The World Wide Web possesses unique characteristics which distinguish it in important ways from traditional commercial communications environments. Because the Web presents a fundamentally different environment for marketing activities than traditional media, conventional marketing activities are becoming transformed, as they are often difficult to implement in their present form. In this paper, we discuss the idea that these changes portend an evolution in the "marketing concept" and argue that in order for marketing efforts to be successful in this new medium, a new business paradigm is required. In this new approach, the marketing function must be reconstructed to facilitate electronic commerce in the emerging electronic society underlying the Web. 2 A New Marketing Paradigm for Electronic Commerce The World Wide Web, the first and current networked global implementation of a hypermedia computer-mediated environment (CME), is increasingly being recognized as an important emerging...

Abstract: This paper documents and analyses current literature that considers the barriers and problems experienced by small businesses when attempting to use the World Wide Web for commercial gain. The paper provides a brief introduction describing the evolution of both the internet and World Wide Web. Similarly, the World Wide Web’s potential value to the UK business community and UK economy is considered, and the advantages and benefits that become available to an organisation through the use of the web are discussed. The paper then notes that whilst the advantages offered to a Small Business through the use of the web are well documented, small businesses are often the most ill equipped organisations to capitalise upon them. The reasons for this centre upon the barriers and problems they encounter when they attempt to exploit the web for commercial gain. Consequently, a summary of the barriers they face, as documented within the literature is presented, and based upon its analysis a research agenda is proposed.