IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i6p4760-d1090506.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of Digital Marketing Adoption on SMEs Sustainable Growth: Empirical Evidence from Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Emmanuel Bruce

    (School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
    Center for West Africa Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Zhao Shurong

    (School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
    Center for West Africa Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Du Ying

    (School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
    Center for West Africa Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • Meng Yaqi

    (School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
    Center for West Africa Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

  • John Amoah

    (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Mostni 5139, 76001 Zlin, Czech Republic)

  • Sulemana Bankuoru Egala

    (School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
    Center for West Africa Studies, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China)

Abstract

Online presence is fast becoming a marketing hub for contemporary businesses. Often known as digital marketing, the phenomenon offers several opportunities to businesses. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are using their online presence to launch stern competitive promotions and interact with consumers. Against the backdrop of the stern competition, digital marketing is being utilized to drive sustainable strategies for SMEs. This study leverages the theory of planned behavior to explore the impact of digital marketing adoption on the sustainable growth of SMEs in Ghana. Using a structured questionnaire and SmartPLS version 3.3 for the data analysis, 533 owners/managers of SMEs in Ghana were drawn to administer the questionnaire. Our findings suggest that, while attitudes toward digital marketing did not influence the intention to use digital marketing, perceived behavior control and subjective norms were found to affect individuals’ intentions to use digital marketing. Additionally, the results proved a direct positive link between subjective norms and actual behavioral use of digital marketing. Finally, the relationship between the actual use of digital marketing and SMEs’ sustainable growth was also proven positive, affirming that digital marketing significantly improved the sustainable growth of SMEs in developing countries. This study contributes to the multiplicity of factors that influence the behavioral tendencies of managers of firms in their quest to adopt digital platforms to enhance their sustainable growth. The study’s results serve as guidelines for prospective adopters of digital platforms as they develop their sustainability strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel Bruce & Zhao Shurong & Du Ying & Meng Yaqi & John Amoah & Sulemana Bankuoru Egala, 2023. "The Effect of Digital Marketing Adoption on SMEs Sustainable Growth: Empirical Evidence from Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-24, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:6:p:4760-:d:1090506
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/4760/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/4760/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephanie Efua Frimpong & Gloria Agyapong & Daniel Agyapong, 2022. "Financial literacy, access to digital finance and performance of SMEs: Evidence From Central region of Ghana," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2121356-212, December.
    2. Duangruthai Voramontri & Leslie Klieb, 2019. "Impact of social media on consumer behaviour," International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 209-233.
    3. MacKenzie, Scott B. & Podsakoff, Philip M., 2012. "Common Method Bias in Marketing: Causes, Mechanisms, and Procedural Remedies," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 542-555.
    4. Guangping Xu & Guangyuan Hou & Jinshan Zhang, 2022. "Digital Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Digital Capability Perspective through Digital Innovation Orientation for Social and Environmental Value Creation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-24, September.
    5. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    6. Rakshit, Sandip & Islam, Nazrul & Mondal, Sandeep & Paul, Tripti, 2021. "Mobile apps for SME business sustainability during COVID-19 and onwards," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 28-39.
    7. Trinugroho, Irwan & Pamungkas, Putra & Wiwoho, Jamal & Damayanti, Sylviana Maya & Pramono, Teddie, 2022. "Adoption of digital technologies for micro and small business in Indonesia," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    8. Seok-Soo KIM, 2021. "Sustainable Growth Variables by Industry Sectors and Their Influence on Changes in Business Models of SMEs in the Era of Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-21, June.
