Digital Marketing Communication in Developing Countries
Evidence from the Western Balkans
Abstract
Digital marketing has made significant progress in recent years, in all countries, both developed and developing. Many local and international companies have largely placed their marketing activities in the digital environment. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more important for many companies and consumers to conduct marketing, buying and selling activities through social media. Like companies, consumers are changing their buying behaviors by focusing more on social media, from which they are providing the necessary and sufficient information about all the products and services that are marketed online. This paper is of particular importance because it addresses the issue of digital marketing activities in the Western Balkans region, specifically the behavior of consumers from countries of this region on social media. From the results of the paper it can be concluded that consumers from these countries are quite engaged in social media, where they receive the necessary information for different products and services, follow the activities of different companies, etc.
Downloads
References
Andaç, A., Akbıyık, F., Karkar, A. (2016) Customer Satisfaction Factor in Digital Content Marketing: Isparta Province as an Example, International Journal of Social Science Studies, 4(5), pp. 124–135.
Anić, D. I., Škare, V., Milaković, K. I. (2016) Determinants and Behavioural Consequences of Online Privacy Concerns among Young Consumers in Croatia, Ekonomski Pregled/Economic Review, 67(5), pp. 377–398.
Bartosik-Purgat, M. (2019) Digital Marketing Communication from the Perspective of Individual Consumers: A Cross-Country Comparison. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 7(3), pp. 205–220.
Barua, A., Konana, P., Whinston, A. B., Yin, F. (2004)An empirical investigation of net-enabled business value, Management Information Systems, 28(4), pp. 585–624.
Beqaj, B., Krasniqi, A., Beqaj, V. (2019) Consumer Satisfaction on Online Services in Kosovo, Zagreb International Review of Economics & Business, 22 (2), Special Conference Issue, pp. 39–53.
Biloš, A., Galić, T. (2016) The role of digital marketing in university sport: An overview study of higher education institution in Croatia, Ekonomski Vjesnik/Econviews– Review of Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues, 29(2), pp. 453–465.
British Council. (2018) Cultural Skills research summary: Examining the cultural skills gaps and shortages in the Western Balkans, https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/h086_02_culturalskillsunit_western_balkans_final_web_1.pdf
Cabosky, J. (2016) Social media opinion sharing: Beyond volume, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(3), pp. 172–181.
Dahiya, R., Gayatri, S. (2018) A Research Paper on Digital Marketing Communication and Consumer Buying Decision Process: An Empirical Study in the Indian Passenger Car Market, Journal of Global Marketing, 31(2), pp. 73–95.
Davies, J., Musango, J. K., Brent, A. C. (2016) A systems approach to understanding the effect of Facebook use on the quality of interpersonal communication, Technology in Society, 44 (1), pp. 55–65.
Diaz, E., Martin-Consugera, D., Esteban, A. (2015) Perception of Service Canibalisation: the moderating effect of the type of travel agency, Tourism Management, 48(C), pp. 329–342.
Du Plessis, C. (2017) The Role of Content Marketing in Social Media Content Communities, South African Journal of Information Management, 19(1), pp. 1–7.
Durai, T., King, R. (2015) Impact of Digital Marketing on the Growth of Consumerism, Madras University Journal of Business and Finance, 3(2), pp. 94–104.
Erkan, I., Evans, C. (2016) The influence of eWOM on social media on consumers’ purchase intentions: An extended approach to information adoption, Computers in Human Behavior, 61, pp. 47–55.
Finne, A., Grönroos, C. (2017) Communication-in-use: Customer-integrated marketing communication, European Journal of Marketing, 51(3), pp. 445–463.
Floreddu, P. B., Cabiddu, F. (2016)Social media communication strategies, Journal of Services Marketing, 30(5), pp. 490–503.
Franc, S. (2019) Digital Trade as an Impetus for New Regulatory Initiatives, Ekonomski Vjesnik/Econviews - Review of Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues, 32(1), pp. 219–228.
Gati, M., Mitev, A., Bauer, A. (2018) Investigating the impact of Salespersons’ use of technology and social media on their customer relationship performance in B2B settings, Market-Tržište, 30(2), pp. 165–176.
Gillpatrick, T. (2019) The Digital Transformation of Marketing: Impact on Marketing Practice & Markets, Economics - Innovation and Economic Research, 7(2), pp. 139–156.
Gvili, Y., Levy, S. (2018) Consumer engagement with eWOM on social media: The role of social capital, Online Information Review, 42(4), pp. 482–505.
Hari-Adi, P., Wihuda, F., Adawiyah, R. W. (2017) The Role of Social Media Browsing Intention for Behavioral Outcomes of Young Consumers, Market-Tržište, 29(1), pp. 39–57.
Ho, C.-W. (2014) Consumer behaviour on Facebook: Does consumer participation bring positive consumer evaluation of the brand?, EuroMed Journal of Business, 9(3), pp. 252–267.
Hudson, S., Huang, L., Roth, M. S., Madden, T. J. (2016) The influence of social media interactions on consumer–brand relationships: A three-country study of brand perceptions and marketing behaviors, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33, pp. 327– 341.
Internet World Statistics (2020) Europe. Available at: https://www.internetworldstats.com/europa2.htm (accessed : 2. 9. 2020)
Jones, M. R., Karsten, H. (2008) Gidden’s structuration theory and information systems research, Management Information Systems, 32(1), pp. 127–157.
