Journal of New Approaches in Management and Marketing

Identification and Prioritization of the Dimensions and Components of Digital Marketing Adoption in Knowledge-Based Companies

Document Type : Original Article (Mixed)

Authors

elaheh soltani 1
saeed massoodipoor 2

1 Master of Business Administration (MBA), Major in Marketing, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of the Department of Business Management, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22034/jnamm.2026.564355.1220
Abstract
The present study aims to identify and prioritize the challenges of implementing digital marketing in knowledge-based companies located in Qom and Markazi provinces. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data were collected through a literature review and interviews with fourteen managers of knowledge-based companies, selected using snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify and classify the challenges. In addition, MAXQDA 2020 software was employed for organizing, coding, and analyzing the qualitative data. A total of 42 initial issues were identified and categorized into six main groups: managers’ cognitive and behavioral issues, financial and budgetary issues, content-related issues, human resource issues, marketing-related issues, and issues related to changes in platforms and social media. In the second phase, the identified issues were screened using the Fuzzy Delphi technique in Excel. As a result of the screening process, 22 final factors were retained and subsequently prioritized using the MARCOS technique. The prioritization results revealed that difficulties in retaining skilled and specialized human resources, as well as the lack of marketing research tailored to the digital environment, were the highest-priority challenges.

Keywords

Marketing
digital marketing
knowledge-based companies
financial and budgetary issues
human resource retention
Subjects

  • Receive Date 05 December 2025
  • Revise Date 11 May 2026
  • Accept Date 15 June 2026

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