TABLE
OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research
Questions
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
1.6 Significance
of the Study
1.7 Scope of the
Study
1.8 Definition of
Terms
CHAPTER
TWO
REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Definition and Characteristics of SMES
2.3. Characteristics of Small to Medium-sized Enterprises
2.4. Internet and network relationship
2.5. Internet and transaction cost
2.6. Internet and Entry barriers
2.7 Small
to Medium-Sized Enterprises and Information Technology
2.7.1 Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
2.7.2 Small to Medium-sized Enterprises and Information technology
usage
2.7.3 Small to Medium-sized Enterprises and Internet usage
2.8 The Opportunities and Benefits Available To Small to
Medium-Sized Enterprises
2.9 Advertising
And Marketing Of Smes Online As A Competitive Tool
2.9.1 Research and development ideas
2.9.2 Internet as a medium of communication
2.9.4 Geographic reach/general accessibility
2.9.5 Internet as competitive tool
2.10 Summary of the Review
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research Design
3.2.
Population and Sample
3.3. Research Instrument
3.4. Validity and Reliability of the Questionnaire
3.5.
Method for Data Administration
3.6. Method
of Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Introduction.
4.2. Hypothesis One:
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1. Introduction
5.2.
Summary of the Study
5.3. Conclusion
5.4. Contribution
to Knowledge
5.5. Recommendation
REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Businesses are looking to new technologies to meet
their unique business requirements and position themselves to take advantage of
global changes in business activities. Businesses both large and small need
information to succeed in today's rapid changing environment, they need to be
able to process data and use information effectively when conducting their
day-to-day operations. The growth of the Internet has opened up a vast arena,
providing more opportunities for businesses, particularly small to medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) to sell their products and services to a global audience
than they would have been able to afford to reach using the traditional
methods.
A search of literature reveals that many changes in
organization today have been technology driven Clarke (2001) notes that
information technology (IT) is really changing the whole nature of business
transaction between consumers and suppliers of goods and services. Pigneur
(1996) points out that companies especially SMEs are confronted with a number
of changes that require innovative answers. These challenges include the
emergence of a competitive global economy; the trend towards an information
based economy, and the shift from mass production to a customer-driven economy.
He adds that to compete in today's global information-based and customer-driven
economy, SMEs must be efficient, innovative and competitive: able to respond just
in time, focus on quality, and implement mass-customization. He suggests that
in order to do this today, they must also be able to leverage the new
information and communication= technologies (ICTs) to fit better in their
environment, establish more co-operative inter-organizational relationships and
compete on the international markets (Pigneur, 2006).
There have been many studies and reports published in
UK and overseas in the last few years on the Internet usage in business in
general. This study is not another examination of the general usage of Internet
in business, rather it builds and summarizes the extensive and valuable
research already completed in these areas and extracts the essential themes and
messages being expressed by most SMEs. The study aims to examine the perceived
opportunities and benefits that Internet usage can offer to SMEs.
Barnes et al., (2008) asserted that SMEs make
significant contribution to most economies of the World, they are socially and
economically important, since they represent 99 % of all enterprises in the EU
and provide around 65 million jobs and contribute to entrepreneurship and
innovation. SMEs have been shown to contribute significantly to country and
regional economic growth, increased employment levels and locally relevant
product and service. SMEs are very important to the UK economy; they accounted
for 99% of all enterprises and provide over 59% of private sector employment
(BERR, 2008). They are also the source of future growth and innovation. Barnes
et al., (2008) argue that the advent of the digital economy has made the
adoption and use of Internet a significant issue for most SMEs. Yet, many SMEs
find themselves in a difficult situation. They may be too small to be able to
employ a dedicated IT expert and lack the resources to buy consultancy advice.
They often have limited experience in selecting, implementing and evaluating
suggested IT solutions (Barnes et al., 2008).
Barnes et al., (2008) noted that SMEs find themselves caught in a trap,
lack of resources means that while there may be an aggregate demand for IT
service and advice, individually, the varying nature of that demand makes it
uneconomical for other firms to provide a service meeting that demand.
According
to Bili and Raymond (2003), Small and Medium Business Enterprises (SMEs)
are considered to represent the driving forces of sustainable local economic
development throughout the world. They form the base of economies, stimulate
private property and entrepreneurial capabilities which, due to their
flexibility, can quickly adjust to market changes, generate employment, create
diversified economic activity, and contribute to exports and trade.
Consequent
upon this background, this research aims at examining the impact of online
marketing on the performance of SMEs in Nigeria with particular reference to
Jumia Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Online marketing has changed and is still changing
the way business is conducted around the world. The commercialization of the
Internet has driven online marketing to become one of the most promising
channels for inter-organizational business processes. Online marketing evolved
in various means of relationship within the business processes.
