Exploring Social Commerce Utilisation and Perceived Benefits among Malaysian Sole Proprietors in the Fashion Industry

Abstract

Sole proprietors in Malaysia’s fashion industry are increasingly challenged to sustain competitive advantage within a rapidly evolving digital business environment. The emergence of social commerce has created new opportunities for sole proprietors to enhance customer engagement, expand market reach, and improve operational performance. However, existing studies predominantly focus on consumer behaviour and SMEs, with limited understanding of how sole proprietors strategically utilise specific social commerce features to strengthen competitive advantage. Therefore, this study aims to explore how social commerce contributes to competitive advantage among sole proprietors in Malaysia’s fashion industry by examining the perceived benefits of integrating social commerce into daily business operations. A qualitative research approach was employed using semi-structured interviews with ten sole proprietors operating fashion sole proprietors in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The collected data were analysed using thematic analysis supported by Atlas.ti to identify recurring themes related to social commerce practices and competitive advantage. The findings revealed that social commerce contributes to competitive advantage through cost leadership, product differentiation, product quality, innovation, and time to market. Specifically, ratings and reviews, recommendations and referrals, and live streaming emerged as key social commerce practices that enhance customer engagement, improve responsiveness, and support business sustainability. This study contributes to the organisational-level social commerce literature by providing a feature-level explanation of how specific social commerce practices translate into competitive advantage among resource-constrained sole proprietors. The findings also provide practical insights for sole proprietors seeking to strategically utilise social commerce to strengthen competitiveness in the digital economy.