Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Elisabeth M. Musil

Abstract

AbstractSaudi policymakers developed short-and long-term plans supporting the electronic commerce of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to increase sales. Saudi SME managers who do not take advantage of these plans to increase sales may lose profits. Grounded in Rogers’s diffusion of innovations theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies SME business managers use to increase retail electronic commerce sales. The participants comprised 5 Saudi SME managers from 5 different local retail companies who effectively used strategies to increase retail electronic commerce sales. Data were collected through semistructured audio-visual interviews, company websites, and financial documents. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: utilizing social media as a marketing strategy, using the government’s SME online business certification platforms, and making sales through third-party online stores. A key recommendation for Saudi SME managers includes registering on the Maroof website to gain customers’ trust and utilizing more than one social media source for marketing and sales. The implications for positive social change include the potential for Saudi SME managers to expand the local Saudi communities’ economic growth by creating new jobs for electronic commerce supporting businesses such as home-based sellers, local supply chains, regional distribution channels, and local financial systems.

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