http://reposit.library.du.ac.bd:8080/xmlui/xmlui/handle/123456789/51 2026-04-07T01:56:55Z http://reposit.library.du.ac.bd:8080/xmlui/xmlui/handle/123456789/4773 Effects of Online Marketing on Small Enterprises: A Study on the Local Clothing Brands in Bangladesh Khan, Md. Shahidur Rahman The rapidly growing clothing sector in Bangladesh, particularly among informal Small Enterprises, now appears to be at a crossroads – a context marked by the creative potential of global digitalization and a demand for change. A key dilemma, however, is that most marketing and innovation adoption theories are rooted in strong formal institutional and resource-rich contexts. This significantly limits their ability to examine value creation in resource-constrained, informal economies effectively. This outmoded paradigm, based on conditions that have not yet materialized for most informal sector entrepreneurs, leaves a significant theoretical and practical gap. This study effectively fills a crucial gap by investigating how local, informal micro and small clothing enterprises in Bangladesh efficiently use online marketing as a viable solution to overcome common systemic and market barriers. In arguing for a profoundly context-dependent theoretical grounding, this study offers valuable insights into how the processes of digital adoption and value creation unfold under context-specific socio-cultural, infrastructural, and gender barriers in a developing nation. It seeks to create a refined representation that captures the essence of the concept and lays the foundation for identifying new value-creating sources in future generations of business worlds, where established business models do not provide suitable instruments. More than simply descriptive, this study undertakes the challenging task of promoting a rigorous line of inquiry into the effects of online marketing by questioning the need to advance theory through the firm formalization of financial performance measures—namely, sales revenue. Beyond the more superficial analysis of engagement metrics, such as likes, shares, and comments, this study adopts an in-depth measurement of how digital culture impacts an individual. The results provide up-to-date and actionable competitive insights, pinpointing viii exactly where to focus online marketing efforts for the greatest return on investment for smaller firms in this evolving marketplace. This offers a theoretically grounded glimpse into the critical mechanisms and motivations shaping micro- to small-sized firms at the global periphery in ways that allow them to negotiate, overcoming resource deficiencies, the complex terrain of late digital technology adoption and diffusion. To address the identified theoretical, methodological, and contextual gaps intentionally, a systematic, multi-step mixed-methods research design was employed in the study. This holistic model was purposively built on six theoretical bases, namely the AIDA Model, Trusted AIDA Model, Social Exchange Theory (SET), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory, Resource-Based View (RBV), and Customer Engagement Theory (CET). This comprehensive theoretical model provides a strong basis for understanding the multidimensional adoption process of online marketing, ranging from macro or external-level to micro or behavioral-level influencing factors. This particular coupling of theories had the critical advantage of providing an opportunity to develop a more nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between individual agency and structural context in creating effective online marketing structures, particularly in resource-constrained and informal settings. The quantitative phase of this study, employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, grounded the understanding of online marketing effectiveness in small Bangladeshi clothing businesses. A systematic random sample was taken from a master list of 1264 digitally active small clothing businesses in Bangladesh (the study population, provided by BSCIC databases). This rigorous sampling criterion helped ensure that all 510 respondents (corresponding to a rich 40% of the potential sample) were online marketing-active respondents, and consequently, considerably increased the credibility and validity of the data for regression ix and factor analysis. This rigorous technique led to the discovery of four critical factors in online marketing. Multivariate analysis, performed through multiple regression analysis, showed that Digital Engagement (β = 0.445) was the most relevant predictor of sales. In contrast, Web Optimization (β = 0.309), Viral Content (β = 0.283), and Affiliate Campaigns (β = 0.102) were other relevant and equally important predictors. More importantly, the model accounted for an outstanding 74.2% of the variation in sales revenue (R² = 0.742), which underscores the joint and significant effect of these factors in enhancing business performance within resource-scarce environments. These results provide strong evidence on the internet marketing strategies that work best for small firms in the informal sector of the economy. Complementing this, the inductive, in-depth qualitative phase, which included 20 expert interviews and four embedded case studies, revealed a complex and nuanced picture of the micro- and macro-level processes constraining online marketing uptake. Rigorously inductively coded and narrowly focused on the consolidation of quantitative constructs, entrepreneurs' lived experiences revealed important micro-level issues, such as digital fatigue, content burnout, platform-specific skill gaps, and the balance of skills between traditional and online marketing. At the same time, substantial obstacles to effective online marketing were also encountered at both macro and organizational levels, including low visibility associated with gender, the significant influence of informal networks, and a notable lack of digital support. Hundreds of these qualitative data provide a complementary strength to the quantitative results by offering a detailed description of what, on the ground, the realities and structural settings that have a significant impact on the adoption and performance of online marketing practices look like. This key data triangulation—and even more so for Digital Engagement, where powerful evidence-based influences and robust effect sizes generated by the quantitative side were substantiated by x qualitative material insights into emotional labor and peer support aspects—significantly strengthens the study's meta-validity. This system's focus not only highlights the urgent need for localized, inclusive, and scalable approaches to both individual and system-level barriers to informal business but also starkly suggests that online