Marketing and Management of Innovations

ISSN (print) – 2218-4511 

ISSN (online) – 2227-6718

Registered in the Media Registrants-Register

Identifier in the register: R30-01179 Decision dated August 31, 2023, No. 759

The language of publication is English. 

Issued 4 times a year (March, June, September, December) since 2010

Business Model: Golden Open Access | APC Policy

Editor-in-Chieff             View Editorial Board

Oleksii Lyulyov

Sumy State University | Ukraine

Digital Marketing in the Survival and Growth Strategies of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses During the War in Ukraine

Mykhailo Oklander 1, , Oksana Yashkina 1,*,   , Iryna Zlatova 1, , Ilke Cicekli 2,,

Nataliia Letunovska 3,

  1. Department of Marketing, Institute of Economics and Management, Odesa Polytechnic National University, Ukraine
  2. School of Strategy Marketing and Innovation, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
  3. Department of Marketing, Sumy State University, Ukraine

     * Corresponding author

 

Received: 20 October 2023

Revised: 10 February 2024

Accepted: 10 March 2024

Abstract

This article shows the impact of the war on small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine during the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, which started on February 24, 2022, and ended in September 2023. The object of the study is small and medium-sized enterprises that carry out business activities in Ukraine during a full-scale invasion. The research objective is to determine the business strategies and Internet marketing strategies used by small and medium-sized enterprises after full-scale invasion. The purpose of this study is to identify the most effective Internet marketing strategies and Internet marketing tools that helped small and medium-sized businesses survive the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and continue to grow. The study was conducted through in-depth interviews with representatives of small and medium-sized businesses from different regions of Ukraine and from different fields of activity. Based on the categorical analysis of the responses, three periods of enterprise survival were summarized according to the chronology of military and political events in the country. The relevant Internet marketing strategies of small and medium-sized enterprises are identified. Business strategies and Internet marketing strategies that helped small and medium-sized enterprises increase their pre-war economic performance are also highlighted. Certain reasons for the deep crisis of small and medium-sized enterprises are outlined. The intensity and effectiveness of the use of Internet marketing tools by small and medium-sized businesses after a full-scale invasion are determined. The peculiarity of the results is the study of Internet marketing strategies and successful business strategies of small and medium-sized enterprises during the war. The scientific novelty of thisstudy is that it classifies the periods of survival and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and identifies the most effective Internet marketing strategies for these periods. The efficiency and intensity of using Internet marketing tools were also systematized. The results obtained in the study will help small and medium-sized enterprises overcome crisis conditions and identify areas for the effective use of digital marketing. The findings are of practical value for small and medium-sized enterprises in other countries where there is a possibility of armed conflict.

Keywords: business strategies for survival; business strategies for growth; war; internet marketing strategies; digital marketing tools; small and medium-sized enterprises.

How to Cite: Oklander, M., Yashkina, O., Zlatova, I., Cicekli, I., & Letunovska, N. (2024). Digital Marketing in the Survival and Growth Strategies of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses During the War in Ukraine. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 15(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2024.1-02

Abstract Views

PDF Downloads

References

  1. Ates, A., & Acur, N. (2022). Making obsolescence obsolete: Execution of digital transformation in a high-tech manufacturing SME. Journal of Business Research152, 336-348. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  2. Ballerini, J., Herhausen, D., & Ferraris, A. (2023). How commitment and platform adoption drive the e-commerce performance of SMEs: A mixed-method inquiry into e-commerce affordances. International Journal of Information Management, 72, 102649. [Google Scholar][CrossRef]
  3. Cao, G., & Weerawardena, J. (2023). Strategic use of social media in marketing and financial performance: The B2B SME context. Industrial Marketing Management111, 41-54. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. Dahnil, M. I., Marzuki, K. M., Langgat, J., & Fabeil, N. F. (2014). Factors influencing SMEs adoption of social media marketing. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences148, 119-126. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  5. Desai, V., & Vidyapeeth, B. (2019). Digital marketing: A review. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development5(5), 196-200. [Google Scholar]
  6. Dwivedi, A., & Pawsey, N. (2023). Examining the drivers of marketing innovation in SMEs. Journal of Business Research155, 113409. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  7. Dwivedi, Y. K., Ismagilova, E., Hughes, D. L., Carlson, J., Filieri, R., Jacobson, J., Jain, V., Karjaluoto, H., Kefi, H., Krishen A. S., Kumar, V., Rahman, M. M., Raman, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., Rowley, J., Salo, J., Tran, G. A., & Wang, Y. (2021). Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information Management59, 102168. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  8. Eggers, F. (2020). Masters of disasters? Challenges and opportunities for SMEs in times of crisis. Journal of business Research116, 199-208. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  9. European Commission. (2023). Resource document. SME definition. [Link]
  10. Diia Business. (2022). The Keep Going Study: The Urgent Needs of Entrepreneurs in Wartime. Resource document. [Link]
  11. (2022). 2022 Business Leaders in Ukraine Survey. Resource document. ACC (American Chamber of Commerce Ukraine). [Link]
  12. Krause, D. R., Handfield, R. B., & Tyler, B. B. (2007). The relationships between supplier development, commitment, social capital accumulation and performance improvement. Journal of operations management25(2), 528-545. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  13. Livch, D. (2022). The new face of Ukrainian entrepreneurship. Resource document. Economic truth. [Link]
  14. (2022). Digital Trends in Ukraine and the Impact of the russian Invasion. Resource document. Newage Digital Advertising. [Link]
  15. Oklander, M., Yashkina, O., Zlatova, I., & Cicekli, I. (2023) Marketing tools for small and medium-sized businesses in growth strategies during the war in Ukraine. Proceedings of the Marketing of innovations. Innovations in marketing (Poland, Bielsko-Biala, December, 2023) (eds. Illiashenko S.), Bielsko-Biala: WSEH, pp. 216-217. [Link]
  16. Oklander, M., Yashkina, O., Zlatova, I., & Cicekli, I. (2023b). Development of the Internet marketing “roadmap” for small businesses, taking into account the experience of the UK Resource document. Official site of the Odessa Polytechnic National University. [Link]
  17. Saura, J. R., Palacios-Marqués, D., & Ribeiro-Soriano, D. (2023). Digital marketing in SMEs via data-driven strategies: Reviewing the current state of research. Journal of Small Business Management61(3), 1278-1313. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  18. Setkute, J., & Dibb, S. (2022). “Old boys’ club”: Barriers to digital marketing in small B2B firms. Industrial Marketing Management102, 266-279. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  19. Skare, M., de Obesso, M. D. L. M., & Ribeiro-Navarrete, S. (2023). Digital transformation and European small and medium enterprises (SMEs): A comparative study using digital economy and society index data. International Journal of Information Management68, 102594. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  20. Tolstoy, D., Nordman, E. R., & Vu, U. (2022). The indirect effect of online marketing capabilities on the international performance of e-commerce SMEs. International Business Review31(3), 101946. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  21. Zhiry, K. (2023). Time for work: how Ukrainian business recovered and adapted during the war year. Resource document. UNIAN Information Agency. [Link]
  22. Zlatova, І. О. (2022). Digital marketing changes during the Russian war in Ukraine 2022. Marketing and Digital Technologies, 6(3), 15-24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]

View articles in other formats

License

Coyright

Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s).

Published by Sumy State University

Issue