Call for Papers (Vol. 1, No. 2)

Special Issue focusing on:
"Product related consumer-to-consumer communication via the Internet"

to be published in April 2004
in the
International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising (IJIMA)
ISSN 1477-5212

Guest Editor: Dr. Kevin Gwinner
College of Business
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66503

The Internet has provided many benefits to consumers. The most often mentioned benefits are the ability to quickly acquire product information and the convenience of purchasing goods and services without visiting a retail store. Another, less researched, element of e-commerce is that it enhances the ability of consumers to articulate their experiences and opinions regarding products and companies to other consumers. This electronic flow of information from consumer-to-consumer is the focus of this special issue.

The most effective websites for facilitating the sharing of consumer-to-consumer information have primarily taken two forms. The first type is a dedicated consumer opinion web site. These web sites, such as epinions.com and ecomplaints.com, offer a forum for consumers to write and archive their consumption experiences with any product or service, as well as providing a powerful search engine for consumers to find and read opinions expressed by others. The second type provides for the expression of opinions regarding the products sold on that web site. For example, Amazon.com encourages consumers to write reviews about books, music, and other products sold on their web site. However, other forms of Internet-facilitated consumer-to-consumer communication exist and continue to evolve.

Despite the growth of this medium of expression, consumer-to-consumer articulations via the Internet have remained an under-researched topic in the marketing literature. This paucity is regrettable because such articulations are closely related to the concept of word-of-mouth communication, which, as has been shown theoretically and empirically in numerous studies, is relevant to the success of goods and services.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

Submission of papers : 01 May, 2003 (New extended deadline)
Notification of acceptance : 01 October, 2003
Publication schedule : April 2004 (Vol.1, No.2)

Papers must not have been published, accepted for publication, or presently be under consideration for publication elsewhere. A standard double-blind review process will be used to select papers for the special issue.

The submitted manuscripts should follow the format as outlined in the "Notes for Intending Authors" found on the IJIMA Website (see URL below).  Electronic submission in Word 6.0+ or PDF format is required.  Please follow the guidelines prescribed by "Submission of papers" on the IJIMA Website.  Accepted papers must follow the guidelines posted at: http://www.icebnet.org/author/ to format the final papers.

For any questions and article submissions, please contact:

Dr. Kevin Gwinner
Guest Editor, IJIMA
College of Business
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66503
(785) 532-2783
[email protected]

For more information on the Journal visit the IJIMA web site:
http://www.icebnet.org/ijima.html