Digital Marketing Competencies as Enablers of Inclusive and Sustainable Digital Entrepreneurship: Cross-Country Evidence from Persons with Physical Disabilities in Southeast Europe
This study reveals that while digital marketing competencies are crucial for inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship among persons with physical disabilities in Southeast Europe, their development is currently limited and heavily dependent on factors like prior experience and structured training rather than mere access to technology, highlighting the need for context-sensitive educational pathways to advance SDGs 8 and 9.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the modern economy, the ability to work online has opened doors for millions of people, offering a way to earn a living without needing to commute to a physical office. For individuals with physical disabilities, this shift holds particular promise, as it can remove many of the physical barriers that have historically kept them out of the workforce. However, simply having access to a computer and an internet connection does not guarantee that a person can succeed in the digital marketplace. Just as owning a car does not make someone a skilled driver, having a device does not automatically provide the specific skills needed to build a business or find remote work. This gap between having the tools and knowing how to use them effectively is the central question for researchers studying inclusive economic growth. They are investigating whether the digital revolution is truly creating opportunities for everyone, or if it is leaving behind those who lack specialized training in areas like digital marketing—the set of skills used to promote products and services online.
A team of researchers from Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia set out to measure this gap directly. They focused on a group of 398 adults with physical disabilities across these three Southeast European countries. The goal was not to ask people how good they thought they were at digital marketing, but to test their actual knowledge and ability. The researchers used a detailed assessment tool that covered five key areas of digital marketing: creating a business strategy, optimizing websites for search engines, creating content, managing social media, and sending email campaigns. Participants answered questions that required them to solve real-world problems, such as how to improve a website's visibility or how to plan a social media campaign. This approach allowed the team to see exactly what these individuals could do, rather than relying on their own opinions of their skills.
The results revealed a stark reality: while many participants had access to technology and used it daily, their actual ability to perform professional digital marketing tasks was quite low. Across all three countries, the average participant answered only about 16% to 20% of the test questions correctly. The strongest performance was seen in social media marketing, where participants were most familiar with the tools, yet even the best-performing group in the region only answered 39% of those questions correctly. The weakest areas were search engine optimization, which involves the technical work of making websites appear at the top of search results, and strategic planning. Perhaps most telling was the disconnect between what people believed and what they could actually do. In some cases, participants rated their own skills quite highly, yet their test scores showed they lacked the necessary knowledge to perform the tasks independently. This suggests that general familiarity with the internet is not enough to translate into the specific competencies needed for employment or entrepreneurship.
The study also looked at what factors helped or hindered these individuals in acquiring these skills. The researchers found that several personal characteristics played a significant role. People who were younger, had higher levels of formal education, and possessed better English language skills tended to score higher on the tests. Motivation was another powerful driver; those who expressed a strong desire to learn and train in digital marketing performed significantly better. Interestingly, the importance of these factors changed depending on which country the participant lived in. In the emerging economies of Serbia and Montenegro, individual traits like motivation, age, and English proficiency were critical predictors of success. In contrast, in the more developed economy of Croatia, these individual differences mattered less, suggesting that the broader environment there might provide more consistent access to training and resources. This variation indicates that a single, uniform approach to training will not work for everyone; policies must be tailored to the specific needs and contexts of different regions.
Ultimately, the research concludes that expanding access to technology is only the first step toward inclusive economic growth. For people with physical disabilities to truly participate in the digital economy, they need structured, accessible, and targeted training that builds specific, job-ready skills. The data shows that without this deliberate investment in human capital, the promise of the digital revolution remains unfulfilled for a significant portion of the population. The path forward requires moving beyond simple connectivity to ensure that everyone, regardless of their physical ability or where they live, has the opportunity to develop the competencies needed to thrive in the modern workforce.
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