Jurčević, M., Lulić, L., Mostarac, V. (2020) The Digital Transformation of Croatian Economy compared with EU Member Countries, Ekonomski Vjesnik/Econviews - Review of Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues, 33(1), pp. 151–164.
Jusufi, G., Ukaj, M., (2020) Migration and Economic Development in Western Balkan Countries: Evidence From Kosovo, Poslovna izvrsnost/Business excellence, 14(1), pp.135–158.
Jusufi, G., Ajdarpašić, S. (2020) The Impact of EU Programmes on Financing Higher Education Institutions in Western Balkans – Evidence from Kosovo, LeXonomica, Journal of Law and Economics, 12(1), pp. 107–128.
Kacprzak, A., Dziewanowska, D. (2019) Investigating the influence of consumer socio-demographic characteristics on the preferred type of consumption experience, Journal of East European Management Studies, 24(4), pp. 513–544.
Kaur, A., Sandhu, G. (2017) Opportunities and challenges to digital marketing in developing countries, International Journal of Science Technology and Management, 6 (5), pp. 322–327.
Khandelwal,M., Sharma, A., Varshney, D., Dagur, A. (2018) To analyze Consumer Satisfaction level in Digital Content Marketing with Emphasis on Shopping Websites, International Journal of Engineering &Technology, 7(3.12), pp. 637–642.
Khan, G. F., Vong, S. (2014) Virality over YouTube: An empirical analysis, Internet Research, 24(5), pp. 629–647.
Kim, Y., Sohn, D., Choi, S. (2011) Cultural differences in motivations for using social network sites: A comparative study of American and Korean college students, Computers in Human Behaviour, 27(1), pp. 365–372.
Ko, H., Roberts, M. S., Cho, C. (2006) Cross-cultural differences in motivations and perceived interactivity: A comparative study of American and Korean internet users, Journal of Current Issuesand Research in Advertising, 28(2), pp. 93–104.
Kucukemiroglu, S., Kara, A. (2015) Online word-of-mouth communication on social networking sites: An empirical study of Facebook users, International Journal of Commerce and Management, 25(1), pp. 2–20.
Levkov, N., Mijoska, M., Jovevski, D. (2015) Social Media Marketing Activity in Western Balkan Banking Industry, Conference: 38th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO), Croatia.
Ludwig, S., De Ruyter, K. (2016): Decoding social media speak: Developing a speech act theory research agenda, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(2), pp. 124–134.
Mahmutović, K. (2011) Web site as a Marketing tool in Western Balkan Real Estate Brokerage Industry, Conference: Economic Theory and Practice, Meeting the New Chalenges, Faculty of Economics, University of Mostar, Vol.1.
Markić, B., Bijakšić, S., Bevanda, A. (2016) Sentiment Analysis of Social Networks as a Challenge to the Digital Marketing, Ekonomski Vjesnik/Econviews - Review of Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues, 29(1), pp. 95–107.
Mazurek, G., Korzyński, P., Górska, A. (2019)Social Media in the Marketing of Higher Education Institutions in Poland: Preliminary Empirical Studies. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 7(1), pp. 117–133.
Mostafa, A. A. (2014) The effectiveness of Product Codes in Marketing, International Conference on Strategic Innovative Marketing, September 1-4, Madrid, Spain, Vol.175.
Ovčak Kos, M. (2019) The Right to be Forgotten and the Media, LeXonomica, Journal of Law and Economics, 11(2), pp. 195–212.
Podvorica, G., Ukaj, F. (2019) The Role of Consumers’ Behaviour in Applying Green Marketing: An Economic Analysis of the Non-alcoholic Beverages Industry in Kosova, Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics, 9(1), pp.1–25.
Qorraj, G., Jusufi, G. (2018) The EU Stabilization and Association Agreement for the Western Balkans: Challenges and Opportunities, Croatian International Relations Review (CIRR), 24(81), pp. 51–68.
Qorraj, G., Jusufi, G. (2019) EU vs Local Market Orientation: Western Balkan Entrepreneurs’ Challenge, Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 7(4), pp. 21–32.
Ryu, J. S. (2013) Mobile Marketing Communications in the Retail Environment: A comparison of QR code users and non users, International Journal of Mobile Marketing, 8 (2), pp. 19–29.
Ruleman, A.B. (2012) Social media at the university: a demographic comparison, New Library World, 113(7/8), pp. 316–332.
Smith, P. R., Zook, Z. (2016) Marketing Communications: Offline and Online Integration, Engagement and Analytics. (London: Kogan Page).
Tojib, D., Khajehzadeh, S. (2017) Mitigating customers' negative responses to physical presence reduction, Journal of Retail Consumer Service, 37(4), pp. 109–118.
Wang, T., Yeh, R. K-J., Chen, C., Tsydypov, Z. (2016) What drives electronic word-of-mouth on social networking sites?, Perspectives of social capital and self-determination, Telematics and Informatics, 33(4), pp. 1034–1047.
Weber, R. H. (2015) The digital future - A challenge for privacy?, Computer Law & Security Review,31(2), pp. 234–242.
Whiteside, S. (2016) Five digital marketing lessons from comScore, Warc Exclusive, pp. 2-9. https://www.comscore.com/content/download/33177/1863575/file/Five_digital_marketing_lessons_from_Comscore.pdf (accessed: 25. 8. 2020).
Whiting, A., Williams, D. (2013) Why people use social media: A uses and gratifications approach, Qualitative Market Research, An International Journal, 16(4), pp. 362–369.