Search results

1 – 10 of over 77000
Article
Publication date: 5 March 2024

Ankita Sharma and Swati Sharma

This paper aims to present a review of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) literature on the adoption of technology for marketing with the objective the knowledge trajectory…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a review of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) literature on the adoption of technology for marketing with the objective the knowledge trajectory from SMEs to tourism SMEs (TSMEs) and presents a research agenda for the adoption of digital marketing among TSMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

The quantitative literature review method is adopted to analyze 50 articles published in high-ranking journals from 2011–2021. The selected papers were reviewed to quantitatively present the popular theoretical frameworks, constructs and research methods used for the adoption of digital marketing among SMEs and to present a future research agenda in the context of TSMEs.

Findings

The findings present a review of theoretical approaches, research design, methods, and models used by researchers, and identify new directions for future research in the context of the adoption of digital marketing among TSMEs. The paper presents a theoretical critique of the technology adoption theories and builds on diffusion of innovation theory, technology–organization–environment (TOE), and institutional theory to propose an expanded model to study digital marketing adoption among TSMEs.

Research limitations/implications

The article presents a significant advancement in the theoretical understanding of the adoption of digital marketing by offering the application of the TOE framework with moderating role of mimetic and normative pressures. Thus, the study contributes to the scarce research on institutional theory in the context of services (tourism) and offers an alternative and holistic perception to study digital marketing. The research model serves as an organizing tool for future researchers and practitioners to probe and further augment knowledge development in tourism and TSMEs.

Originality/value

Negligible published work on TSMEs makes this study valuable and the proposed model gives strategic information in the given context.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2007

Geoffrey J. Simmons, Mark G. Durkin, Pauric McGowan and Gillian A. Armstrong

As evidence mounts on the importance of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to national and international economies and the opportunities presented to them by the internet…

3877

Abstract

Purpose

As evidence mounts on the importance of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to national and international economies and the opportunities presented to them by the internet, it becomes important to understand the key issues which determine internet adoption and utilisation. With literature on SME internet adoption fragmented and incoherent, there is also a need for conceptual framework development and testing to provide more focused research in this important area. Several researchers have also highlighted a need for research which concentrates more on specific industrial sectors rather than taking a more generalist approach to SME internet adoption. Within this evolving research context, the agri‐food industry makes a particularly relevant area of study, which this paper aims to study.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper addresses this purpose by conducting a study of 50 Northern Ireland SME agri‐food companies. The study utilises and tests a conceptual framework derived from the extant literature in relation to the determinants of SME web site adoption and utilisation.

Findings

The findings of this study point to the need for SME agri‐food companies to develop an awareness of the internet's efficacy for their business and a subsequent dynamic strategic approach in adoption and utilisation. However, the lack of marketing ability and negative industry norms prevalent within developed economy agri‐food industries will contribute negatively to internet adoption and utilisation. These will need to be addressed if the internet, and web site adoption and utilisation in particular, are to provide an effective business tool. The research findings support the conceptual framework's usefulness as a research tool. The findings point to the importance of marketing ability and industry norms in relation to their impact on the central determinants of internet adoption by the SME agri‐food companies studied.

Originality/value

In this paper it is contended that a lack of marketing ability and negative industry attitudes towards internet adoption and utilisation will constrain levels of awareness of the efficacy of the internet as a business tool for the individual businesses researched. The findings reveal that this will subsequently contribute to a lack of strategic web site development and subsequent utilisation.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 November 2019

Bo Chen, Sayed Saghaian and Mark Tyler

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between US farmers’ adoption of organic farming and direct marketing, both of which are increasingly important practices…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between US farmers’ adoption of organic farming and direct marketing, both of which are increasingly important practices in the US agricultural and food sector. In addition, the effects of the two practices on farm income are evaluated.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses the Agricultural and Resource Management Survey from the US Department of Agriculture. Farmers’ adoption of the two practices is modeled with a simultaneous linear probability model, which accounts for the possible linkage between the adoption of the two practices in farmers’ decision-making process. Farm income is modeled with a linear regression model, accounting for the possible endogeneity of the adoption of the two practices.

Findings

The main finding is that farmers’ adoption of organic farming decreases their probability of adopting direct marketing, whereas the reverse effect is insignificant. In addition, organic farming helps to improve gross farm income, whereas the effect of direct marketing is insignificant.

Practical implications

These results facilitate better coordination among numerous government programs aimed at promoting organic farming or direct marketing in the US.

Originality/value

This paper extends previous literature by specifically accounting for the possible linkage between farmers’ adoption of organic farming and direct marketing, and demonstrates that farmers do not make the decision to adopt one particular practice in isolation.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 122 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 November 2019

Hepu Deng, Sophia Xiaoxia Duan and Feng Luo

Understanding the critical determinants for the adoption of electronic markets (e-markets) is significant for the development of sustainable electronic business. The purpose of…

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding the critical determinants for the adoption of electronic markets (e-markets) is significant for the development of sustainable electronic business. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical determinants for the adoption of e-markets in Australian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for electronic business.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive review of the related studies is conducted. That leads to the development of a conceptual model for exploring the critical determinants for the adoption of e-markets in Australian SMEs. Such a model is then tested and validated using structural equation modelling on the survey data collected, leading to the identification of the critical determinants for e-market adoption in Australian SMEs.

