Towards a Theoretical Framework for Digital Marketing Transformation and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Nigerian Emerging Market Firms

This study aims to develop and test an original theoretical framework explaining how digital marketing transformation generates sustainable competitive advantage in Nigerian emerging market firms, addressing a foundational theoretical gap in the strategic marketing literature. Existing frameworks of digital transformation and competitive advantage are largely derived from developed market contexts, where institutional environments, consumer behaviours, and technological infrastructure differ substantially from Nigeria's emerging market conditions. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory, the resource-based view, and the market-sensing literature, the proposed framework integrates digital resource acquisition, digital capability orchestration, and market intelligence agility as sequential mechanisms through which firms achieve durable competitive positioning. A sequential mixed-method design is employed across two phases: an exploratory qualitative phase involving 40 in-depth executive interviews with CMOs and CDOs from firms across South West, South South, and North Central Nigeria, followed by a quantitative phase surveying 520 firms for confirmatory model testing. SEM with latent variable modelling is employed for quantitative analysis, with grounded theory techniques used for qualitative framework development. The study contributes an original, context-validated theoretical framework to the intersection of digital marketing and competitive strategy in emerging markets, extending existing paradigms by incorporating institutional voids and digital leapfrogging phenomena specific to Nigerian firm environments. Recommendations address strategy scholars, practitioners, and policymakers on theoretically grounded paths to digitally enabled competitive sustainability. Keywords: digital marketing transformation, competitive advantage, dynamic capabilities, emerging markets, Nigeria