was taken at the end of 2004. Secondly, a
non-probability, judgement sample of marketing practitioners, employed in those
companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), that engage in marketing
activities and which are operational in the South African market was taken at the start of
2005. The questionnaire requested respondents in both samples to indicate the relevance
of five identified Internet-driven marketing environmental changes and twenty-four
identified principles guiding the use of the Internet as a marketing tool to generic
undergraduate marketing students. Further, both samples were requested to select the
approach they judged to be the most suitable in implementing Internet marketing
. principles within undergraduate business programmes. Respondents in both samples
were also requested to indicate which Internet marketing learning outcomes they believed
to be relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students. In addition, both samples
were asked to provide certain demographical data.
The findings indicate that both the Internet-driven marketing environmental change's
construct and the principles guiding the use of the Internet as a marketing tool construct
to be relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students. The findings further suggest
that Internet marketing content elements should be integrated into existing marketing
subject offerings. Regarding the learning outcomes, the findings indicate descriptive
Internet marketing principles to be the overriding learning outcome. In addition, there
was a high convergence between the attitudes of marketing practitioners and the attitudes
of marketing academics regarding the relevance of Internet marketing content elements to
generic undergraduate marketing students, as well as the selected implementation method
and suggested learning outcomes.
This study serves to advance generic undergraduate marketing education by identifying a
comprehensive inventory of Internet marketing content elements within the framework of
general marketing theory. The study offers a balanced view in that it incorporates the
opinions of both marketing academics and marketing practitioners. The inventory of
Internet marketing content elements, together with the suggested implementation method
and learning outcomes, can be used as a platform to guide the structured integration of
these elements into generic undergraduate marketing programmes.
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