중국 이커머스 대행사업 등장과 효과에 대한 질적 연구: 근거이론을 중심으로

China has grown into the world’s largest e-commerce country. Chinese e-commerce and online consumers have unique features, such as 24 hour customer service including real time chatting or phone call, home page productions, and sales & promotions for specific seasons. Due to these features, companies which have been lack of knowledge of Chinese online consumers and business in China have gone through difficulties in their e-commerce business. For this reason, as the e-commerce market in China has grown, the agency services to support e-commerce business have appeared. Especially, marketing companies have entered the e-commerce areas as a new business. This study examines a phenomenon of the entry in the e-commerce business of marketing companies in China. This phenomenon is studied in terms of business diversification perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 experts who have professional knowledge and experience of e-commerce, marketing, and business in China. The results of interviews were analyzed based on the framework of grounded theory. It provides the conceptual framework on the conditions and consequences of marketing companies' e-commerce business from a business diversification perspective. This study implies that the marketing companies’s business extension to the e-commerce area is related to profit improvements. But more importantly, the business extension is considered as a managerial strategy by providing clients with conviction that agency can have any kind of marketing service. Also, this study has managerial implications for companies which do marketing and e-commerce business in China.