Developing a Conceptual Framework to Investigate the Demand Articulation of SMMEs for Digital Marketing Adoption and Performance: Reference to SMMEs in the Sri Lankan Tourist Lodging Industry

Abstract

The concept of demand articulation is acknowledged in the field of marketing science as a valuable tool for implementing industry-specific policies aimed at expediting the commercialization of emerging technologies. The objective of this study is to construct a conceptual framework for examining the relationship between social media adoption and performance in the tourist lodging industry in Sri Lanka, focusing on the demand articulation for digital marketing by small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs). The researcher conducted a thorough content analysis of the digital marketing behaviors on social media of SMMEs in the tourist lodging industry. The findings indicate the applied gap reflecting the scarce levels of digital marketing strategies in the realm of social media marketing (SMM), specifically in areas of video marketing, property management system (PMS) utilization, content updating, social media boosting and optimization, and overall liveliness. The researcher has considered the policy-related demand articulation on social media adoption by investigating the impact on the existing TOE model to construct a new framework to address the theoretical gap. The study mainly revealed that the new technology demand articulation leads to its adoption by the SMEs on demand-side innovation policies, sectoral policies, and challenge policies based on the literature review.