E-ECOMMERCE AND SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH OF SELECTED ENTERPRISES IN BENIN CITY, NIGERIA.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The digital transformation of business has made e-commerce a key component in the growth of small businesses, but empirical studies of the specific dimensions of e-commerce in Benin City are very limited. This study examined the effects of e-commerce dimensions on the growth of the small business in Benin City, Nigeria. The research aimed to explore the impact of digital marketing intensity, usage of e-CRM and integration of online transactions on the development of selected small businesses in terms of sales revenue, number of customers and profitability. A cross sectional survey design was used and small businesses randomly sampled in five major markets of Benin City was a sample of 1200. Stratified random sampling was used to administer 250 questionnaires and 215 of these questionnaires were returned (86% response rate). For data analysis, descriptive Statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis was used in SPSS.: All three dimensions of e-commerce were found to have statistically significant positive impact on small business growth. Digital marketing intensity emerged as the strongest predictor (β = 0.305, p < 0.001), followed by e-CRM usage (β = 0.249, p < 0.001) and online transaction integration (β = 0.231, p < 0.001). The model as a whole accounted for 31.7% of the variance in business growth (R² = 0.317). Digital marketing intensity was adopted with the highest intensity (mean = 3.42) and the lowest was for online transaction integration (mean = 2.95). Digital marketing intensity is the most influential dimension of e-commerce to the growth of small businesses in Benin City. All three dimensions are beneficial, but there are issues of adoption such as lack of digital literacy and customer mistrust with online transactions. Digital marketing investments are important and should be done by small business owners and they should also consider implementing e-CRM systems