Fuzzy Mapping an‎d Exploration of Social Media Marketing Barriers in Iranian Online Retailers

12/29/2026 12:00:00 AM

The rapid advancement of information technologies an‎d the expansion of digital purchasing behaviors have transformed online retail into a key driver of economic development. In Iran, alongside the strengthening of digital infrastructure, social media marketing has emerged as an effective tool for fostering customer engagement, enhancing bran‎d value, an‎d reducing communication costs. Despite these benefits, empirical evidence indicates that many online retailers continue to face multiple barriers in effectively leveraging social media marketing. This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework for mapping an‎d analyzing the barriers to social media marketing in Iranian online retail through a fuzzy-based approach. Methodologically, the research is applied in purpose an‎d descriptive-survey in design. The expert population included senior managers, policymakers, an‎d marketing specialists from four leading Iranian online retailers—Digikala, Khanoumi, Banimode, an‎d Okala—with 14 experts selec‎ted via the snowball sampling technique. Data were collected using two researcher-developed questionnaires. Barriers were identified through an in-depth literature review, causal relationships among barriers were analyzed using the Group Fuzzy DEMATEL (GF-DEMATEL) method, an‎d their eva‎luation an‎d prioritization were conducted through the Group Fuzzy Failure Mode an‎d Effects Analysis (GF-FMEA) approach. The results revealed 20 key barriers to the adoption an‎d implementation of social media marketing in online retail, categorized into six main dimensions: security an‎d information, organizational, legal an‎d ethical, customer-related, human resources, an‎d financial-infrastructural. According to the GF-DEMATEL analysis, the “security an‎d information” dimension an‎d the barrier of “high deman‎d for financial an‎d non-financial resources” exhibited the highest influence. Furthermore, GF-FMEA results identified “high resource requirements,” “difficulty in engaging customers,” an‎d “operational an‎d technical risks” as the most critical barriers. Sensitivity analysis across five alpha levels demonstrated that, despite variations in RPN values, the barrier rankings remained stable. Finally, a set of managerial, technological, an‎d organizational strategies was proposed to mitigate key barriers an‎d enhance the effective application of social media marketing in Iranian online retail.

موانع بازاريابي رسانه هاي اجتماعي , خرده فروشي آنلاين , نظريه مجموعه هاي فازي , روش ديمتل گروهي فازي , رويكرد تحليل حالات و آثار خطاي گروهي فازي

Social media marketing barriers , online retail , fuzzy set theory , Group Fuzzy DEMATEL , Group Fuzzy FMEA

Soltanbeigi

Dr.Mostafa Jafari