Factors influencing the adoption of e-marketing as a mode of marketing by SMEs in Zambia : a case of SMEs in the tourism industry.

The digital economy has transformed the way businesses operate worldwide, and SMEs in Zambia are not exempted from this trend. However, many SMEs in Zambia face challenges in accessing markets, which hinders their growth and competitiveness. E-marketing presents an opportunity for SMEs to reach a broader market and overcome these challenges. Hence the quest to study the factors influencing the adoption of e-marketing as a mode of marketing by SMEs in Zambia. The study involved a sample of 286 respondents who were selected using the Taro Yamane formula from the hotel industry in Livingstone. The research is based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists commonly known by its abbreviation as SPSS. The five variables under observation are: Performance Expectance, Effort Expectance, Social Influence, facilitating conditions and Behavioral Intentions were used to assess if they are influence the actual usage of e-marketing in the tourism industry. The overall coefficient of correlation of 0.722 in the table below from the SPSS results suggests that there is a strong positive relationship between actual usage and the independent variables which are PE, SI, BI, EE, and FC. The R-Square (coefficient of determination) of 0.522 suggests that the adoption of digital marketing is influenced 52.2% by the independent variables PE, SI, BI, EE, and FC and 47.8% can be associated to other factors that we did not take into consideration. In order to ensure validity of the data analysis Correlation, Regression
and ANOVA analysis was also put to use.