Online presence is fast becoming a marketing hub for contemporary businesses. Often known as digital marketing, the phenomenon offers several opportunities to businesses. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are using their online presence to launch stern competitive promotions and interact with consumers. Against the backdrop of the stern competition, digital marketing is being utilized to drive sustainable strategies for SMEs. This study leverages the theory of planned behavior to explore the impact of digital marketing adoption on the sustainable growth of SMEs in Ghana. Using a structured questionnaire and SmartPLS version 3.3 for the data analysis, 533 owners/managers of SMEs in Ghana were drawn to administer the questionnaire. Our findings suggest that, while attitudes toward digital marketing did not influence the intention to use digital marketing, perceived behavior control and subjective norms were found to affect individuals’ intentions to use digital marketing. Additionally, the results proved a direct positive link between subjective norms and actual behavioral use of digital marketing. Finally, the relationship between the actual use of digital marketing and SMEs’ sustainable growth was also proven positive, affirming that digital marketing significantly improved the sustainable growth of SMEs in developing countries. This study contributes to the multiplicity of factors that influence the behavioral tendencies of managers of firms in their quest to adopt digital platforms to enhance their sustainable growth. The study’s results serve as guidelines for prospective adopters of digital platforms as they develop their sustainability strategies.

Small-medium enterprises (SMEs) have a huge and not fully maximized potential to address the socio-economic challenges that emerging economies are facing. This study assessed the contributions of SMEs in an emerging economy, using ADANCO version 2.0 of the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM). A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 375 employees of SMEs in the fashion, microfinance, and hospitality sectors in four major business regions in Ghana, namely the Greater Accra, Central, Western and Ashanti Regions. The results reveal that SMEs continue to provide maximum support and contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as employ about 70 percent of the entire working population. The study recommends that SMEs should receive greater attention from the government through appropriate tailor-made policies to support and assist them to unleash their full potential to enhance economic growth.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are vital to the economic development of emerging economies, significantly contributing to employment, innovation, and GDP growth. This study investigates the influence of market competition on SME performance in emerging economies, specifically examining the moderating role of process innovation. Using a sample of 365 SMEs in the western region of Ghana, the research employed a convenience sampling technique to gather data. The analysis utilized partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to explore the relationships between market competition, process innovation, and SME performance. The findings revealed that three direct hypotheses were supported, indicating a positive relationship between market competition and SME performance, while the moderated hypotheses were not supported. These insights provide valuable implications for SME owners, managers, and policymakers.

The notable contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the development of socio-economics has been very encouraging in terms of its GDP contribution and employment creation. Both developed and developing countries are living testimonies of the contributions by SMEs. The primary aim of this paper is to assess the use of social media as a promotional tool for SME development. To achieve this objective, a total of 800 structured questionnaires were developed through an intercept and online survey to obtain data for the exercise. A non-probability sampling technique was employed for the collection of the data of which 648 respondents were dully accurate for the data processing/analysis. Using PLS-SEM with the help of ADANCO software v 2.2.1, findings revealed that the use of social media as an advertising tool has a significant effect on a firm’s financial performance, business motivation, customers’ perspective/attraction, and an increase in market share, thus, a key in reflecting a positive change in their marketing and promotional activities in the consumer market. The findings of the study are both beneficial to practitioners/owners of SMEs and the social media marketing literature in general. This study further strengthens the need for businesses to invest in digital marketing tools and employ them effectively to stay competitive in the long term for the firm’s growth and survival.

The article aims to compare important management factors between SMEs in the service sector and SMEs in other entrepreneurship sectors. The study was realized in the Czech Republic and the Slovak republic over SMEs in the service sector and other sectors in 2019-2020. The data were collected from the owners or top-level managers; the total sample used in the study was 822 SMEs. The questionnaire was constructed in an online version and was fulfilled by 240 SMEs in the service sector and 582 other companies in the Czech or Slovak republic. The research hypotheses were evaluated by basic statistics tools: contingency tables, Z-score, and Chi-square test. The results showed that there are significant differences in the agreed attitudes to the statement: "I manage the company for more than 8 hours a day" between the Czech (62%) and Slovak (71%) respondents in the service business sector. Neither nationality nor the business sector is essential determinants in the perception of human capital as the most critical element in the company (8 out of 10 respondents) and the fact that the owner (manager) of the company should regularly evaluate the performance of its subordinates and motivate them to innovate in work processes. The results are interesting for the entrepreneurs themselves and for entities and organizations that help SMEs' business activities in selected countries, respectively, for economic policymakers.