📄 Abstract
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been incorporating digital tools in their operations to stay competitive in their respective markets. Digital marketing has become a need for every business to survive the competition in the global market. This is especially true for businesses in the fashion industry in Kenya. A lot of research has been conducted on the role of digital marketing in the performance of businesses in Kenya, but little has been done on Maasai beading fashion businesses. This study, aimed to investigate the use of digital marketing and business performance of small and medium Maasai beading fashion businesses in Kajiado County. The study used a descriptive research design with a mixed methods approach to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The data was collected using a semi-structured interview schedule and a structured observation checklist. A multistage sampling technique was used in the study including: cluster, systematic random and purposive sampling methods. . A chi square test of independence at the 0.05 significance level was used to test the relationship between the digital marketing tools; social media marketing, electronic word of mouth and mobile marketing as used by the businesses and their performance. The study found that while there was a significant association between the adoption of digital marketing and performance of the Maasai beading fashion business, it did not show a causative relationship. The study concluded that digital marketing was a significant catalyst in the performance of the beading businesses but was not a sole influence in their performance. The study recommends that the county government and CBOs ought to come up with training programs for Maasai beading fashion businesses to enable them come up with marketing policies that support their digital marketing efforts. In addition, beading entrepreneurs should put effort into intentional and strategic implementation of digital marketing. Finally training providers and development partners should invest providing functional adult literacy training that includes digital skills specific to multilingual communities.
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📚 How to Cite:
Nancy Naisenke Passiany, Juliet .K. Isika, Dorothy Riungu , DIGITAL MARKETING ADOPTION AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM MAASAI BEADING BUSINESSES IN KAJIADO COUNTY, KENYA , Volume 13 , Issue 6, June 2026, EPRA International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Studies (EBMS) , Pages: 200 - 205 ,