Determinants of Electronic Branding: An Exploratory Study

The issue of how to build and successfully maintain brands on the Internet (electronic branding, e-branding, online branding) has gained significant attention from both researchers and practitioners. This paper analyzes how Austrian companies from different industry sectors manage their e-brands and identify determinants of e-branding. The author uses a framework, which was originally developed by A.T. Kearney (1999), to assess the impact of the online strategy on e-branding. The results of an empirical survey amongst managers from 13 Austrian companies, including dotcoms and multi-channel retailers, illustrate how companies integrate their online marketing strategies into their overall business concepts. Additionally, the managers assess the importance of communication, content and convenience for their company’s e-branding success. Generally speaking, dotcoms see content as the most important success factor. By concentrating on a few cases, the article illustrates how the framework from A.T. Kearney (1999) can be applied for categorizing companies. The paper concludes with suggestions for future refinement.