Strategic Marketing Communication for Sustainable Growth: Examining the Influence on Export Intentions and Financial Performance in Iron and Mining SMEs

The positive contributions that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make in the iron and mining industries are vital for the development of the global economy. However, their costly operations in disadvantaged regions and the green economy interests of financial institutions have made them face more financial obstacles that decrease their export and financial performance. In this regard, their ability to use marketing communication tools that are included in the dynamic capability of Resource-based View theory (RBV) can reduce their exporting and financial performance concerns. This is because using these marketing communication tools presents them with less costly marketing solutions and provides competitive advantages for SMEs against their larger-sized rivals. In this regard, this paper aims to analyze the impact of one-way (telemarketing, direct mail, website, etc.) and two-way marketing communication tools (social media platforms) on SMEs' export intention and financial performance from the iron and mining industries. The research team collected data from 1221 SMEs operating in Eastern European countries via an internet-mediated questionnaire to hit this target. The impacts of the marketing communication tools on export intention and financial performance are analyzed via the Binary Logistic Regression Test. The results show that while using one-way and two-way marketing communication tools does not affect the export intention of SMEs, it negatively affects their financial performance. The reason for these results might be related to the location and sector in which SMEs operate.