Marketing Technology Absorptive Capacity and Performance of Small & Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in Malaysia

The evolution of marketing technology has become a critical driver of success for Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in today's dynamic and competitive environment. However, technology adoption alone does not necessarily impact firm performance directly. In fact, it depends on the ability of a firm to acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit the technology to improve firm performance. This study aims to examine the impact of marketing technology adoption on the performance of SMEs with the existence of absorptive capacity as a mediator. In addition, the moderating effect of competitive environment and firm size on the direct and indirect relationship between marketing technology adoption and SME performance will be examined. The conceptual framework is drawn from TOE framework and theory of absorptive capacity. This study employs a quantitative survey questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 250 SMEs in Malaysia using stratified sampling. Data is analyzed using the SPSS and SmartPLS statistical tools. The findings are expected to show that absorptive capacity partially mediates the relationship between marketing technology adoption and SME performance. This implies that fostering absorptive capacity in an organization is an important factor that influence the impact of marketing technology adoption on the performance of SMEs in Malaysia. Besides, companies with larger numbers of employees and operate in a highly competitive environment are expected to appreciate the importance of absorptive capacity. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the importance of absorptive capacity in the relationship between marketing technology adoption and SME performance, as well as moderating effect of competitive environment and firm size. This research helps practitioners recognize the importance of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and the exploitation of marketing technology knowledge for business performance.