From Intention to Implementation: Digital Marketing Challenges for Indonesian Seaweed SMEs

Abstract

The rapid digital transformation in developing economies presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges for local businesses. This study examines how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) producing seaweed-based products in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, implement digital marketing strategies, and why a gap persists between their intention to adopt such strategies and their capacity to enact them effectively. Adopting a qualitative, multi-case design, data were gathered from owners and managers of twenty SMEs through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The data were analyzed thematically along four dimensions of digital-marketing competence (accessibility, interactivity, credibility, and informativeness) using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the interpretive lens. The findings reveal a consistent intention-implementation gap; strong performance expectancy and social influence sustain adoption intentions, whereas high effort expectancy and weak facilitating conditions constrain effective practice. The study highlights the urgent need for targeted training and ecosystem support, offering a context-specific account of enterprise digitalization in an under-researched agro-marine sector