Measuring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the marketing industry of Serbia

Although publications on the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are widely available, papers on the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial firms, particularly marketing firms, are scarce. The aim of this exploratory study is to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the marketing industry in Serbia. Based on the variables generated from critical topics on marketing and the pandemic from the papers presented in the Literature Review section, we created a seven-pointLikert-type research scale entitled "Pandemic Impact on Marketing". The sample (n = 157) in the quantitative survey we conducted in November and December 2021 was intentional and predetermined. After confirming the sample was normally distributed, we conducted a reliability study of our 14-item scale. The calculated Cronbach's Alpha was 0.791. Since the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.776 and the Bartlett'stest of sphericity was Sig = 0.000, we further reduced our scale and yielded two interpretable components, Internal Success Factors, and External Success Factors. Finally, we conducted a series of parametric tests. The assessment of marketing experts from our sample on how successfully they coped with the pandemic was above average. They gave the over all success of their activities during the pandemic a rating of 5.01 out of 7. The marketing industry of Serbia has successfully dealt with the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.