    9. Adi Alsyouf & Abdalwali Lutfi & Mohammad Al-Bsheish & Mu’taman Jarrar & Khalid Al-Mugheed & Mohammed Amin Almaiah & Fahad Nasser Alhazmi & Ra’ed Masa’deh & Rami J. Anshasi & Abdallah Ashour, 2022. "Exposure Detection Applications Acceptance: The Case of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-26, June.
    10. Samwel Macharia Chege & Daoping Wang & Shaldon Leparan Suntu, 2020. "Impact of information technology innovation on firm performance in Kenya," Information Technology for Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 316-345, April.
    11. Sheshadri Chatterjee & Ranjan Chaudhuri & Georgia Sakka & Balakrishna Grandhi & Antonino Galati & Evangelia Siachou & Demetris Vrontis, 2021. "Adoption of Social Media Marketing for Sustainable Business Growth of SMEs in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Role of Leadership Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, November.
    12. Dima Dajani & Saad G. Yaseen & Ihab El Qirem & Hanadi Sa’d, 2022. "Predictors of Intention to Use a Sustainable Cloud-Based Quality Management System among Academics in Jordan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    13. Dan Dumitriu & Gheorghe Militaru & Dana Corina Deselnicu & Andrei Niculescu & Mirona Ana-Maria Popescu, 2019. "A Perspective Over Modern SMEs: Managing Brand Equity, Growth and Sustainability Through Digital Marketing Tools and Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, April.
    14. Sunday C. Eze & Vera C. A. Chinedu-Eze & Clinton K. Okike & Adenike O. Bello, 2020. "Critical factors influencing the adoption of digital marketing devices by service-oriented micro-businesses in Nigeria: A thematic analysis approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Alzubaidi, Hawazin & Slade, Emma L. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2021. "Examining antecedents of consumers’ pro-environmental behaviours: TPB extended with materialism and innovativeness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 685-699.
    16. Judit Nagy & Judit Oláh & Edina Erdei & Domicián Máté & József Popp, 2018. "The Role and Impact of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things on the Business Strategy of the Value Chain—The Case of Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-25, September.
    17. Philbin, Simon & Viswanathan, Radhakrishnan & Telukdarie, Arnesh, 2022. "Understanding how digital transformation can enable SMEs to achieve sustainable development: A systematic literature review," Small Business International Review, Asociación Española de Contabilidad y Administración de Empresas - AECA, vol. 6(1), pages 473-473, May.
    18. Timothy Jung & M. Claudia tom Dieck & Hyunae Lee & Namho Chung, 2020. "Relationships among Beliefs, Attitudes, Time Resources, Subjective Norms, and Intentions to Use Wearable Augmented Reality in Art Galleries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    19. Peter J Jordan & Ashlea C Troth, 2020. "Common method bias in applied settings: The dilemma of researching in organizations," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(1), pages 3-14, February.
    20. Adu-Gyamfi, Gibbson & Song, Huaming & Nketiah, Emmanuel & Obuobi, Bright & Adjei, Mavis & Cudjoe, Dan, 2022. "Determinants of adoption intention of battery swap technology for electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    21. Sun Wubin & Jafaro Arthur & Emmanuel Kwesi Agyapong, 2022. "Financing SMEs in Ghana: evidence of the optimal credit guarantee ratio," International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 15(1), pages 88-95.
    22. Fawad Khan & Kamran Siddiqui, 2013. "The Importance Of Digital Marketing. An Exploratory Study To Find The Perception And Effectiveness Of Digital Marketing Amongst The Marketing Professionals In Pakistan," Romanian Economic Business Review, Romanian-American University, vol. 7(2), pages 221-228, December.
    23. Xiaoyan Teng & Zhong Wu & Feng Yang, 2022. "Research on the Relationship between Digital Transformation and Performance of SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    24. Sheen Low & Fahim Ullah & Sara Shirowzhan & Samad M. E. Sepasgozar & Chyi Lin Lee, 2020. "Smart Digital Marketing Capabilities for Sustainable Property Development: A Case of Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-40, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nicolae Marius Jula & Gabriel Ilie Staicu & Liviu Cătălin Moraru & Dumitru Alexandru Bodislav, 2024. "Toward a Sustainable Development of E-Commerce in EU: The Role of Education, Internet Infrastructure, Income, and Economic Freedom on E-Commerce Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Kwabena Abrokwah-Larbi, 2024. "The nexus between customer value analytics and SME performance in emerging market: a resource-based view perspective," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Aleksandr Ključnikov & Mehmet Civelek & Václav Kupec & Natálie Bruder Badie, 2025. "Breaking down entrepreneurial barriers: exploring the nexus of entrepreneurial behavior, innovation, and bank credit access through the lens of the theory of planned