Examining the relationships between e-Marketing adoption And Marketing Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana

Abstract

Given the importance of the Internet in general and for the marketing function in particular there has been a growing focus on understanding the determinants of e-Marketing adoption within firms. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that influence adoption of e-Marketing by SMEs in Ghana, and to examine the relationship between e-Marketing adoption factors and marketing performance. Primary data was collected using a quantitative research approach from 107 SMEs. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify the main e-Marketing adoption factors: which consists of Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), External pressure and Strategic intent. The study revealed that all the four constructs significantly influence e-Marketing adoption among the SMEs, however factors identified in this study were found not to have significant impact on the SMEs marketing performance. An important implication of the study is that even though SMEs are using e-Marketing, the findings did show positive impact on SMEs marketing performance. A further study is needed to establish the relationship between e-Marketing adoption factors and marketing performance.

Keyword: e-Marketing, Marketing performance, SMEs, Ghana