The Antecedents of Digital Marketing Application by Malaysian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

This research focuses primarily on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Malaysia, with special reference to Perak State. It is widely recognised that the adoption and use of digital marketing applications change the ways in which organizations conduct their activities and represent a critical business opportunity for MSMEs. This opportunity will only be realised by MSMEs if, and when, digital marketing is applied to their organizations. This, therefore, creates a requirement to understand the factors that influence MSMEs in making the adoption decision. The research related to such factors is scarce, not least because the technologies are relatively new. By using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, this study, therefore, attempted to understand the predictors/factors influencing the decision making by MSMEs to adopt digital marketing applications. It employed a quantitative approach to meet the research objectives. A survey involving 369 MSMEs in Perak State was conducted to examine empirically the preliminary model. The survey data were analysed using Logistic Regression (LR) technique. Of the factors examined, technological and organizational contexts were found to have a significant influence on MSMEs’ decisions to adopt digital marketing applications. These findings have important implications and value for the research community, MSMEs and policymakers in terms of formulating improved strategies for digital marketing adoption and applications. The resulting research model proposed in this paper/article can improve these stakeholders’understandings on why some MSMEs have chosen to adopt digital marketing technologies, while other MSMEs which face similar market conditions have not.