behavior," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-35, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heena Thanki & Sweety Shah & Harishchandra Singh Rathod & Ankit D. Oza & Dumitru Doru Burduhos-Nergis, 2022. "I Am Ready to Invest in Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) Options Only If the Returns Are Not Compromised: Individual Investors’ Intentions toward SRI," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Cudjoe, Dan & Zhu, Bangzhu & Wang, Hong, 2024. "The role of incentive policies and personal innovativeness in consumers' carbon footprint tracking apps adoption in China," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Nketiah, Emmanuel & Song, Huaming & Cai, Xiang & Adjei, Mavis & Adu-Gyamfi, Gibbson & Obuobi, Bright, 2022. "Citizens’ intention to invest in municipal solid waste to energy projects in Ghana: The impact of direct and indirect effects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    4. Qian, Lixian & Yin, Juelin & Huang, Youlin & Liang, Ya, 2023. "The role of values and ethics in influencing consumers’ intention to use autonomous vehicle hailing services," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    5. Tuğba Yeğin & Muhammad Ikram, 2022. "Analysis of Consumers’ Electric Vehicle Purchase Intentions: An Expansion of the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-27, September.
    6. Mohamed Albaity & Mahfuzur Rahman, 2021. "Customer Loyalty towards Islamic Banks: The Mediating Role of Trust and Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-19, September.
    7. Nik Masdek Nik Rozana & Wong Kelly Kai Seng & Mohd Nawi Nolila & Sharifuddin Juwaidah & Wong Wang Li, 2023. "Antecedents of sustainable food waste management behaviour: Empirical evidence from urban households in Malaysia," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 53-77, March.
    8. Nketiah, Emmanuel & Song, Huaming & Obuobi, Bright & Adu-Gyamfi, Gibbson & Adjei, Mavis & Cudjoe, Dan, 2022. "Citizens' willingness to pay for local anaerobic digestion energy: The influence of altruistic value and knowledge," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    9. Ali B. Mahmoud & Dieu Hack-Polay & Nicholas Grigoriou & Iris Mohr & Leonora Fuxman, 2021. "A generational investigation and sentiment and emotion analyses of female fashion brand users on Instagram in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(5), pages 526-544, September.
    10. Umut Ünal & Rıfgı Buğra Bağcı & Mertcan Taşçıoğlu, 2024. "The perfect combination to win the competition: Bringing sustainability and customer experience together," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4806-4824, July.
    11. Christian Linder & Michael Nippa, 2019. "Jumping in at the deep end! The role of motivational forces in starting a new venture," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1363-1391, December.
    12. Xinlu Wen & Marios Sotiriadis & Shiwei Shen, 2023. "Determining the Key Drivers for the Acceptance and Usage of AR and VR in Cultural Heritage Monuments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, February.
    13. Yanqing Song & Han Bao & Shan Shen, 2022. "Understanding the Influence of Initial Values of College Students in Shaping Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Hussein-Elhakim Al Issa, 2020. "The Influence of Education and Environmental Support on Entrepreneurial Intentions," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(4), pages 946-965.
    15. Tancredi Pascucci & Giuseppina Maria Cardella & Brizeida Hernàndez-Sànchez & Jose Carlos Sànchez-Garcìa, 2022. "Environmental Sensitivity to Form a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    16. Li, Fajin & Cheng-Xi Aw, Eugene & Wei-Han Tan, Garry & Cham, Tat-Huei & Ooi, Keng-Boon, 2022. "The Eureka moment in understanding luxury brand purchases! A non-linear fsQCA-ANN approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Hu, Xianfeng & Wang, Shanyong & Zhou, Rongting & Gao, Lan & Zhu, Zujun, 2023. "Policy driven or consumer trait driven? Unpacking the EVs purchase intention of consumers from the policy and consumer trait perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    18. Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski & Åsa Helen Grahn & Håvard Hansen & Heidi Skeiseid, 2020. "The New Ecological Paradigm, Pro-Environmental Behaviour, and the Moderating Effects of Locus of Control and Self-Construal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-15, September.
    19. Ying, Shiyi & Huang, Youlin & Qian, Lixian & Song, Jinzhu, 2023. "Privacy paradox for location tracking in mobile social networking apps: The perspectives of behavioral reasoning and regulatory focus," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    20. Ana Silva & Elisabete Sá & Joaquim Silva & José Carlos Pinho, 2021. "Dance Is for All: A Social Marketing Intervention with Children and Adolescents to Reduce Prejudice towards Boys Who Dance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-15, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:6:p:4760-:d:1090506. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.