Uncertainty as A Moderator: An Empirical Framework Linking ‎Marketing Strategies to SME Performance

This empirical study examines the direct and moderated relationships among marketing strategy and firm performance of Indian small and ‎medium enterprises (SMEs) during periods of uncertainty. Precisely, this study examines how the price, product, place, and promotion ‎strategy as components of marketing strategy influence SME’s performance and also checks the uncertainty’s role as a moderator. The ‎data from 435 registered SMEs were collected from different sectors, and hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the pro-‎posed hypotheses. The study’s findings reflect the significant effect of price, place, and promotion strategies on SMEs' performance, while ‎no direct effect is seen in the case of product strategy. Uncertainty also significantly impacts SMEs' performance and has a moderating role ‎among marketing strategies and firm performance, except for place strategy. The findings highlight that SME’s need to change their marketing strategies during uncertainty to sustain their performance. The study also contributes empirical evidence to the marketing strategy and SMEs performance literature and provides practical guidance for SME’s marketing managers and owners on how to ‎cope with uncertainty effectively‎.