Marketing Initiatives Research Articles

From initiations to sales: leveraging social media referral initiatives on customer willingness to participate in the cosmetics landscape in Sri Lanka

PurposeReferral marketing can be identified as the commercial form used to encourage word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. It has become popular in recent times, supporting organisations to attract new customers towards making strides in how customers are pursued to purchase certain types of products/industries. However, some factors impact the success of referral marketing programmes. This study focuses on analysing the impact of such factors as brand, rewards and celebrity endorsement on user engagement in social media referral marketing programmes.Design/methodology/approachFurther, this study discusses the moderating impact of social ties on this relationship mainly focusing on the cosmetic industry. The data were collected from respondents with exposure to referral marketing programmes through the social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Instagram. The structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data collected.FindingsThe results of the study revealed that brand, reward and celebrity endorsement significantly impact the participation willingness of customers in social media referral marketing programmemes. Moreover, it showed that the social tie moderates only the brand impact on the participation willingness of customers, whereas it does not moderate the impact of rewards and celebrity endorsement on the participation willingness of customers. In doing so, the study looks extensively into the elements that drive or shape customer behaviour within this specific market niche by investigating the effect of brand, incentives and endorsements by celebrities on customer engagement.Originality/valueAccordingly, this study sheds light on the complex relationship among brands, rewards and celebrity endorsements, while also considering social ties within the context of social media referral marketing initiatives. It also delivers useful information for academics as well as practitioners. Limited studies have been conducted in this field, and therefore, this study adds some knowledge, also highlighting the moderation effect of social ties.

Development of Sustainable Marketing Within Industrial Businesses: The Decisive Influence of the Cultural and Politic Context

In recent decades, the incorporation of sustainable development principles into marketing has increased significantly. Consequently, researchers have explored the contrasting relationships between the two areas to evaluate their respective relevance. In response to this change, researchers and practitioners have explored the possibilities of incorporating sustainability concepts into marketing. Therefore, the aim of this study is to focus on the cultural and political factors that explain the development of sustainable marketing in Cameroonian industrial enterprises in light of the existing literature on sustainability and marketing. To achieve this goal, we collected qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary data from a sample of 74 Cameroonian industrial enterprises in the Centre, Littoral and West regions. We used different statistical tools such as descriptive, exploratory, correlation and explanatory analysis. The results of this approach show that cultural and political factors such as human resource development, religion, language, ethnicity, compliance with laws and regulations, adherence to standards, and quality explain the implementation of sustainable marketing in industrial enterprises in Cameroon. Therefore, we recommend that public and private organisations strengthen their environmental discourse, especially in developing countries, in order to successfully transition to more responsible practices.

Astro-Tourism: A search for the unknown in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa

ABSTRACT Astro-Tourism involves ‘using the natural resource of unpolluted night skies, and appropriate scientific knowledge for astronomical, cultural and environmental activities’. Astro-Tourism further includes specialised activities that differ from mass tourism, as tourists are exposed to knowledge-rich experiences. Well-known examples of Astro-Tourism destinations include Bryce Canyon National Park and Death Valley in the United States of America (USA). The Free State Gambling, Liquor and Tourism Authority (FSGLA) is the marketing arm of the Free State province and is responsible for attracting potential tourists to the province and solidifying the Free State as a destination of choice. Astro-Tourism has been identified as an opportunity to grow tourism in Bloemfontein and the Free State. This study found that Astro-Tourism is a niche product, and that the facilities currently on offer in Bloemfontein are in excellent condition and can potentially be further exposed to a broader audience through dedicated marketing initiatives and events.

Research on Social Live Broadcast pps in Thenew Media Era

With the rapid growth of digital media, online social live streaming, as a new means of information exchange, has penetrated into our daily lives and has been widely used in various industries such as enterprise marketing, online teaching, and folk culture inheritance. This article provides a preliminary introduction to the concept, attributes, and classification of online social live streaming, and explores the application strategies in product promotion, online learning, and cultural promotion. When examining the current development status of social live streaming, a series of problems have been discovered, including the proliferation of vulgar information, user privacy and security issues, and intellectual property infringement. Suggestions have been put forward to improve the regulatory system for social live streaming content, strengthen user privacy and security protection, and promote the sound legal system, in order to promote the healthy and orderly development of social live streaming in the new media era and provide reference and inspiration for the industry.

