Cultural Determinants of Social Media Use in World Markets

Abstract

Research background: Ongoing globalization has led companies to operate on foreign markets and in consequence to recognize very different conditions especially in terms of sociocultural factors. The literature review identifies the behavioral patterns in social media (SM) usage determined by national cultures. Purpose: The article presents the relationship between six dimensions of national culture defined by Hofstede and the use of SM in world markets. Research mmethodology: To determine how national culture influences the frequency of use of SM, a study of secondary data was carried out. The percentage of SM users from the Global Digital Yearbook 2019 was used as a dependent variable. The statistical analysis links cultural dimensions with SM use in 44 countries. Results: The study employed polynomial regression, which revealed a significant correlation between long-term orientation, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and the percentage of SM users. However, the research discovered no influence of masculinity, leniency, and power distance. The estimated models also show the income’s strong moderating effect on the analyzed relationship. Novelty: In this study a deeper analysis of the relationship between the dimensions of national cultures and the use of SM was made than in previous studies. It was also shown that it is necessary to introduce moderating factors, which may significantly affect the relationship between the use of SM and some dimensions of culture.

Exploring social media adoption for marketing purpose among healthcare professionals in Gondar town, central Gondar zone: A facility-based cross-sectional survey

“… 4 , 5 Social media plays a significant role in marketing, with a high proportion of businesses utilizing platforms like Facebook and Instagram for promotion. 6 , 7 Research indicates that 97% of marketers employ social media to reach their target audiences, highlighting its widespread adoption. 8 Factors influencing this trend include the need for customer information, opinions, brand awareness, and satisfaction, all quickly obtained through social media interactions.…”