TY  - BOOK
AU  - Mohammad Ahmmad Solaiman Ahmmad
TI  - A Strategy for Leveraging AI-Powered Social Listening Technologies to enhance  Marketing Strategies for Small and Medium E-commerce Businesses in Egypt
U1  - 685.4 
PY  - 2024///
KW  - MOT
KW  - NULIB
KW  - Dissertation, Academic
N1  - Thesis (M.A.)—Nile University, Egypt, 2024; "Includes bibliographical references"; Contents:
Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………...………………i
Declaration………………………………………………………………...………………ii
Abstract ……..……………………………………………......……….…………….……iii
Table of content ...………………………………………………………...………………iv
List of Figures ………………………………………………………..…………...….vii
List of Tables ………..……………………………………………......………….….viii
List of Abbreviation…………………………………………………….....……...…..…ix
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background..........................................................................................................................1
1.2 E-commerce in egypt: a unique landscape...........................................................................2
1.3 Central issues and importance of marketing strategies .......................................................2
1.4 Leveraging ai-powered social listening technologies .........................................................2
1.5 Importance and impact ........................................................................................................3
1.6 Definitions and overview ....................................................................................................3
2. AI in Egyptian SMEs marketing: a comprehensive review ............................................ 4
2.1 Small and medium enterprises ............................................................................................4
2.2 SMEs contribution to the GDP ...........................................................................................5
2.3 The economic landscape of egypt .......................................................................................6
2.4 The power of smes in egypt ................................................................................................6
2.5 About e-commerce...............................................................................................................6
2.6 E-commerce in the era of covid-19......................................................................................7
2.7 A global perspective on e-commerce ..................................................................................7
2.8 E-commerce in egypt: a transformative evolution...............................................................7
2.9 E-commerce growth and its drivers ....................................................................................8
2.10 Egypt's thriving e-commerce market ................................................................................8
2.11 Key statistics on egypt's e-commerce ...............................................................................9

v
2.12 Opportunities for SMEs ....................................................................................................9
2.13 Challenges faced by SMEs in e-commerce sector...........................................................11
2.14 Strengths and weaknesses of smes in the economy ........................................................11
2.15 Marketing ........................................................................................................................13
2.16 Artificial intelligence (AI) ...............................................................................................14
2.17 Evolution and development of ai in marketing ...............................................................14
2.18 Case studies of ai in marketing .......................................................................................15
2.19 AI use cases in e-commerce ............................................................................................16
2.20 Social listening ................................................................................................................19
2.21 The evolution of social listening through AI ..................................................................19
2.22 Definition and overview of ai-powered social listening technologies ............................21
2.23 Effective social listening can change the game of competition – case studies ...............21
2.24 Impact on marketing strategies .......................................................................................24
2.25 Adoption of ai-powered social listening in smes ............................................................25
2.26 Factors influencing the adoption of ai technologies in smes...........................................26
2.27 Barriers for smes in adopting ai-powered social listening ..............................................26
2.28 Benefits of ai-powered social listening technologies ......................................................27
2.29 Social listening tools: in-depth exploration ....................................................................28
3. Research methodology ................................................................................................. 33
3.1 Problem statement .............................................................................................................34
3.2 Research questions.............................................................................................................34
3.3 Objectives of the study ......................................................................................................36
3.4 The significance of the research work ..............................................................................37
3.5 Research methods .............................................................................................................37
4. Results and discussions ................................................................................................ 49
4.1 Preface ...............................................................................................................................49
4.2 Adoption of AI-powered social listening Technologies in Egyptian SMEs .....................50
4.3 Perceived Benefits and Opportunities ...............................................................................58
4.4 Challenges and Obstacles .................................................................................................62
4.5 Survey & Interview Recommendations for AI Social Listening in SMEs ………..…… 65

vi
4.6 Proposed Strategy .............................................................................................................66
4.7 Discussion .........................................................................................................................68
5. Conclusion and recommendations................................................................................ 70
6. Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 73
 Appendices .................................................................................................................... 80
N2  - Abstract:
Egyptian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the e-commerce sector face significant 
challenges in competing effectively due to limited resources and a rapidly changing digital 
landscape. Traditional marketing strategies often fail to keep pace with evolving consumer 
preferences and intense competition, hindering the marketing efforts of these businesses. This 
research aims to investigate the adoption of AI-powered social listening among Egyptian ecommerce SMEs, identifying the key challenges and opportunities specific to this context. The 
objective is to propose a tailored strategy to guide the effective implementation of this 
technology, enhancing the marketing strategies of these enterprises.
A mixed-methods approach was employed in this study, combining quantitative data from 
surveys with qualitative insights gathered through interviews with SME owners and marketing 
managers. The findings revealed a considerable gap between the perceived benefits of AIpowered social listening—such as gaining deeper customer insights and improving brand 
reputation—and the challenges faced by SMEs. These challenges include financial constraints, a 
lack of expertise, and technological readiness.
Based on the research findings, this study proposes a strategy designed to address the identified 
challenges. The strategy aims to guide Egyptian SMEs through the AI adoption process, 
unlocking the potential of AI-powered social listening to optimize their marketing strategies and 
enable them to thrive in the digital era.
Keywords:
AI-powered social listening, Egyptian SMEs, e-commerce marketing, adoption strategy, 
challenges, opportunities
ER  -