Thesis (MBA) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Business Administration Department

Includes bibliography (sheets 55-66)

ABSTRACT In light of the International embargo placed on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for the last 64 years and the economic crisis brought about by the combined effects of the Covid19 pandemic, the failing Turkish lira, the Russia- Ukraine war and the global recession, it is has been important to research and explore several ways to aid businesses by leveraging digital marketing, especially for MSMEs in the TRNC. The aim of this study to investigate the effects on digital marketing on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with a focus on micro enterprises and make recommendations on how the business environment can be improved on. By employing quantitative research, the data was collected from over 100 MSMEs in the capital city of Nicosia/ Lefkosa using an adapted questionnaire. In this study, 100 questionnaires were distributed for this study. Then the data was analyzed using frequency distribution for the initial assessment while further analysis were done using cross-sectional analysis, ANOVA and t-tests. From the results obtained, while nearly all of business owners interviewed considered digital marketing to be important for their businesses, data showed that MSMEs were more likely to embedded digital marketing in another role and were particularly reluctant to hire talent and spend more on digital marketing unlike their larger counterparts which invariably impacted the results they also got as a business. Due to the fact that MSMEs play a key role in the economy in the medium to long term, deliberate solutions such as a post study visa are required by several stakeholders ranging from the government, universities and business owners to combat the challenges outlined in this research. Keywords: Digital Marketing; Employee size, Internet Marketing, MSMEs, Social Media, TRNC