The Impact of Hybrid Channel Structures on the Customer Purchase Process A Research Outline.pdfVIP

The Impact of Hybrid Channel Structures on the Customer Purchase Process: A Research Outline Daniel Görsch dg.inf@cbs.dk Copenhagen Business School Center for Electronic Commerce Howitzvej 60, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark Abstract Hybrid channel structures enable companies to interact with prospective as well as actual customers using both electronic and conventional channels. These multiple opportunities of contact with customers increase the scope for differentiation and may lead to higher customer retention rates. This paper argues that a combination of electronic and conventional channels allows the provision of value to the customer beyond the ‘core’ product. It discusses how the customer purchase process might be used to identify components of the enhanced value proposition and how these components are affected by hybrid channel structures. It also presents research questions that need to be addressed in order to understand the competitive and strategic implications of hybrid channel structures. Keywords: electronic retailing, purchase process, electronic commerce, hybrid channels 1. Introduction Surveys on the use of electronic channels such as Web stores indicate a high growth of electronic commerce. Conventional channels, on the other hand, still account for the vast majority of retailing. According to the U.S. trade ministry, electronic retailing accounted for less than 1% of 821 billion US$ retailing revenues in the forth quarter 1999 (ECIN, March 6, 2000). Electronic commerce pundits often view electronic retailing as a threat to conventional retailing (e.g. disintermediating conv