Marketing Strategies in the Digital Age: Opportunities and Challenges

Purpose:Transformation and Response to Enterprise Marketing Strategies in the Digital AgeWith the rapid development of information technology, the digital era has come in all its aspects, bringing a new landscape to enterprise marketing strategy. The digital age brings many opportunities. First, there is more accurate market positioning, and enterprises use technologies such as big data, Can in-depth analysis of a variety of consumer data, accurate grasp of their needs and preferences, so as to clearly identify the target market, like millet through the analysis of user data, accurate positioning of young, the pursuit of cost-effective consumer groups, to launch products that meet their needs. Secondly, there is a wider distribution channel. The popularization of the Internet and social media has allowed enterprises to quickly spread their marketing information to all parts of the world, and Bytedance's products have utilized the advantages of their own platforms to achieve widespread information distribution. Moreover, more efficient customer interaction, enterprises can communicate with customers in real time through the online platform, timely access to feedback, improve customer satisfaction, such as Huawei through the online community interaction with users to improve products and services. However, the challenges cannot be ignored. Data security and privacy protection have become critical issues, and once a data breach occurs, it can seriously damage the reputation of a company, as some high-profile companies have been questioned over data security. The difficulty of accurate marketing is that the market changes rapidly, consumer demand is diverse and volatile, and it is difficult for enterprises to accurately grasp it at all times. The complexity of multichannel integration also causes problems for enterprises, and the characteristics and user groups of different channels are different, making integration difficult. Domestic and foreign enterprises have many successful experiences to learn from. For example, Apple pays attention to the user experience and has built a unique brand image and marketing model through the convergence of online and offline channels. In response to the challenge, enterprises should strengthen data security management and establish strict protection mechanisms. Continuous improvement of data analysis capabilities to better adapt to market changes; At the same time, we should focus on coordination between channels to achieve complementarity of strengths. In short, enterprises need to take full advantage of opportunities in the digital age, actively cope with challenges, and formulate effective marketing strategies in order to gain a foothold and develop in the fierce market competition.

Exploration of the Reform and Development Ideas of Enterprise Marketing in the Environment of Economic Globalization

Exploration of the Reform and Development Ideas of Enterprise Marketing in the Environment of Economic Globalization

Unveiling Intangible Assets: Exploring Voluntary Disclosure and Its Interaction with Accounting Conservatism and Analyst Attention on Financing Constraints

This paper examines the relationship between the voluntary disclosure of intangible assets and financing constraints using a sample of 2850 listed companies from 2017 to 2021. Additionally, we examine the moderating effects of prudence in accounting and the attention given to the disclosures by analysts from both an internal and an external perspective. The results show that voluntarily disclosing intangible assets helps to alleviate a firm’s financing constraints, with more significant effects observed in state-owned enterprises and companies listed on the Growth Enterprise Market index than for private enterprises and those listed on the main board of the Chinese capital market. Further, conservatism in accounting and attention given by financial analysts both positively moderate this relationship. The theoretical and empirical insights provided by this study should help listed companies in China to enhance the quality of their voluntary intangible asset disclosures, while also helping to mitigate financing constraints.

CVC Involvement, Digital Transformation, and Risk-Taking of Investee Companies: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of corporate venture capital (CVC) involvement on digital transformation and the risk-taking behavior of investee companies. Based on data on manufacturing companies listed on the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) board and the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2015 to 2022, we find that CVC involvement helps boost the risk-taking level of investee companies. This is because CVC promotes corporate digital transformation, which in turn enhances corporate risk-taking. Finally, we show that the promoting effect of CVC on corporate risk-taking is more pronounced for investee companies with a small size and investee companies with a high degree of operating leverage. Our findings provide novel evidence for the effect of CVC on corporate risk-taking in the digital age.

