IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cwk/ajocsl/2026-044.html

Adoption Without Strategy: The Strategy Implementation Gap in SME Digital Marketing in Zambia's Secondary Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Sichinga, Cornelius

    (Mulungushi University)

  • Chungu, Kelly

    (Mulungushi University)

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies are rapidly adopting digital marketing platforms, yet the gap between adoption and strategic utilization remains critically under researched. This study examines the strategy implementation gap in digital marketing among 101 SMEs in Kabwe, Zambia, using a convergent parallel mixed methods design integrating survey data and 12 semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal a significant 33 percentage point gap between basic digital tool adoption (75.2% use visuals) and strategic optimization (41.6% adjust strategies based on results). While 89.1% of SMEs use WhatsApp and 82.2% use Facebook, only 22.8% post daily, 21.8% respond to customers within one hour, and 16.8% invest in paid advertising. Content strategies remain overwhelmingly transactional product posts (80.0%) and promotions (37.9%) dominate, while educational content (17.9%) and testimonials (13.7%) are underutilized. Regression analyses reveal that content quality perception (β=0.593, p

Suggested Citation

  • Sichinga, Cornelius & Chungu, Kelly, 2026. "Adoption Without Strategy: The Strategy Implementation Gap in SME Digital Marketing in Zambia's Secondary Cities," African Journal of Commercial Studies, African Journal of Commercial Studies, vol. 7(4).
    • Handle: RePEc:cwk:ajocsl:2026-044
    DOI: 10.59413/ajocs/v7.i4.10
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ijcsacademia.com/index.php/journal/article/view/648
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.59413/ajocs/v7.i4.10?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Glynn, Mark S. & Brodie, Roderick J., 2014. "Consumer Brand Engagement in Social Media: Conceptualization, Scale Development and Validation," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 149-165.
    2. Y. Dwivedi & E. Ismagilova & L. Hughes & J. Carlson & R. Filieri & J. Jacobson & V. Jain & H. Karjaluoto & H. Kefi & A. S. Krishen & V. Kumar & M. Rahman & R. Raman & P. Rauschnabel & J. Rowley & J. S, 2021. "Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions," Post-Print hal-04713688, HAL.
    3. Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Ismagilova, Elvira & Hughes, D. Laurie & Carlson, Jamie & Filieri, Raffaele & Jacobson, Jenna & Jain, Varsha & Karjaluoto, Heikki & Kefi, Hajer & Krishen, Anjala S. & Kumar, Vikra, 2021. "Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Viswanath Venkatesh & Fred D. Davis, 2000. "A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(2), pages 186-204, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Uddin, Mohiy & Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed, 2026. "How Societal and Individual Diversity Affect Brand Equity of High Versus Low Involvement Products," EconStor Preprints 341074, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Norhidayah Ali & Suhaida Abu Bakar & Rini Lestari, 2025. "From Responsivity to Retention: Unpacking the Role of Timely Engagement in Customer Loyalty," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(4), pages 494-507, April.
    3. G. Onofrei & R. Filieri & L. Kennedy, 2022. "Social media interactions, purchase intention, and behavioural engagement on social networking platforms: The mediating role of source and content factors," Post-Print hal-04779119, HAL.
    4. Mahesh D & Dr. Kruti Vaibhav Dave, 2026. "The Digital Shift: Social Media Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, and Brand Loyalty in India," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 13(4), pages 1948-1955, April.
    5. Zhang Ling & Arif @ Kamisan Pusiran & Fatma Zohra Chekima & Brahim Chekima, 2026. "The Impact of Short Video Marketing on Hotel Consumers’ Reservation Intention: Empirical Evidence from the Chinese Market," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 10(4), pages 3957-3962, April.
    6. Janarthanan Balakrishnan & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Laurie Hughes & Frederic Boy, 2024. "Enablers and Inhibitors of AI-Powered Voice Assistants: A Dual-Factor Approach by Integrating the Status Quo Bias and Technology Acceptance Model," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 921-942, June.
