Beyond The Digital Imperative: Strategic Hybridity in Used Car SMES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30640/jmcbus.v4i4.7718Keywords:
Digitalization, Phenomenological Study, Sensemaking, Strategic Hybridity, Used Car MarketAbstract
This study explores how a used-car Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) in Indonesia navigates the tension between global digital imperatives and local market risks, specifically examining how management constructs their entrepreneurial identity amidst these dual pressures. Employing a qualitative phenomenological design, the research analyzes the lived experiences of key management figures (Director, Sales, and Finance) using Weick’s Sensemaking Theory to deconstruct their strategic responses to digitalization. Findings reveal a "Strategic Hybridity" where the firm decouples its digital identity from operational reality. While social media algorithms are strictly obeyed for lead generation (enactment), human intuition is retained as the ultimate filter for credit risk and quality verification (selection). Management rejects full automation, viewing "human touch" as essential to mitigate information asymmetry in a "Lemon Market." The study is limited to a single-case design in Makassar, South Sulawesi, which may restrict generalizability to Tier-1 metropolitan cities with different consumer behaviors and digital infrastructures. This research challenges the narrative of total digital transformation, offering empirical evidence that "selective digitalization" is a form of strategic resilience and rational decision-making rather than technological lag in developing economies. The study uniquely integrates Sensemaking with Akerlof’s Lemon Market theory to conceptualize how SMEs rationalize the coexistence of high-tech marketing and low-tech operations to survive financial volatility
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