A Systematic Review of the Trends, Effects, and Deterrents of Collective Marketing Participation Among Smallholder Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smallholder farmers’ participation in collective marketing is essential for the growth of smallholder farming businesses and the sustainability of their livelihoods. Collective marketing provides smallholder farmers with increased opportunities to scale up market access and participation. Given the challenges that the majority of smallholder farmers still face regarding market access and participation, this review was conducted to explore the trends and effects of collective marketing participation, as well as the barriers to participation among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The results show that collective marketing has a high potential to give smallholder farmers access to both formal and informal market participation, as well as recognition by public and private support structures. To improve collective marketing participation among SSA countries, more focused and content-specific strategies and interventions are needed to address the complex socio-economic and structural barriers that limit smallholder farmers’ ability to fully benefit from collective marketing initiatives across the region.

Does green financing promote outward FDI in enterprises? Evidence from China

In the context of sustainable development, green rules and standards have been incorporated into the international investment system. The specific advantages driving outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by emerging market enterprises have also undergone profound changes. Green financing plays an important role in promoting green transformation and may become a new type of competitive advantage driving OFDI by firms. Based on legitimacy theory, we explore the impact of green financing on OFDI by emerging market firms. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021, we find that green financing significantly promotes corporate OFDI. Improving ESG levels, alleviating financing constraints and expanding production scale are the main channels. The positive effects of green financing on OFDI are more pronounced in heavily polluting industries, capital-intensive enterprises and state-owned enterprises. This study confirms the positive impact of green financing on OFDI earlier, and also provides useful inspiration and reference for emerging market countries to improve the green financial system and actively promote global green and sustainable development.

Social Media Marketing and Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in South West Nigeria

The study investigated how small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in southwest Nigeria performed in terms of brand awareness, customer satisfaction, customer retention, and customer patronage in relation to social media marketing (ad placement, content marketing, referral marketing, and influencer marketing). The moderating effects of trust on SMEs' performance were also investigated in this study. Using a cross-sectional research methodology, the study used multistage sampling strategies, such as purposive, proportional, and simple random sampling. In all, 383 SMEs' owners and managers were chosen from the states of Ekiti, Ondo, and Oyo. Social media marketing significantly improved brand awareness, customer satisfaction, customer retention, and consumer patronage, according to the research. Additionally, the results showed that trust significantly moderated the performance of the chosen SMEs. According to the study's findings, social media marketing significantly impacted the performance of SMEs. According to the survey, SMEs should create a thorough social media marketing plan that includes a range of techniques like ad placement, content marketing, influencer marketing, and referral marketing. These results advance knowledge on how social media marketing might improve SMEs' performance in the specific context of Southwest Nigeria

How Big Data Innovates in Enterprise Marketing Management

How Big Data Innovates in Enterprise Marketing Management

Decoding the impact of political uncertainty on IPO underpricing in China

PurposePolitical factors play a crucial role in China's initial public offering (IPO) market due to its distinctive institutional context (i.e. “economic decentralization” and “political centralization”). Given the significant level of IPO underpricing in China, we examine the impact of local political uncertainty (measured by prefecture-level city official turnover rate) on IPO underpricing.Design/methodology/approachUsing 2,259 IPOs of A-share listed companies from 2001 to 2019, we employ a structural equation model (SEM) to examine the channel (voluntarily lower the issuance price vs aftermarket trading) through which political uncertainty affects IPO underpricing. We check the robustness of the results using bootstrap tests, adopting alternative proxies for political uncertainty and IPO underpricing and employing subsample analysis.FindingsLocal official turnover-induced political uncertainty increases IPO underpricing by IPO firms voluntarily reducing the issuance price rather than by affecting investor sentiment in aftermarket trading. These relations are stronger in firms with pre-IPO political connections. The effect of political uncertainty on IPO underpricing is also contingent upon the industry and the growth phase of an IPO firm, more pronounced in politically sensitive industries and firms listed on the growth enterprise market board.Originality/valueLocal government officials in China usually have a short tenure and Chinese firms witness significantly severe IPO underpricing. By introducing the SEM model in studying China IPO underpricing, this study identifies the channel through which local government official turnover to political uncertainty on IPO underpricing.