    7. Vishwas G. Raichur & Dinesh Sharma & Arti D. Kalro, 2025. "Customer engagement in firm-initiated and consumer-initiated online brand communities: an exploratory study," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 169-207, March.
    8. Amizatulhawa Mat Sani & Nur Syuhadah Umairah Hasri & Nurhayati Kamarudin & Tiara Turay, 2025. "The Effect of Social Media Engagement on Consumer Purchase Behaviour in the Food and Beverage Industry," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(8), pages 5925-5938, August.
    9. Onofrei, George & Filieri, Raffaele & Kennedy, Lorraine, 2022. "Social media interactions, purchase intention, and behavioural engagement: The mediating role of source and content factors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 100-112.
    10. Wang, Guoqiang & Tan, Garry Wei-Han & Yuan, Yunpeng & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2022. "Revisiting TAM2 in behavioral targeting advertising: A deep learning-based dual-stage SEM-ANN analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    11. Yonggang Weng & Farah Akmar Anor Salim & Xiugen Wang & Qianglong Bian & Jijin Yang & Zicheng Han & Wei Deng & Qingxia Yang, 2026. "Artificial Intelligence Empowerment in Startups: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 10(6), pages 1339-1352, June.
    12. Adrien Vasseur-Tremblay & Christophe M. Elie-Dit-Cosaque, 2025. "Integrating user experience into the development of company-generated content on social media: the role of affordances [Intégration de l'expérience utilisateur dans l'élaboration des contenus générés par l'entreprise sur les médias sociaux : le rô," Post-Print hal-05320080, HAL.
    13. Jofel A. Ferolino & Bryan M. Lagrama & Melody B. Miramonte & Carl Dominic R. Sun & Marites M. Cuyos, 2026. "Facebook Advertising Features and Their Influence on Consumer Purchase Decisions Among Residents of Barangay Apopong, General Santos City," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 10(3), pages 1871-1880, March.
    14. Ali Abbas Rizvi & Saifuddin Ahmad & Mohnish Kumar & Yusuf Kamal, 2026. "Demystifying the effects of cognitive schema on consumer buying patterns: an in-depth exploration utilizing deep learning technique," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 7753-7780, April.
    15. Raghavendra Prasanna Kumar & Arindam Banerjee & Zahran Al-Salti & S. Ananda, 2024. "Technology acceptance model and customer engagement: mediating role of customer satisfaction," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 1062-1076, September.
    16. Eley Suzana Kasim & Hazlina Mohd Padil & Norlaila Md. Zin & Dalila Daud & Sharifah Norzehan Syed Yusuf & Mamun Habib & Saad Hasan, 2024. "The Role of Social Media on Customer Relationship Management and Business Resilience among Agriculture Entrepreneurs," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(12), pages 3970-3984, December.
    17. Abdulwahed Nasser M Alharkan & Edyta Wolny-Abouelwafa & Ashwaq Althowibi & Hana Khalid Alhumaid & Amera Alharbi & Haifa Alghamdi & Shahla Abu Zahra, 2024. "Exploring EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on the Role of Social Media for Building Trust in the Workplace," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 14(6), pages 405-405, November.
    18. V. G. P. Lakshika & B. T. K. Chathuranga & P. G. S. A. Jayarathne, 2025. "The evolving role of AI and ML in digital promotion: a systematic review and research agenda," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(2), pages 288-307, June.
    19. Antoinette Nicole De Castro & Mary Gee De Gucena & Ma. Gianina Andrea Serrano & Antonio E. Etrata Jr., Ph.D., 2025. "Factors affecting travel intention and purchase behavior of airline passengers: the mediating role of promotional discounts in airline tickets," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 14(3), pages 01-17, April.
    20. Bakeshloo, Khashayar Afshar & Agnihotri, Raj & Mohammadzadeh, Mohammad, 2025. "Metaverse and B2B marketing: untapped research opportunities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • M15 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - IT Management
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cwk:ajocsl:2026-044. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Charles G. Kamau (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ijcsacademia.com/index.php/journal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.