Entrepreneurial Marketing and Marketing Performance through Digital Marketing Capabilities of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) and marketing performance, as mediated by digital marketing capabilities (DMC), among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in north-western Nigeria. Grounded in the Resource-Based View and dynamic capabilities framework, the research adopted a quantitative cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 312 SME owner-managers in Katsina and Kano states through an online survey and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings reveal that EMO has a significant positive direct effect on marketing performance and exerts a strong influence on DMC, which in turn drives marketing performance. Digital marketing capabilities partially mediate the relationship, representing the dominant pathway through which EMO enhances performance outcomes. The study concludes that superior marketing performance among Nigerian SMEs results from the synergy between entrepreneurial marketing orientation and digital marketing capabilities. In resource-constrained emerging markets, EMO functions as a higher-order capability that primarily generates value by enabling the development and adaptive deployment of digital tools, particularly social media proficiency. SME owner-managers should cultivate entrepreneurial behaviours, especially customer intensity, while prioritising digital capabilities, beginning with social media marketing and progressing to data analytics. Policymakers and support organisations such as SMEDAN should design integrated interventions that combine entrepreneurial marketing training with practical digital skills development rather than infrastructure alone. The findings advance understanding of the marketing-entrepreneurship interface in sub-Saharan Africa and offer actionable insights for improving SME competitiveness in digitally transitioning economies.