The role of gender in quantifying the influence of online marketing on the performance of fish marketers in Southwest, Nigeria

The rapid development of online markets, especially amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, has signified a fundamental change in the dynamics of markets and economies. This holds implications for various sectors, including fisheries and aquaculture. Despite the growing body of literature acknowledging the significance of online marketing, there exists a notable gap in understanding how online marketing influences the performance of marketers from the perspective of gender. Therefore, this research seeks to bridge this gap by conducting an empirical study on the role of gender in quantifying the influence of online market participation on the performance of fish marketers. Cross-sectional data were collected through a well-designed questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 240 respondents. A budgetary technique was employed in measuring the performance. The empirical framework of the study considered potential endogeneity between online marketing and performance by using an endogenous treatment effects model with a linear outcome. The findings revealed that, even though fish marketing is profitable in the area, females make more profit than their male counterparts. It was also recorded that ignoring potential endogeneity may affect the statistical significance of the online market participation estimate and the direction of the influence of online marketing on the performance of fish marketers. The study revealed that online marketing had a direct impact on the performance of female and male fish marketers, with marginal effects of 3.65 and 1.98, respectively. Variables such as education, access to smartphones, digital literacy, market size, and internet availability are significant determinants of online market participation in the area. Therefore, our findings support the literature that online marketing significantly increases performance. Internet infrastructure should be improved and made affordable to allow more users, and this could be designed according to the characteristics of different groups to promote the marketers’ livelihoods.