Article Preview
Top1. Introduction
In high-income nations, SMEs account for 60% of GDP and 65% of employment; in middle-income countries, SMEs account for 70% of GDP and 95% of employment; and in low-income countries, SMEs account for 60% of GDP and over 70% of employment (Keskin et al, 2010). SMEs account for around 90% of all business entities in developing Asian countries and are the primary private sector employers, accounting for 66% of employment and 42% of gross value creation (Bello, Jibir, & Ahmed, 2018; Kartiwi & MacGregor, 2007). They also contribute to 20% of total exports (ERIA, 2018). In the Asia Pacific region, SMEs account for 96% of all enterprises and 62% of the labour force and contribute 42% to GDP (Yoshino and Taghizade-Hesary, 2018).
SMEs are now so widely regarded as “engines” of economic growth and prosperity that the sector has found itself among the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for global prosperity (Al-Qirim, 2006; Baoling, 2014; Chong & Pervan, 2007; Douglas, Eti-Tofinga, & Singh, 2018; Yadav & Mahara, 2019). SME development and expansion is considered to cut across various SDGs, including SDG 1 (end poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work) and SDG 9 (improve sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation). During the 2020 global health pandemic, triggered by the COVID-19 virus, global and regional development partners the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, OECD, G20 and others identified the SME sector as critical for bolstering economic recovery. Literature is replete with single, cross-country, and regional studies investigating issues such as credit constraints, innovation, productivity, and performance of the sector. Research has also examined the efficacy of marketing strategies for meaningful expansion, growth, and performance of the sector (Heneman, Tansky, & Camp, 2000; Li & Wang, 2010). Marketing has been shown to increase company visibility by enhancing the firms image and improving the quality of customer service (Tambunan, 2005). Companies also use marketing as a tool to improve business growth and financial performance and build a competitive advantage (Samiee & Walters, 1991). However, very few studies seem to apply marketing tactics for SMEs, for example, marketing skills, endeavours and practice appear to be limited for SMEs (Duhan, Levy, & Powell, 2001), resulting in slower expansion and questionable sustainability of the sector (Gretzel & Fesenmaier, 2003; Ibrahim, 2021; Li & Wang, 2010).