Findings

The study reveals that perceived direct benefit, perceived trust, top management support and external pressures are critical for the adoption of e-markets in Australian SMEs. Perceived indirect benefit and organization readiness are insignificant for the adoption of e-markets.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to existing electronic business research by enriching the understanding of the critical determinants for the adoption of e-markets in Australian SMEs. Such a study provides government departments, e-market operators and SMEs with practical guidelines for the better use of e-markets in electronic business.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2012

Xiaoxia Duan, Hepu Deng and Brian Corbitt

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical investigation of the critical determinants for the adoption of e‐market in Australian small‐and‐medium sized enterprises…

1833

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical investigation of the critical determinants for the adoption of e‐market in Australian small‐and‐medium sized enterprises (SMEs) within the technology‐organization‐environment (TOE) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model is proposed for better understanding the adoption of e‐market in Australian SMEs. Structural equation modelling is used for testing and validating the proposed conceptual model based on the survey data collected from Australian SMEs. A logistic regression analysis is conducted for identifying the relationship between the critical determinants and the adoption of e‐market in Australian SMEs.

Findings

A positive relationship is identified between the perceived direct benefit, top management support, external pressure, trust and the adoption of e‐market in Australian SMEs. The top management support emerges as the most critical determinant. The perceived indirect benefit, size and organization readiness, however, do not show a significant influence on the adoption of e‐market in Australian SMEs.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on the investigation of the critical determinants in the adoption of e‐market in Australian SMEs. In order to gain an holistic understanding of the e‐market adoption in Australian SMEs, the impact of adopting e‐market on the performance of SMEs should be examined. Furthermore, this study does not distinguish the adoption of e‐market in SMEs between Australian metropolitan and rural areas. SMEs located in rural areas by the nature and location own specific characteristics such as a limited access to resources and less influenced by external pressure. The issues of their concern in the adoption of e‐market might be different from those located in metropolitan areas.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the e‐market adoption research in proposing and validating a research model for the e‐market adoption within the TOE framework, and by highlighting the criticality of the determinants of adopting e‐market in Australian SMEs.

Article
Publication date: 26 April 2019

Sunday C. Eze, Vera C. Chinedu-Eze, Adenike Oluyemi Bello, Henry Inegbedion, Tony Nwanji and Festus Asamu

The popularity and use of mobile marketing technologies or devices have led to significant interest from researchers and practitioners, particularly in small- and medium-sized…

2179

Abstract

Purpose

The popularity and use of mobile marketing technologies or devices have led to significant interest from researchers and practitioners, particularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where these technologies offer significant benefits to SMEs given the poor human capital and financial constraints encountered. The use of mobile marketing devices assists SMEs to boost their sales promotion strategies which aim at increasing the sales of their products and services. However, there has been limited focus on developing a suitable framework that enables the evaluation and shared an understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of mobile marketing technology by service SMEs in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a theoretically grounded framework for exploring these factors and explaining their impact on mobile marketing technology adoption in SMEs in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is qualitative and used both unstructured and semi-structured interviews with a total of 26 participants drawn purposively from NIJA database in Nigeria. Thematic analysis was deployed in analysing the data.

Findings

The study developed an extended technology organisation environment (TOE) framework by incorporating the value anticipation context which helped to unveil 16 key factors influencing mobile marketing technology adoption in service SMEs in Nigeria. The finding revealed that factors associated with the extended TOE framework have an impact on SMEs mobile le marketing technology adoption but at different levels.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study emerged because of the use of qualitative methodologies about the research design, rigour in the collection and management of the large volume of the raw data, the data analysis and the credibility of the findings. This may lead to unforeseen respondent and research bias in the data analysis, which may lead to a limited understanding of alternatives and insights into the factors influencing the adoption of mobile marketing. Hence, other measures and approaches such as case study and mix-method could be deployed to validate the findings further. Also, one of the limitations of qualitative study has been the issue of theoretical generalizability of the framework. The generalizability of the formwork needs to be established across a broader range of the population. Future studies may apply confirmatory statistical techniques to test and ascertain the validity and reliability of the framework across a broader population of mobile marketing technology adopters in Nigeria. Such studies may be used as a benchmark for the theoretical constructs and the factors that may lead to the success or failure of mobile marketing technology adoption.

Originality/value

The study had further enriched TOE framework and provided an analytical dimension for exploring the adoption of mobile marketing technology. It also demonstrates the capacity to provide a reliable explanation of the factors and serves as a tool for evaluating the benefits or challenges of mobile marketing technology adoption in SMEs in Nigeria.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Michael Johnson

Recent changes in the UK political landscape have brought about cuts in public sector spending. Local authorities, in common with other public sector agencies, are required to…

2026

Abstract

Purpose

Recent changes in the UK political landscape have brought about cuts in public sector spending. Local authorities, in common with other public sector agencies, are required to make significant cost savings over the coming years. Procurement is an area of public sector administration characterised by considerable costs and inefficiency where the adoption of innovative technologies, such as e‐markets, can be deployed to effect significant costs savings. However, there are many barriers to the adoption of such technologies. The purpose of this paper is to explore and expound the factors that impede local authorities from adopting e‐markets and to present a learning opportunity for procurement managers and other stakeholders involved in technology adoption in local government and the wider public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study based on in depth interviews with 17 senior level executives in e‐markets and local authorities on barriers to e‐market adoption in the local government sector is presented. The interviews were transcribed and subsequently coded and analysed using the qualitative data analysis software QSR N6.

