Marketing digital en la sostenibilidad de las Pymes del cantón Cañar

Abstract

Currently, digital marketing is a decisive factor for business competitiveness and sustainability, especially in territories with emerging productive structures. SMEs face the challenge of integrating technological tools that enhance their management while ensuring economic, social, and environmental balance. The impact of digital marketing on the sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Cañar canton is analyzed through the evaluation of its main tools, practices, and challenges, and thereby proposes sustainable strategies according to the market. The research adopted a quantitative approach with correlational scope, non-experimental design, and cross-sectional methodology. The population consisted of 542 SMEs, from which a probabilistic sample of 212 companies was selected. A structured questionnaire with 73 items on a Likert scale was then applied to this sample, which had a high reliability. The statistical analysis was performed in SPSS v26 using descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation, after verifying the non-normality of the data. The results show positive relationships between the adoption of digital marketing and sustainability (ρ = 0.613–0.817; p < .001), with greater intensity in the dimensions People-Economy (ρ = 0.817) and Planet-Economy (ρ = 0.761). Strengths are identified in mission/vision and competitive monitoring, while training, coordination, measurement, and response times, as well as technological investment and environmental certification, were limited. In conclusion, greater digital adoption drives better results in sustainability, particularly economic and social, strengthening internal capacities related to environmental factors.