marketing can only serve as a sustained competitive advantage if these multi-level constraints are appropriately mitigated. This research makes several significant contributions to theory. Firstly, it significantly enhances the TAM model by integrating socio-cultural legitimating and gendered visibility into the model, thereby better explaining non-formal technology adoption and making it more context-specific and generalizable across varied cultural contexts. Second, this study contributes to the Resource-Based View (RBV) by describing how informal ventures productively assess and utilize readily available, low-cost online tools. They skillfully apply social capital and resourceful ingenuity to compensate for their lack of traditional resources, thus adding value to a critical coverage area where RBV is used in emerging countries. Third, it advances the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory by not only contesting the linear models primarily posited in the industrialized world but also by emphasizing that deeply rooted social norms and well-entrenched infrastructural bottlenecks are significant obstacles to the diffusion of complex technologies. This offers a fresh perspective on the unique strategic logic of informal enterprises and their distinctive, often non-linear, search for viral content, alongside a hybridization of traditional and online marketing tools and other performance dimensions beyond standard metrics. The study results also have several practical implications. Diverging recommendations for informal entrepreneurs, therefore, are to facilitate culture-appropriate content creation, promote gradual internet adoption, design relevant content literacy programs, and strategically xi exploit informal affiliate networks for organic growth. Importantly, the lessons are broader than just for individual enterprises, yielding essential policy implications for governments and donors to support infrastructure-sensitive digital enablement at the national and sub-national levels. Simply, this approach takes into account the existing economic and socio-cultural constraints and advocates for gender-inclusive digital literacy programs for equity of access and participation. And interestingly, these are not just "best practices" – in the traditional "one-size-fits-all" sense – but are very deeply and specifically rooted in, and emerge directly from, the particular context, the local conditions of implementation, of the informal economy in Bangladesh, a resource-starved, information-dark, infrastructure-weak country – and very likely context-specific, context-contingent in other low-infrastructure economies. Recognizing the cross-sectional nature and self-reported sources of data as potential sources of bias and limitations to the generalizability of the results to other domains or cultural contexts, this study provides novel empirical evidence essential for understanding the process of digital transformation in the informal economy. While emphatically rejecting the mechanical transfer of Western online use, it also strongly promotes a bottom-up, inclusive, and performance-oriented strategy, as it is far more responsive to changing market conditions. The findings also highlight an urgent and undeniable demand for contextually specific, culturally embedded digital interventions for informal economies. From a future research perspective, researchers should consider using longitudinal panel studies to track the development of digital maturity and gendered digital practices among adolescents, while also examining the effects of local digital service providers as mediators and the dynamics between regions. In addition, the results emphasize the urgent and unavoidable need for further theoretical exploration in this xii crucial topic, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the socio-cultural embeddedness and adaptive susceptibility of digital adoption. This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2025-02-19T00:00:00Z http://reposit.library.du.ac.bd:8080/xmlui/xmlui/handle/123456789/4744 Entrepreneurial Marketing Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh: Prospects and Challenges Khan, Farhana When conventional marketing strategies are not suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurs must unlearn existing principles and substitute them with new, innovative concepts and endeavors, such as entrepreneurial marketing (EM). In this paper, the effects of EM dimensions on Bangladeshi SMEs are taken into consideration. Chapter one includes an introductory presentation and definitions of core study materials, such as the definition of small and medium enterprises, the definition of entrepreneurial marketing, the background of the study, the research gap of the study, the purposes of the study, the problem of the study, and finally, the overall structure of the study. The second chapter provides a review of the literature, including various definitions of research experts, operational variables, and previous research on marketing for entrepreneurs. It also examines previous studies that have explored the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing and sustainability in SMEs. Chapter three shows and explains theories of entrepreneurial marketing that include different opinions and findings of other researchers, and some implications for further research. Chapter four includes research questions, objectives, hypotheses, and research methodology. This study aimed to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial marketing aspects on the performance of small and medium-sized businesses. The quantitative research approach was used to collect the necessary data. In particular, 627 SMEs in Bangladesh participated in a structured survey that yielded the primary data. The environmental background of entrepreneurial marketing is explained in Chapter Five. This chapter compiles Micro and Macro environmental forces that affect the entrepreneur and their business. Among many entrepreneurs, there are some case studies of them included in chapter six. A list of some other entrepreneurs is shown in this chapter. Chapter Seven presented the findings of this study. To determine the validity and reliability of the measuring 5 | P a g e items and to confirm the influence of entrepreneurial marketing aspects on business performance, the acquired data were further examined using the SPSS methodology. The findings demonstrated that value creation and client intensity improve business performance. The results also demonstrated a positive correlation between company success, innovativeness, and resource leveraging. Risk-taking's impact on business performance, however, was determined to be negligible. Lastly, it was discovered that