Digital channels diminish SME barriers: the case of the UK
Journal Title: Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja - Year 2016, Vol 29, Issue 1
Abstract
This article investigates the usage of digital channels by UK small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and assesses the impact caused on their strategic marketing position. The research is based on statistical analysis of 66 surveyed SMEs in the context of the digital era. Despite indications from the relevant literature about the reluctance of SMEs to adopt advances in technological communication, the research reported indicates a high level of usage of digital channels, especially social media (SM). The web 2.0 technologies that facilitate the new digital channels are standardised, interactive, ubiquitous and cheap. These features change the way how companies communicate and shift fundamental marketing and business concepts. Due to this shift, the SMEs’ barriers for technology adoption, including lack of financial resources, knowledge and skills, are diminishing. The latter, supported also by the research findings, increases the impact of SMEs bringing them closer to the large corporations in the global marketplace. The study is significant because it extends previous knowledge on technology adoption, with findings about the adoption of digital channels by SMEs, but more importantly, it opens up a novel insight into strategic literature for SMEs.
Authors and Affiliations
Ivana Stankovska, Saso Josimovski, Christopher Edwards
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP201598
- DOI 10.1080/1331677X.2016.1164926
- Views 74
- Downloads 0
Determining the utility in management by using multi-criteria decision support tools: a review
The multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) utility-determining techniques are considered to be new development techniques that have been recently presented, extended and used by some scholars. In the current work, an a...
Boards of directors: composition and effects on the performance of the firm
This paper analyses the structure of boards of directors and its impact on business performance, which is approximated by economic profitability and the Tobin’s Q ratio. We focus on three basic aspects of boards that hav...
Are business forecasts of the construction sector rational? Survey-based evidence from Malaysia
This paper extends the direct measure to business expectations in assessing the doctrine of forecast rationality in the contemporary environment of Malaysia’s construction sector. The survey’s expectational series on bus...
Labour institutions and vulnerability of developing economies under capital inflows
The paper argues that labour institutions, such as efficiency wages or their analogues more typical for the former planned economies, can aggravate a vulnerability of developing economies caused by windfalls, such as add...
GARCH models in value at risk estimation: empirical evidence from the Montenegrin stock exchange
This article considers the adequacy of generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model use in measuring risk in the Montenegrin emerging market before and during the global financial crisis. In pa...