In Nigeria,
many small and medium enterprises are investing more and more in the
Internet/online marketing business. In order to survive in today’s challenging
environment, it is imperative that SMEs be competitive and resilient. So, the
main problem of this study is to determine the effect of online marketing
applications on the business success in the small and medium enterprises.
Suffice
to say that online advertising or marketing in the major sites in Nigeria
occupy prominent position, the effectiveness of online advertising comes from
whether consumers are willing to click and watch, but the reality is that most
net consumers ignore online advertising. How to attract the attention of
consumers has become a very important issue. In practice, different forms of
advertising can be designed to attract consumers, such as pop-up ads, button
ads, advertising couplet, floating ads, full-page advertising, and so on. Especially
for SMEs, due to restrictions on marketing resources, news, advertising,
large-scale promotional activities, they have less chance of publicity, so
website promotion via the Internet means is much more important for them than
big ones. Thus, this study investigates relationship between online marketing
and small and medium sized businesses performance in Nigeria.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this
study are:
1.
To determine if online marketing applications has a significant and
positive impact on business performance in small and medium enterprises
2. To
investigate the nature of the relationship between online marketing and small
and medium sized businesses’ productivity.
3. To examine if online
marketing order and delivery has a
significant and positive impact on business performance in small and medium enterprises.
4. To determine whether
online marketing customer
support service has a significant and positive impact on business performance in
small and medium enterprises.
5. To investigate if online advertising has a significant and positive impact
on business performance in small and medium enterprises.
6. To find out whether
online payment system has a significant and positive
impact on business performance in small and medium enterprises.
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions will guide the study.
1.
Will online marketing applications have a significant and positive
impact on business performance in small and medium enterprises?
2. What
is the nature of the relationship between online marketing and small and
medium- sized businesses’ productivity?
3. Examine if online
marketing order and delivery has a
significant and positive impact on business performance in small and medium enterprises?
4. Is online marketing customer support service has a significant and
positive impact on business performance
in small and medium enterprises?
5. Will online advertising has a significant and positive impact
on business performance in small
and medium enterprises?
6. Is online payment system has a significant and positive
impact on business performance
in small and medium enterprises?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following research hypotheses will guide the
study.
1.
Online marketing applications have no significant and positive impact
on business performance in small and medium enterprises.
2. There
is no significant relationship between online marketing and small and medium-
sized businesses productivity.
3. Online marketing order and delivery has no significant and positive
impact on business performance
in small and medium enterprises.
4. Online marketing customer support service has no significant and
positive impact on business performance
in small and medium enterprises.
5. Online advertising has no significant and positive impact
on business performance in small
and medium enterprises.
6. Online payment system has no significant and positive
impact on business performance
in small and medium enterprises.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
findings of this study will be beneficial to organizations as well as firms
especially on the need to focus generally on online/internet marketing, individual,
group/team and organizational creativity. Also, the findings of this study will
serve as a medium of awareness and enlightenment on the many environmental
trends affecting organizations in recent years and proffer possible panacea to
such problems as they rear heads. Not only this, but also, its findings will
serve as platform mostly for professional manager, chief executives and all
personnel involved in the staff training, administration and management on how
to drive their staff for maximum human creativity and innovation. By so doing,
several organizations would be better equipped to develop a repertoire of
techniques (management control systems) to improving performances of average
employees and at the same time improving the efficiency in management by
enforcing cooperation of workers and standardization of work methods especially
in creative organizations.
In
conclusion, the outcome of this study will provide a contribution to the
management of national culture as regards cultural individualism, collectivism,
uncertainty avoidance, multiple cultural dimensions as may affect an individual
employee’s preferences for, and reaction to management control systems in
interactive ways; and it will be a systematic knowledge base for researchers.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The
scope of this study will be all the Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria
which are using online marketing applications and own internet websites
particularly Jumia Nigeria.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Medium-sized Enterprises: These are defined as enterprises which
employ fewer than 250 persons, and whose annual turnover does not exceed N50
million or whose annual balance-sheet total does not exceed N43 million.
Small Enterprises : These are defined as enterprises which
employ fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance
sheet total does not exceed N10 million.
Micro Enterprises : These are defined as enterprises which
employ fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance
sheet total does not exceed N2 million.
Online Marketing: This
refers to all forms of internet advertising, internet payment system, internet
marketing, internet customer support service and internet order and delivery.
REFERENCES
Barnes,
D., Dyerson, R,. Harindranath, G., (2008), If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Management/Research/PRISM/index.html
Blili,
S., and Raymond, L., (2003). Information
technology: threats and opportunities for small and medium enterprises. International journal of information management, 13, 439-448
Clarke,
R., (2006), Issues in Technology-Based Consumer Transactions, http://www.anu.edu.au//Roger.Clarke/SOS/SCOCAP96.html
Pigneur (1996). Internet Commerce
for Small Business, Industrial
Management &
Data Systems, 98, 311-321.
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