Developing Green Marketing Strategies: A Comprehensive Analysis of Consumer Behaviour and Business Practices

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between green marketing communication techniques, consumer behaviour patterns, and business organisations’ practices by employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A hypothesized quantitative survey with 500 consumers and a qualitative case study of leading organisations to assess modern tendencies and approaches were carried out. The quantitative analysis shows that 70% of the consumers take environmental concern while purchasing products, but only 45% are ready to pay the premium price for green products. Moreover, there is a low level of confidence in green claims where only 30% of the consumers are confident that firms have sincere intentions about the statements they make. An analysis of Nike, Starbucks, and Toyota, Apple, and Microsoft organizations shows that they incorporate different strategies in supply chain management, carbon footprint, corporations’ responsibility, and customer relations. Some of these firms focus on the promotion of the company’s transparency, product sourcing based on an ethical approach, encouragement of the use of renewables, as well as community involvement in fulfilling sustainable objectives. Thus, the study also stresses the importance of clarity within communication channels and information reliability for the development of consumers’ trust. It defines factors like the cost and every person’s doubt or disbelief in what is green that prevents an extensive use of green products. Altogether, this research contributes useful knowledge for companies wanting to implement suitable green marketing initiatives that would be appealing to eco-aware consumers. It is clear that implementing corporate practice according to the customer expectation and practicing transparency would not only increase the brand value but also the customer loyalty and which in longer runs would also help in supporting and implementing sustainable development goals across the world.

Training on Optimizing Digital Marketing to Improve Marketing for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Mantrijeron District, Yogyakarta

The training activity aimed to provide knowledge and skills on implementing digital marketing. Conducted on Saturday, September 7, 2024, in Mantrijeron District, the training included 40 participants consisting of local MSME actors. The event utilized a combination of lectures and hands-on practice. It began with an opening and introduction to digital marketing, followed by a presentation on the concept of digital marketing, discussions on common challenges faced by MSMEs, explanations of foreign terms related to digital marketing, and concluded with a practical session. As a result, participants acquired valuable insights into digital marketing, and many expressed a desire for assistance with business capital to support their growth in the region.

Peran Digital Marketing pada UMKM dengan Prinsip-prinsip Syariah

The rapid development of technology has greatly changed the marketing landscape in the world, where marketing methods that were previously completely traditional and conventional have now been integrated into the digital world. Understanding and awareness of the importance, role and influence of digital marketing in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is still low. Its implementation is still considered not that important, on the grounds that the business being run is not a large business that requires digital marketing. Including its implementation of sharia principles is still very minimal. Research that explores the role of digital marketing in MSMEs with sharia principles in a comprehensive manner has never been conducted before. The aim of the research is to explore the role of digital marketing in MSMEs with sharia principles. The method used is library research, using critical analysis techniques. The results of research regarding the role or impact or influence of digital marketing in MSMEs with sharia principles are on the following 15 things: (1) facilitate access to information; (2) marketing products; (3) become a superior product; (4) healthy competition; (5) expanding target/market share; (6) expanding geographic reach; (7) building trust and reputation; (8) purchasing decisions; (9) increase in income; (10) increase in sales; (11) increasing business performance; (12) business sustainability and success; (13) application of Islamic marketing ethics; (14) development of halal label MSMEs; and (15) development of MSMEs through cooperatives.

Digital-Based UMKM Branding & Marketing Innovation Assistance for Rengginang and Shrimp Cracker Businesses

Throughout the decade of increasingly rapid digital growth, digital technology has been one of the needs and has played a major role in innovating branding and marketing of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in various sectors. Digitalization is part of the development and innovation to change traditional branding and marketing into digital-based marketing in Rengginang and Krupuk Udang businesses. The purpose of community service activities through mentoring the community is to provide insight and skills about product digitalization in the form of labeling and marketing so that the community can innovate and develop products, especially to improve the welfare of the community in Gerongan Village, Kraton District, Pasuruan Regency. The ABCD (Asset Based Communities Development) method is the community service Method, which is structured and based on the needs and potential to develop village communities. The following are the steps used: Local Identification and Analysis (Discovery), Brand Identity Development (Dream), Optimization of Production Practices and Product Quality (Define), Use of Digital Technology and Marketing (Destiny), and Performance Measurement and Evaluation. The results of this community service activity indicate an increase in MSME insight into the importance of digital-based branding innovation and digital marketing, increasing labeling skills, and digitalization of marketing for innovation and development in their businesses.

Does bank FinTech spur productivity of SMEs?