opportunity focus and pro-activeness significantly improve business performance. According to the findings summary, respondents are often very opportunity-focused and see the value of resource leveraging. Despite the fact that value creation is regarded as a crucial aspect of entrepreneurial marketing, respondents are reluctant to take chances and are not typically proactive, creative, or customer-focused. By filling up the current research gaps between the chosen aspects of entrepreneurial marketing and company performance, this study advances resource-advantage theory and empirical literature. Lastly, the study's limitations and recommendations for additional research are discussed. This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2025-11-05T00:00:00Z http://reposit.library.du.ac.bd:8080/xmlui/xmlui/handle/123456789/4118 BRANDING INITIATIVES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A STUDY ON SOME SELECTED UNIVERSITIES IN BANGLADESH Sawrov, Md. Maksodul Haque The study aims to examine the branding initiatives and strategies employed by higher education institutions in Bangladesh. This study has considered twenty renowned universities as the study area. The data collection process involved surveying 385, including current university students, besides gathering input from teachers and university officials. In this study quantitative analysis is used to identify the impact of branding initiatives on higher education. Exploratory factor analysis is utilized to identify pertinent branding factors with statistical significance. Subsequently, multiple regression models are applied to establish the connections between these branding factors and their impact on university admission. The findings of the study reveal five major variables: branding quality education, strong brand image, branding learning environment, branding student’s facilities, and university branding tools. The results from the multiple regression analysis highlight the major impact of four key variables on student admission decisions. Specifically, branding quality education, strong brand image, branding learning environment and university branding activities all demonstrate a positive influence on student admissions. This highlights the role of university branding in attracting potential students and increasing the possibility of their enrollment. Based on these findings, this study recommends cumulative efforts from both public and private universities to leverage branding strategies aimed at influencing prospective students' enrollment decisions. Such efforts include emphasizing the delivery of quality education, recruiting high-caliber faculty, adhering to international curriculum standards, establishing affiliations with other universities, achieving international rankings with a strong reputation, ensuring adequate media exposure, and more. Both new and established universities can benefit from implementing comprehensive university branding initiatives that positively impact student enrollment. This thesis is submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy. 2025-04-21T00:00:00Z http://reposit.library.du.ac.bd:8080/xmlui/xmlui/handle/123456789/4062 CUSTOMER BASED BRAND EQUITY IN SERVICES INDUSTRY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS HUSAIN, ARIFA The notion of brand equity is so complicated that there is a wide range of interpretations of it in the literature. In the previous fifteen years, brand equity has grown in significance as the means of comprehending the objectives, processes, and broad impacts of marketing (Reynolds & Phillips, 2005). Given this, it is not surprising that, indicators which measures various facets of brand equity have turn out to be a part of a set of marketing performance metrics (Ambler, 2003). So, identifying and assessing a relationship between brand equity and marketing performance or outcomes will be valuable for both product and service-based organization. The aim of this research is to determine the degree to which, using a critical literature analysis based methodology, the brand equity dimensions like as marketing communications, brand awareness & associations, service quality, customer satisfaction, and brand loyalty have an impact on brand equity simultaneously and distinctly in the context of service branding. Thus, the purpose statements or research objectives of this study are - to develop a theoretical Customer-Based Service Brand Equity Model, to review and deeply assess the relationships among the marketing communication tools and service quality dimensions to enhance brand equity, to scrutinize the relationship between customer satisfaction and brand loyalty on brand equity, to pinpoint the strategies derived from this Customer-Based Service Brand Equity Model. This research is exploratory in nature and is based on a critical analysis of the literature. This study concentrates on the service industries and uses a total of 370 resources, including scholarly journals and books, based on the English language and was published within 25 years. Then, a couple of research gaps are discovered, six key variables are identified, and several hypotheses are formulated. The critical analysis of the literature review reveals that the current brand equity measuring methods need to be modified as brand equity models are used for measuring brand equity, and research needs to be expanded to create a single, standardized measurement tool that will keep up with the changing nature of the world, as this study explores different angles of brand equity and service marketing concepts. Thus, the customer-based service brand equity model is proposed. The v proposed Customer Based Service Brand Equity Model (Figure: 32) consists of six main dimensions, which are Marketing communications options, brand awareness & associations, service quality dimensions, customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and brand equity. Each of these dimensions can be subdivided into several dimensions. The current study is offering managers a holistic approach to developing effective brand strategies. The three major strategic implications of this research are- selecting marketing communication options and allocating budget onto it, identifying service failures and recover those by providing superior services, finally diagnosing and classifying loyal customer base to offer customized service. Brand equity gives marketers a crucial strategic link between their present and future (Keller et, al., 2015). Thus, to increase the profitability over the long haul of the company, brand management, and service marketing must work together to deliver high-quality experiences more effectively. vi This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2025-04-10T00:00:00Z