Digital Marketing in Small and Medium Enterprises: Evidence from the Industrial Supplies Sector in Singapore

Chin, Kwee Yong

Abstract

In this digital age, technology has affected many company businesses, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs). From the perspective of resource-based theory (RBT), SMEs inherently possess limited resources reducing the companies’ competitiveness in the marketplace. In the Singapore business environment, it becomes tough particularly for the industrial supplies SMEs. These companies are heavily dependent on their relationship-based networks (RBN) for surviving their businesses. Despite the Singapore government’s initiatives to encourage the industrial supplies SMEs to digitalise their marketing efforts, the response has been lukewarm which can be detrimental to their business sustainability in a competitive market space.
This study burrows in-depth into understanding the role of digital marketing as a strategic tool for industrial supplies SMEs in Singapore. This would allow SME owners/managers to comprehend the role of digital marketing (DM) tools in forging a sustainable competitive advantage for these companies. The data for this study was collected by conducting 10 semi-structured interviews through purposive sampling. Six owners/managers of the industrial supplies SMEs in Singapore and four customers with digital marketing capabilities were selected for the interviews. This dyadic approach was applied to improve the validity of this study.
The study findings of this thesis would enrich the digital marketing literature. A novel approach was posited by combining the RBT and RBN as the underpinning theories to investigate the role of digital marketing in forging competitive advantages for industrial supplies SMEs in Singapore. This thesis recommends DM tools that are helpful to improve business performance despite having limited company resources. An action framework that guides SME owners/managers in adopting digital marketing innovation in their businesses was postulated to enable these practitioners to build more RBNs and increase customer retention.

Citation

Chin, K. Y. Digital Marketing in Small and Medium Enterprises: Evidence from the Industrial Supplies Sector in Singapore. (Thesis). Edinburgh Napier University

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 21, 2023
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17869/enu.2023.3175107
• Award Date: Jul 6, 2023