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The meaning of a DME can be understood through the medium of interaction. The interaction typically occurs through multiple mediums such as social networks, mobile technology, Internet (e.g., email, websites, etc.), and electronic medium (e.g., gaming consoles, information kiosks, etc.). Another way to view these mediums is through the online vs. of ine format. However in making such a comparison, it is important to realize that all mediums have a combination of online and of ine features, the difference being in
the proportion of such features. For instance, the mobile technology (while being a digital medium) has of ine component such as text messages, and online component such as web browsing.
Through the above mentioned mediums of interactions, rms and customers interact via many forms. These forms can also be viewed as the tools of rm-customer interaction, in the
establishment of rm-customer connections. Further, while strides are being made in the academic and practitioner communities to understand and adopt the various forms of interaction, we believe that a deeper investigation into these environmental factors (as applicable in the digital environment) is required to fully understand and develop the rm-customer relationships. In this regard, this article will focus on the environmental factors on two key areas – (a) taking stock of what we know now, and (b) identifying areas of future research studies. This, we believe, will help marketing managers in generating more accurate insights for decision making.
Medium of Interaction
The medium of interaction, as mentioned earlier, refers to the channels or portals through which rms and customers interact. This section provides a discussion
The interactions between rms and customers are typically impacted by environmental factors such as the (a) availability of data and data analysis techniques, (b) pace of technological progress, and (c) privacy and ethics laws.
sense that each
form is designed
and adopted for a
speci c purpose.
For instance, the
communication
form is primarily
used to send and
receive marketing
messages. These
forms of interaction
serve as vital
viaducts for rms
and customers to
share information.
Further, these
interaction forms
can be an offshoot
of multiple mediums
of interaction. For
instance, customers
transact with rms
through mobile phones using the Internet such as in- app purchases. Similarly, marketing messages can be delivered to customers through gaming consoles (purely electronic medium) and shared with other gamers via the multi-player format games (electronic and Internet mediums).
The interactions between rms and customers are typically impacted by environmental factors such as the (a) availability of data and data analysis techniques, (b) pace of technological progress, and (c) privacy and ethics laws. We propose that the status of these factors with respect to the DME improves or impedes the
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on these mediums.
Social networks.
Firms have gained signi cantly by leveraging the possibilities of social networks. Social networks address the three key dimensions that people typically look for while connecting with other people: “who”, “when”
and “what”(Kumar 2013). These three variables constitute “what” people share with “whom” and “when.” Further, questions like how and why they share,
and from where they share add to the understanding
of the patterns of sharing and the users’ psyche. Social networks primarily involve the use of many forms of media to enable functions such as exchanging ideas (e.g., blogs and microblogs), networking (e.g., job search), content sharing (e.g., news, video, audio,
and photo sharing sites), location services (e.g., local networking), promoting products (e.g., websites), providing feedback (e.g., review websites), conducting polls (e.g., online surveys), and so on. Of course, social networks are not limited to the online format. The of ine format of social networks includes user groups (e.g., product user groups), community gatherings (e.g.,