Content area
Full text
Interactive marketing in financial services
Edited by Sally Harridge-March
Introduction
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become a very important technological advancement for businesses in changing business practices ([9] Brodie et al. , 2007; ([25] González et al. , 2008; [35] Lichtenstein and Williamson, 2006). This has experienced tremendous growth in recent years as a result of new business initiatives utilising these technologies ([3] Barwise and Farley, 2005). In particular, industries that are information-oriented such as the banking services and securities trading sector are expected to experience the highest growths in e-commerce ([33] Ibrahim et al. 2006; [32] Hughes, 2002). Inevitably, this phenomenon has sparked a lot of attention in the academic literature lately (such as [24] Gan et al. , 2006; [47] Pikkarainen et al. , 2006; [56] Shamdasani et al. , 2008).
Undoubtedly, electronic banking (e-banking) has experienced explosive growth and has transformed traditional practices in banking ([3] Barwise and Farley, 2005; [25] González et al. , 2008; [35] Lichtenstein and Williamson, 2006). [9] Brodie et al. (2007) speculated that these would lead to a massive shift in marketing practices leading to superior business performance. In fact, it has become the main means for banks to market and sell their products and services ([1] Amato-McCoy, 2005) and is perceived to be a necessity in order to stay profitable and successful ([24] Gan et al. , 2006). The changes occurring in the banking sector can be attributed to increasing deregulation and globalization, the major stimulus for rationalization, consolidation, and an increasing focus on costs ([33] Ibrahim et al. , 2006; [30] Hernandez and Mazzon, 2007). One offspring of this has been the rapid development and use of various new and innovative technologies by banks in the form of electronic banking services (e.g. [47] Pikkarainen et al. , 2006; [41] Orr, 1998). The implementation of e-banking, such as internet banking and the use of computer-based office banking software hold several obvious advantages for banks. It improves the bank's profit levels through the reduction of both variable and infrastructure costs, provides a source of differentiation and competitive advantage, provides global reach, adds another communication and feedback channel, increases customer satisfaction through the reduction of waiting times and thus improving service performance, or otherwise enabling the bank to...