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From digital adoption to strategic integration: Amplifying customer experience and marketing performance through synergistic integration of digital marketing and e-commerce supply chains

Emmanuel Kwarteng-Amaniampong & Madele Tait

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences2026https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v29i1.6434article
AJG 1ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Background: The digital transformation imperative has accelerated organisational change, compelling micro-, small- and medium-enterprises (MSMEs) to rapidly integrate digital marketing with e-commerce and supply chain operations. Aim: This study investigated how the integration of digital marketing strategies with e-commerce supply chain operations enhances customer experience and marketing performance among South African MSMEs in the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) digital economy. Setting: This study focused on 244 MSMEs in South Africa’s four largest cities. Method: A quantitative design employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) tested six hypotheses examining relationships among digital marketing, e-commerce supply chain, customer experience and marketing performance. Results: All hypotheses were supported. Digital marketing significantly influenced e-commerce supply chain operations, customer experience and marketing performance (β = 0.89). E-commerce supply chains significantly affected customer experience and marketing performance. Customer experience has demonstrated a strong influence on marketing performance. Conclusion: This study extends the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) by demonstrating how diffusion of innovation attributes – relative advantage, compatibility and observability – manifest in MSME digital adoption within developing economies. The findings of this study reveal that strategic integration, rather than mere adoption, of digital marketing with e-commerce supply chains creates synergistic effects that amplify both customer experience and marketing performance. Contribution: This study uniquely demonstrates that integrated digital marketing and supply chain digitalisation produce synergistic effects on customer experience and marketing performance, exceeding isolated adoption outcomes – providing empirical evidence that strategic integration, rather than resource intensity, drives competitive advantage for emerging market MSMEs.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v29i1.6434

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@article{emmanuel2026,
  title        = {{From digital adoption to strategic integration: Amplifying customer experience and marketing performance through synergistic integration of digital marketing and e-commerce supply chains}},
  author       = {Emmanuel Kwarteng-Amaniampong & Madele Tait},
  journal      = {South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v29i1.6434},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.