Is e-marketing coming of age? An examination of the penetration of e-marketing and firm performance

While the recent international surveys conducted by Barwise and Farley (2005) have led them to claim that e-Marketing (eM) is “starting to come of age,”rdquo; there has been little empirical research about eM's actual impact on marketing practice and performance. We investigate this underresearched area using survey data from U.S. firms collected in 2002 (n = 212) and 2005 (n = 139). Our results confirm Barwise and Farley's finding that there has been an increase in the penetration of eM. We also show that the adoption of eM is positively associated with performance, which supports Day and Bens (2005) contention that firms adopting eM are likely to have competitive advantage. The success of eM largely comes from the support and enhancement of existing marketing practices, so the “coming of age” of eM is, to a large extent, a consequence of its integration with other marketing practices.