Findings

A number of factors (risk perception, knowledge deficits, trust, firm size, and organisational readiness) pertaining to Johnson's framework of e‐market adoption barriers were found to affect e‐market adoption and use in the local government sector. Importantly, the study also found factors that are idiosyncratic to the sector that impinged on e‐market adoption.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of the study is limited to examining such barriers from a buy‐side local authority perspective, the findings of which may have implications for the adoption of e‐markets and other e‐procurement technologies in the wider public sector and beyond. The paper also makes a contribution to the literature on e‐market adoption by adding to the body of knowledge relating to institutional theory.

Practical implications

The case study can help local authority and other public sector procurement managers, academic researchers, practitioners, consultants and other professionals involved in technology adoption better understand, and find practical ways to offset, the barriers that impinge on the adoption of e‐markets and other innovative technologies that can reduce costs within public sector organisations.

Originality/value

E‐market adoption has the potential to realise a number of significant cost saving benefits within and between organisations. However, such benefits cannot be realised if there are barriers to their adoption and full utilisation. To date, research on the dynamics of e‐market adoption has largely focused on private sector enterprises with few studies examining this phenomenon in public sector environments. Therefore, e‐market adoption in the public sector has received limited attention in the literature over the past decade. This study examines, and provides empirical evidence of, barriers to e‐market uptake and usage in the local government sector in order to act as a starting point to creating better understanding of such barriers among academic and practitioner audiences.

Abstract

Details

Review of Marketing Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7656-1306-6

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2023

Ankita Sharma and Swati Sharma

This study examines the vital factors that influence digital marketing adoption among small travel agencies (brick-and-mortar) and the impact of digital marketing adoption on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the vital factors that influence digital marketing adoption among small travel agencies (brick-and-mortar) and the impact of digital marketing adoption on organizational performance modeled as a formative-formative HOC.

Design/methodology/approach

This empirical study builds on diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework to identify the factors of digital marketing adoption by small travel agencies. Data were collected from 226 small travel agents in India using purposive and snowball sampling. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the reflectively and formatively measured constructs.

Findings

The findings reveal significant constructs of digital marketing adoption by small travel agencies. The study also establishes the positive impact of digital marketing adoption on organizational performance. Trust partially mediates the impact of technological factors (relative advantage, security concerns) and organizational factor (knowledge) on digital marketing adoption.

Research limitations/implications

The study provides methodological contribution to the literature by applying confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) approach in PLS-SEM. The study contributes to the literature by integrating DOI theory and TOE framework. The study enriches the literature on trust as it recognizes the crucial role of trust as a mediating construct.

Practical implications

The study provides useful implications to marketing practitioners of small travel agencies. The study shows strong predictive capacity and can be generalized throughout diverse samples.

Originality/value

The study adds value to the literature as it explores the digital marketing adoption among the under researched small travel agencies by integrating DOI-TOE theory. The study uniquely proposes and validates organizational performance as a formative-formative higher-order construct.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Dipanjan Goswami, Sakun Boon-Itt, Neera Jain and D.R. Agarwal

The quality and reliability of medical communication for branded drug adoption is extremely critical, not only for safeguarding patient interests but also for ensuring successful…

Abstract

Purpose

The quality and reliability of medical communication for branded drug adoption is extremely critical, not only for safeguarding patient interests but also for ensuring successful investments by multinational pharmaceutical firms. This paper predicts doctors’ prescribing intentions based on communication relationship among factors for late entrant branded drugs, compared with pioneering brand choice, for treating chronic diseases such as hypertension.

Design/methodology/approach

The constructs were validated with structural equation model for a sample set of 151 doctors from private hospitals in the National Capital Region of India.

Findings

This research reveals communication drivers and draws on theory to suggest that the doctor’s behavioural prescription intentions, subject to social influence from their colleagues, leads to lower adoption responses.

Research limitations/implications

Given that limitations on sample size are often unavoidable, this study reveals that, due to the availability of substituting brands, alternate therapeutic routes and lack of availability of a practical guide for prescription, a communication model needs to be developed and validated.

Practical implications

Furthermore, managers of pharmaceutical firms should differentiate between the effects of direct and indirect communication–integration efforts for minimizing uncertainty in drug adoption in the context of the fragmented and unpredictable Indian market.

Originality/value

A late entrant may lose its dominant market share to alternate brands from other suppliers due to communication gaps in an unstructured market, leading to low adoption intentions. The study provides business theorists, drug marketers and health-care professionals with unique insights into specific communication drivers of prescribing decisions, aimed at ensuring reliable and appropriate drug adoption in Indian markets.

Details

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6123

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 77000