Weaknesses and strengths of online marketing websites

• Published in: Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC 2022-09, Vol.26 (2), p.189-209
• Main Authors: Herrada-Lores, Sara, Iniesta-Bonillo, M. Ángeles, Estrella-Ramón, Antonia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Calidad de contenido; Communication; Connectivity; Customer services; E-commerce; Electronic commerce; Hypotheses; Marketing; Online business; Quality of service; Software quality; Strategic management; Web content quality; Web technical quality; Website strategy; Websites
• ISSN: 2444-9709; 2444-9695; 2444-9709
• DOI: 10.1108/SJME-11-2021-0219

Purpose Websites are the most important element of company strategy in the digital space. Therefore, establishing strategic management of online business is essential to improve firm connectedness and competitiveness and to achieve global company reach. This paper aims to propose the analysis of technical and content quality of websites to identify the main weaknesses and strengths of online business. Design/methodology/approach An innovative measurement instrument called IWebQEI is designed to measure web quality level. This instrument is validated with data from 104 international companies. The results are used to verify whether there are quality differences between informative and e-commerce websites. Findings The main findings indicate that e-commerce websites achieve greater levels of technical and content quality than informative sites, and companies implementing e-commerce pay more attention to the content quality dimension. In contrast, companies using an informative website are more focused on the technical quality dimension. Based on these results, practical insights are offered to improve the strategic management of e-commerce. Originality/value Few studies have focused on analysing the technical and content quality of websites to identify the main weaknesses and strengths of online business. The results offer important theoretical and practical contributions for companies on how to manage their website to improve firm connectivity and competitiveness. Debilidades y fortalezas de los sitios web de marketing online Propósito Los sitios web son el elemento más importante de la estrategia digital de la compañia. Una gestión estratégica del negocio online es esencial para mejorar su conectividad, competitividad y para conseguir su alcance global. Este trabajo propone el análisis de la calidad técnica y de contenido de sitios web para identificar las principales debilidades y fortalezas del negocio online. Metodología Para medir el nivel de calidad web, se ha diseñado un innovador instrumento de medición, denominado IWebQEI. Este instrumento se valida con datos de 104 empresas internacionales. Los resultados se utilizan para comprobar si existen diferencias de calidad entre las webs informativas y los e-commerce. Resultados Las resultados indican que los e-commerce alcanzan mayores niveles de calidad técnica y de contenido que las webs informativas, y las empresas que implementan un e-commerce prestan más atención a la calidad de contenido. En cambio