amj Australasian Marketing Journal - ANZMAC

Perceptions of Internet Marketing
firms either perceive Internet skills as secondary to other jobrelated
skills or that, since this medium is in its infancy, few
firms have incorporated these skills into their hiring practices.
5.2 Potential Barriers to Internet Marketing
The focus of the second research question was potential barriers
to Internet marketing. Since this medium is in its infancy,
it is important to identify the perceived and real barriers that
impede companies from developing an Internet presence.
Table 3 outlines the potential barriers to Internet marketing
and the chi-square analysis comparing Australian and
Taiwanese responses.
With the exception of difficulty in reaching the target
market, Taiwanese respondents reported more potential
Table 3:
40 Australasian Marketing Journal 9 (1), 2001
barriers to using the Internet. This difference was significant
(p < .05) in nine of the thirteen variables. Consumer reluctance
to purchase on the Web is a major concern in both countries.
5.3 The Future of Internet Marketing
The third research question addressed the future of Internet
marketing.
Table 4 compares predictions of future Internet marketing,
which showed less significant differences than in the two
previous research questions. As a rule, respondents in both
countries see a strong future for Internet Marketing.
More than eight out of ten Australian respondents indicated
that the Internet will be a major source of product information
and seven out of ten replied that the Internet will be a
Respondents who agree with potential barriers to the use of Internet: A comparison of the Australian and the Taiwanese advertising companies
Barriers
Australia Taiwan Chi-square
N = 61 % N = 45 % Sig. Level
Security, privacy, consumer fear 22 36.1 27 60.0 .015
Access, availability to all consumers 28 45.9 22 48.9 N.S a
Computer capabilities 13 21.3 24 53.3 .001
Measuring effectiveness 25 41.0 28 62.2 .031
Difficult to reach/find target market 28 45.9 17 37.8 N.S
Overload of information 27 44.3 28 62.2 N.S.
Difficulty navigating the Web 19 31.1 29 64.4 .001
Maintaining/updating Web sites 22 36.1 34 75.6 .000
Executives fear of technology 21 34.4 31 68.9 .000
Lack of knowledge among consumers 23 37.7 32 71.1 .001
Consumer reluctance to purchase on the Web 37 60.7 30 66.7 N.S
Costs of reaching consumers 6 9.8 20 44.4 .000
Availability of technological experience 20 32.8 26 57.8 .010
a N.S. is no significant difference between Australian and Taiwanese sample