Sources of global e-tail advantage: relationships among orientations, resources, and performance

Retail e-commerce continues to grow as an important channel of distribution in the global business environment. Annual U.S. e-tail sales revenue growth of 22.2 percent between 2004 and 2005 strongly outpaced the total retail sales growth of 6.3 percent during the same period (U.S. Census Bureau 2007). Similar and often greater growth rates are common in other markets globally. Despite the growth of e-tailing, many e-tailers struggle to understand how to create customer value and gain competitive advantage (Larson 200 I)