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Impact of Small Business Entrepreneurs' Absorptive Capacity of Participating in Digital Platform on Market Response: The Moderating Effect of Vicarious Learning and Experiential Learning  

Juhee, Kim (Research Center for Innovative Firms)
Youngshin, Kim (Seoul Theological University)
Publication Information
Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship / v.17, no.6, 2022 , pp. 115-125 More about this Journal
Abstract
As the digital economy has emerged as a means of building a new business order and creating new values, the number of small business owners participating in digital platforms is gradually increasing. This study aims to check whether small business owners participating in the digital platform are being helped to properly respond to the market environment and establish and implement strategies necessary for growth through learning within the platform. To this end, this study attempted to examine the effect of the absorptive capacity of small business owners using e-commerce platforms on market orientation and the moderating effect of vicarious learning and experiential learning, which are two types of learning within the platform. As a result of verifying the hypothesis through the survey, it was found that the absorption capacity of small business owners using digital platforms positively affected their market orientation. In addition, as a result of the moderating effect analysis, it was found that vicarious learning within the platform strengthens the relationship between absorptive capacity and market orientation. This result implies that small business owners can not only prepare for market uncertainties through indirect learning (vicarious learning) but also establish strategies to provide products and services that meet the market's needs. On the other hand, the effect of experiential learning was found to lower market orientation, which means that previous business experiences can rather lower attention to the environment. The significance and implications of the study were presented.
Keywords
Digital Platform; Small Business Owner; Absorptive Capacity; Market Orientation; Vicarious Learning; Experiential Learning;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
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