Do Marketers Matter for Entrepreneurs? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda

For your marketing

Possible founder application

Evidence that applied marketing expertise can affect small-firm growth, while underscoring the importance of implementation context. For a startup, define the intervention and measure firm outcomes rather than activity alone.

Reported result

What the study found

Entrepreneurs randomly matched with volunteer marketers significantly increased firm growth. The paper evaluates how practical marketing assistance affects business outcomes in this context.

Research question

What the authors investigated

Can marketing expertise help small entrepreneurs improve business performance?

Design

A multiyear field experiment randomly matched entrepreneurs in Uganda with volunteer marketers who helped them address marketing challenges.

Sample and setting

Entrepreneurs and small firms in Uganda participating in a volunteer-marketer program; the abstracted sources emphasize firm growth outcomes.

Scope and transfer

Limitations to keep in view

The study is based on a specific program, country, participant pool and period. Volunteer assistance may not replicate the effect of hiring a marketer or using the same practices in a software startup.

Research sources

Journal publisher abstract and accessible author-hosted paper; the profile avoids assigning unverified effect sizes or sample counts.