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How market pressures and organizational readiness drive digital marketing adoption strategies' evolution in small and medium enterprises

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  • Su, Jingqin
  • Zhang, Yajie
  • Wu, Xianyun

Abstract

In the digital economy, effectively adopting public platforms for digital marketing has become an important source of competitive advantage for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, significant gaps exist in the literature regarding the adoption process' dynamics and strategies' evolution. This in-depth longitudinal embedded case study investigated how market pressures and organizational readiness drive the evolution of strategies pertaining to adopting public platforms for digital marketing. The analysis was structured according to the fundamental logic of the pressure → response → effect path, and an adoption process model was developed. Remarkably, the adoption strategy followed the validation → cloning → foresight path, indicating a stepped iteration. Market pressure and organizational readiness serve as boosters and enablers to drive the process together. The digital technology trajectory left behind revealed a mortise-and-tenon structural characteristic. These insights add to the micro-content of adoption dynamics in the digital context and expand the literature on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework's antecedents. Moreover, they provide practical advice on agile adoption for SMEs, emphasizing the adoption of related technologies based on existing technology functions to explore business opportunities faster than competitors.

Suggested Citation

  • Su, Jingqin & Zhang, Yajie & Wu, Xianyun, 2023. "How market pressures and organizational readiness drive digital marketing adoption strategies' evolution in small and medium enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:193:y:2023:i:c:s0040162523003402
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122655
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