TY - JOUR T1 - Effective Digital Channel Marketing for Cybersecurity Solutions JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2014 A1 - Mika Westerlund A1 - Risto Rajala KW - cybersecurity KW - digital channel marketing KW - marketing KW - retailer KW - sales KW - supplier KW - value-added reseller KW - VAR AB - Smaller organizations are prime targets for hackers and malware, because these businesses lack cybersecurity plans and the resources to survive a serious security incident. To exploit this market opportunity, cybersecurity solution providers need to leverage the power of downstream channel members. We investigate how a supplier's digital channel marketing can encourage value-added resellers to sell that supplier’s cybersecurity solutions. Our analysis of survey data from 109 value-added resellers of a multinational supplier shows that resellers are more committed to stock and sell cybersecurity products and services if the supplier’s digital channel marketing provides tools that help them sell the solutions to end customers. This support is likely needed because cybersecurity offerings are technologically complex and systemic by nature, as supported by the finding that value-added resellers pay little attention to supplier’s campaigns and price discounts. Thus, cybersecurity suppliers should maintain trusted and informative relationships with their resellers and provide them with hands-on sales tools, because a reseller's commitment to selling cybersecurity solutions is linked with their ability to understand the offering and with the extent of their supplier relationship. These findings are in line with previous literature on the challenges perceived by salespeople in selling novel and complex technology. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 4 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/836 IS - 10 U1 - Carleton University Mika Westerlund, D. Sc. (Econ.), is an Assistant Professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business in Ottawa, Canada. He previously held positions as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, in the United States, and in the School of Economics at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. Mika earned his first doctoral degree in Marketing from the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland. He is also a PhD student at Aalto University in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. His current research interests include user innovation, industrial ecology, business strategy, and management models in high-tech and service-intensive industries. U2 - Aalto University Risto Rajala, D.Sc. (Econ), is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. Dr. Rajala holds a PhD in Information Systems Science from the Aalto University School of Business. His recent research concerns the management of complex service systems, development of digital services, service innovation, and business model performance. Rajala’s specialties include management of industrial services, collaborative service innovation, knowledge management, and design of digital services. ER -