The Effect of Digital Marketing Adoption on the Sustainable Growth of Agricultural Industries: Empirical Evidence from Iran

In recent decades, digital marketing has been recognized as one of the key tools for increasing productivity and accessing new markets in various industries. The agricultural industry is no exception to this rule and digital marketing plays a vital role in its development and progress. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to investigate the impact of digital marketing adoption on the sustainable growth of Iran's agricultural industries through a case study of Khuzestan province. The research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-causal in terms of nature. The statistical population was employed in agricultural industries in Khuzestan province. The sample size was estimated using Morgan's table to be 384 people, taken by simple randomization. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire whose validity was determined by a panel of experts and whose reliability was determined by estimating Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which was estimated to be more than 0.7 for all sections of the questionnaire. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage, and mean in the descriptive section and structural equation model in the analytical section. The results of the research showed that the attitude towards digital marketing has a positive and significant effect on the behavioral intention to use digital marketing, and the attitude towards digital marketing has a significant effect on sustainable growth. Also, the results showed that mental norms have a positive and significant effect on the behavior intention to use digital marketing and the actual use of digital marketing. In addition, the perceived behavioral control has a positive and significant effect on the behavioral intention to use digital marketing. Finally, the use of digital marketing has a direct and positive effect on the sustainable growth of agricultural industries. The study’s results serve as guidelines for prospective adopters of digital platforms as they develop their sustainability strategies.