ABSTRACT Financial technology (FinTech) has promoted the popularization of intelligent banking services and profoundly impacted the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on manually collected over 20,000 data on FinTech patents of banks and data from Chinese A-share listed firms in the Growth Enterprise Market board from 2010 to 2020, we investigate the effects of Bank FinTech on the total factor productivity (TFP) of SMEs. Our results demonstrate that Bank FinTech significantly boosts the TFP of SMEs. The conclusion remains unchanged after conducting a series of robustness tests. Furthermore, we find that strengthening external financial regulation and internal digitalization in SMEs enhance the driving effect of FinTech on the TFP of SMEs. Moreover, heterogeneity analysis indicates that Bank FinTech is particularly beneficial for promoting TFP in non-state-owned SMEs, SMEs with large sizes and old age, and SMEs in the East and with dense bank branches. Our research offers empirical evidence on how Bank FinTech influences SMEs’ production efficiency, which is crucial for the technological catch-up of SMEs and for enhancing the ability of Bank FinTech to serve the real economy.

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Enterprise Marketing Communications

Theoretical background: Marketing communication is a key element of marketing, supporting tasks such as information, image building and customer acquisition. The effectiveness of communication depends on many factors, including the methods and tools used as part of an integrated marketing strategy. Digital transformation has significantly affected the ways consumers are reached, forcing marketers to adapt traditional methods to new technologies. Consumers, more trusting of each other than of companies, are becoming active marketers, increasing the importance of online communication. Modern marketing communication relies on synergies between old and new media, and on building a strong brand as the basis for a successful strategy. Purpose of the article: The aim of this article is to analyse the literature on the topic and, on this basis, to try to answer questions related to communication processes in marketing: How has communication changed in recent times? What factors influence the effectiveness of marketing communication? What currently has the greatest impact on marketing communication in a company? To answer the questions, articles containing the topics under study and found in the SCOPUS database were analysed. Research methods: Scientometric and bibliometric techniques were used as the research method, analysing citations and co-occurrence of keywords. Articles written between 2000 and 2023 were analysed. The papers analysed were grouped into 4 periods: Period I – 2000 to 2010; period II – 2011 to 2015, period III – 2016 to 2020 and period IV – 2021 to 2023. A score of more than 100 publications was obtained and, in the next step, limiting the number of publications, the criterion of the number of citations was adopted. A ranking of the best-cited articles was developed in each period, and based on these, factors influencing the effectiveness of the marketing communication process were analysed. Main findings: Through a comprehensive literature review on marketing communication, the factors influencing marketing communication that change over time have been identified in tabular form. A model was proposed that summarises the factors influencing the effectiveness of marketing communication in a collective way.

Research on the Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty and Investor Sentiment on the Growth Enterprise Market Return in China—An Empirical Study Based on TVP-SV-VAR Model

This study employs the economic policy uncertainty index to gauge the level of economic policy uncertainty in China. Utilizing textual data from the growth enterprise market internet community, we construct the growth enterprise market investor sentiment index by applying the deep learning ERNIE (Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration) model, thereby capturing investors’ sentiment within the growth enterprise market. The dynamic interplay between economic policy uncertainty, investor sentiment, and returns of the growth enterprise market is scrutinized via the TVP-SV-VAR (time-varying parameter stochastic volatility vector auto-regression) model, and the asymmetric response of different industries’ stock returns within the growth enterprise market to economic policy uncertainty and investor sentiment shock. The findings of this research are that economic policy uncertainty exerts a negative influence on both investor sentiment and returns of the growth enterprise market. While it may trigger a temporary decline in stock prices, the empirical evidence suggests that the impact is of short duration. The influence of investor sentiment on the growth enterprise market returns is characterized by a reversal effect, suggesting that improved sentiment may initially boost stock prices but could lead to a subsequent decline over the long term. The relationship between economic policy uncertainty, investor sentiment, and returns of the growth enterprise market is time-variant, with heightened sensitivity observed during bull markets. Lastly, the effects of economic policy uncertainty and investor sentiment on the returns of different industries within the growth enterprise market are found to be asymmetric. These conclusions contribute to the existing body of literature on the Chinese capital market, offering a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics and the factors influencing market behavior.