E-Commerce Marketing Mix Effects on Online Patronage: A Meta-Analysis
(R2022-111770)

AUTHORS

Benjamin Klink, University of St.Gallen; Thomas Rudolph, University of St. Gallen, Institute of Retail Management

ABSTRACT

Since the advent of the internet, e-commerce has disrupted consumer shopping habits globally. Synchronously, leaps in marketing technology multiplied the range of marketing tools available to e-tailers. However, the comparative effectiveness of e-commerce marketing activities unfortunately remains elusive – despite a wealth of research on the matter. In response to this void, we meta-analytically investigate the effect of 62 marketing tools, clustered in 10 e-commerce mix dimensions, on online patronage. Our meta-analytical review synthesizes 644 distinct datasets from 591 data sources, yielding 1780 individual bivariate effect sizes based on 11493298 observations. Our results offer substantial insights for e-commerce marketing practice with regards to the effectiveness of marketing tools and marketing budget allocation decision-making. With regards to the research community, we provide a comprehensive review of the current status-quo of online patronage research, a quantitative synthesis of the cumulative evidence, and point toward potentially fruitful avenues for further research.