The Impact of E-Commerce on Entry-Mode Strategies of Service Firms: A Conceptual Framework and Research Propositions

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of e-commerce on the entry-mode choice of service firms. On the basis of recent calls for the reconceptualization of marketing theories and concepts with services as a key component, the authors focus on the interface of e-commerce, services marketing, and foreign market entry-mode choice. The authors offer an integrative conceptual framework that explicates the role of e-commerce on the entry-mode choice of service firms, and they propose that several internal and external factors moderate this relationship. The authors derive several research propositions and offer managerial implications and directions for further research in the timely and exciting domain of services marketing.