Title: Learning approach of customer journey analysis on digital start-up business performance through social practice theory

Authors: Nia Kurniati Bachtiar; Arpasri Sothonvit; Nguyen Thanh Vu; Teara Noviyani Sekar Melati

Addresses: Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, UK; Economics and Business Faculty, Universitas Muhammadiyah Magelang, JL. Bambang Soegeng, Mertoyudan, Magelang, Indonesia ' Khon Kaen Business School, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mittraphap Rd., Muang KhonKaen 40002, Thailand ' Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business and Administration (TUEBA), Tân Thịnh, Thành Phố Thái Nguyên, Thái Nguyên, Vietnam ' Economics and Business Faculty, Universitas Muhammadiyah Magelang, JL. Bambang Soegeng, Mertoyudan, Magelang, Indonesia

Abstract: The digital industry is currently undergoing robust growth and promises significant future potential. However, launching a commercial venture in this sphere comes with a plethora of challenges, as evidenced by the lacklustre success rate of digital start-ups. Beyond the expected technical and technological hurdles, many start-ups falter in their early stages due to ineffective consumer engagement. This often stems from an oversight in crafting a meticulous customer journey analysis (CJA), which can be pivotal for businesses aiming to accurately target their customer base. To delve deeper into this issue, this study employs the social practice theory (SPT) to probe the impact of CJA on the performance of digital start-ups. Data was collated from 101 start-up respondents for this research. The findings suggest that the influence of the pre-purchasing and post-purchasing stages on the customer journey was somewhat muted, likely due to the constrained application of SPT in these phases. This study not only enriches the theoretical discourse surrounding SPT but also accentuates the importance for start-ups to intertwine SPT with both pre-purchase and post-purchase stages to augment their chances of success.

Keywords: customer journey analysis; CJA; business performance; digital start-up business; social practice theory; SPT; pre-purchase stage; purchase stage; post-purchase stage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2025.145335

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2025 Vol.20 No.2, pp.167 - 185

Received: 09 May 2023
Accepted: 18 Jan 2024
Published online: 31 Mar 2025 *

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