Inequality among residents and enterprises in the Latvian online market of digital marketing

Abstract

Despite the widespread adoption of digital technologies and their potential to break down traditional barriers in business and communication, many Latvian residents and enterprises still lack access to digital marketing tools and the advantages they offer. This article aims to analyze inequality among residents and enterprises in the Latvian online market of digital marketing. The conceptual basis of the study is the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of digital divide and the resource approach based on the theory of social fields. For dynamic analysis of statistical data, the con(di)vergence of indicators of the involvement of various socio-demographic and geographical groups of Latvian residents and enterprises in the online market of digital marketing is assessed. The empirical study is based on Latvian statistics for 2013-2022 (for some indicators - 2023). The results of the study show that the development of digital marketing in Latvia is happening very quickly, but the potential for development still remains very large, since with 90% of Latvian residents regularly (at least once a week) using the internet, more than 30% of Latvians have not yet made a purchase or order on the internet. The development of digital marketing in Latvia reduces socio-demographic and geographical inequalities among residents and enterprises in the online market in relation to the 'digital inequality of input' (access to the online market), but in relation to the 'digital inequality of output' (returns from this access) the equalizing opportunities of digital marketing in Latvia (especially in its regions) are limited by the specifics of the functioning of the economy based on social capital. In this economy, models and theories developed for the economy based on innovation practically do not work. The novelty of this study is a comprehensive analysis of the general background and dynamics of the development of the Latvian online market of digital marketing in the context of digital inequality among residents and enterprises.