Linking SME international marketing agility to new technology adoption

Abstract

This article proposes an alternative conceptualisation and operationalisation of international marketing agility as a higher-order dynamic capability constituting overseas market-sensing decision-making flexibility and international marketing adaptability. The international marketing agility – new technology adoption relationship was examined under the moderating effects of new technology relative advantage and complexity among a sample of 162 small and medium sized enterprises (SME) exporters in Thailand, where new internet-enabled inventory management systems were being promoted. The self-administered survey data were analysed using multiple-group structural equation modelling. Results reveal that new technology adoption is driven by higher-level competencies such as international marketing agility, which develops, integrates and reconfigures resources through the three first-order capabilities to enable SME exporters to cope with volatile environments. Such adoption is enhanced by SME exporter perceptions of internet-enabled inventory management system’s relative advantage, but is otherwise diminished by perceptions of its complexity. These findings provide important implications for policymakers and technology vendors responsible for securing adoption by SMEs in emerging markets.