Antecedents and consequences of social media marketing use: an empirical study of the UK exporting B2B SMEs

Abstract

Purpose The social media have enabled companies to reach out to global markets and provided them with the opportunity to customize their strategies and offerings in an unprecedented way. Given the scant empirical evaluation of social media use in the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) business-to-business (B-to-B) context, this paper aims to offer a comprehensive description of the antecedents and consequences of social media use in international B-to-B SMEs and the way in which this use affects their export performance. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of 277 British B-to-B SMEs and uses positivist research with a quantitative approach, adopting a survey strategy through questionnaires and structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal that the use of social media influences export performance through the quality of international business contacts – understanding customers’ views and preferences, brand awareness and knowledge of the competition in various international markets. This study contributes to the emerging literature on B-to-B SMEs digital marketing by determining the mechanism through which B-to-B SMEs may benefit from using the social media in their efforts to export. Originality/value Despite the promising potential of the social media, especially for export-oriented companies, very limited attention has hitherto been paid to the relationship between the use of social media and export performance. This study attempts to fill the gap by investigating the extent to which actual use of social media impacts on the performance of exporting firms.

Social Media Adoption, Usage And Impact In Business-To-Business (B2B) Context: A State-Of-The-Art Literature Review

“…By using social media companies can examiner valuable information on competitors. It can help to understand competitors' habits and strategies, which can lead to the competitive advantage and help strategic planning (Dey et al 2011;Eid et al 2019;Teo and Choo 2001). It is advised that future research employs a longitudinal approach to study the impact of social media use on understanding its competitors.…”

Social Media Marketing as a Branding Strategy in Extraordinary Times: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…First, governmental and financial institutions have been identified as those who can encourage capitalization on a national level, granting loans to reduce costs, and develop policies to encourage and assist the use of SMM by businesses [68,75,79]. When businesses perceive and observe the advantages of digital channels as being feasible and the technologies as easy to use, they will be more likely to adopt them [75]. Adopting SMM increases company performance and offers advantages in communication [75].…”

“…When businesses perceive and observe the advantages of digital channels as being feasible and the technologies as easy to use, they will be more likely to adopt them [75]. Adopting SMM increases company performance and offers advantages in communication [75]. Those in charge of implementing policies should therefore also offer facilities for the adoption of related technologies and the encouragement of building digital infrastructure as SMM shows to be more feasible in times of the pandemic [75,77].…”

“…Adopting SMM increases company performance and offers advantages in communication [75]. Those in charge of implementing policies should therefore also offer facilities for the adoption of related technologies and the encouragement of building digital infrastructure as SMM shows to be more feasible in times of the pandemic [75,77].…”

“…The rapid adoption of SMM and related technologies are a necessity for businesses aiming to survive or even benefit from the pandemic, as this positively influences brand performance [74,75,80]. Digitalization and the pandemic enhance the importance of adapting corporate communication to digital channels to increase consumer trust and brand awareness [62,74].…”