Exploring social media usage as a communication channel among independent food retailer SMEs in South Africa

Santos, José dos; Duffett, Rodney Graeme

doi:10.26784/sbir.v5i2.392

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…In addition, the current study establishes that information channels have an indirect effect on SMEs' sustainability. Yet the affordability of social media as an effective marketing information channel for businesses cannot be discounted [83]. Even though this assertion was not supported, the affordability of social media as an effective marketing information channel for businesses cannot be discounted [24,29,84].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Usage and SME Firms’ Sustainability: An Introspective Analysis from Ghana

et al. 2022

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Social media is gradually transforming diverse business ecosystems due to the limitless capabilities they offer. Given this, emerging businesses across the globe are leveraging this innovation to improve their operations. While the literature on the usage of social media by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is still emerging, the outcomes from existing research have not been coherent. Amid this, limited empirical evidence has been adduced on the affordance of the technology for the SME ecosystem in developing economies, particularly Ghana. Following this, this study aims to fill this research gap by investigating the impact of social media usage on the long-term sustainability of SMEs, specifically in Ghana. Using empirical data from 424 respondents who are representatives of manufacturing SMEs in Ghana, using SmartPLS techniques, the study confirmed that, generally, social media usage does not only have a positive impact on SMEs but drastically drives their motivations towards resilience and sustainability. The results further revealed a positive and significant effect of social media usage value creation, business connections and opportunities on SMEs’ sustainability. This study contributes to knowledge of social media usage and sustainability from a developing country’s perspective. This study offers several implications for theory and practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Usage and SME Firms’ Sustainability: An Introspective Analysis from Ghana

et al. 2022

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“…A target market is a particular portion or segment of the customers which is targeted by a retailer to "be the most likely to purchase its products or services" [40] and is a group of individuals with similar product needs because of one or more common characteristics [41]. Successful retailers understand the market in which they operate, know the shopping behavior of customers, and understand the needs, wants, decision-making, and behavioral patterns of their target customers [42,43]. The customers of a retail business are a stakeholder category for expected inclusion in retail charters that include elements such as defining the customer base and market information to assist the retail business to understand their needs [44][45][46].…”

Section: Retail Customersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Framework for a Generic Retail Charter: A Guide towards Sustainability and Stakeholder Support

Venter

Duffett

2022

Sustainability

Self Cite

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This paper develops a framework for a generic retail stakeholder charter that addresses expectations of relevant retail business stakeholders to achieve success and sustainability. Hevner’s design science research model was used for the development of this framework. Relevant literature on retail business management, stakeholder theory, and existing charters was reviewed and used for the design of a draft generic retail charter framework. The draft framework was submitted to expert practitioners and academics for verification in terms of correctness, completeness, and relevance to develop the final retail charter framework. The framework addresses stakeholder expectations regarding relevant categories, and the structure of the retail charter addresses the identity, elements, and the management of the retail charter. The elements in the generic retail charter are structured to achieve stakeholder support by ensuring compliance, satisfaction, and excitement. This generic retail charter framework creates research opportunities for the development of detailed retail charters for every stakeholder category, and customized retail charters for individual retail businesses. The framework provides further research opportunities for retail businesses operating in a particular industry, ecommerce, various Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, and other countries.

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“…Several studies on SMM determinants in SMEs have been conducted in different sectors (Ahamat, Ali & Hamid, 2017;Trawnih et al, 2019;Ali Abbasi et al, 2022). In South Africa, previous research has focused on analysing different social media platforms used by SMEs to engage customers (Van Scheers, 2016;Urban & Maphathe, 2021), enabling factors of social media usage that are not related to the variables in this study except cost (Dos Santos & Duffett, 2021) and social media marketing and business competitiveness (Rambe, 2017). However, there is a dearth of research on the determinants of social media adoption in SMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic in the South African context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Determinants of Social Media Marketing Adoption in Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises during the Covid-19 pandemic

Ramphele

Msosa²

2022

EJMI

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Purpose: This study aims at assessing the determinants of Social Media Marketing adoption in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design / Method / Approach: The study seeks to understand the viewpoints and motives for employing social media campaigns. Thus, a structured quantitative questionnaire was provided to 150 respondents to assess social media marketing in their firms, using convenience sampling. A descriptive analysis of data was undertaken using the SPSS. Findings: The study's findings showed that most respondents agreed with items related to Social Media Marketing’s facilitating conditions, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and cost implications. Theoretical Implications: The study contributes to the extant literature on Social Media Marketing during the Covid-19 pandemic in the developing world, wherein poor infrastructure, bureaucracy and culture play an important role in business performance. Practical Implications: SMME owners and managers should encourage their employees and customers to use social media regularly in order to drive traffic towards the business. Originality / Value: The study is unique as it analyses Social Media Marketing during a turbulent time in which the Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on economies globally. Research Limitations / Future Research: Researchers should consider analysing the effect of Covid-19's lockdown restrictions on specific sectors in an attempt to facilitate tailor-made solutions to the problem. Paper type: Empirical

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Exploring social media usage as a communication channel among independent food retailer SMEs in South Africa

Cited by 11 publications

References 77 publications

Social Media Usage and SME Firms’ Sustainability: An Introspective Analysis from Ghana

Social Media Usage and SME Firms’ Sustainability: An Introspective Analysis from Ghana

A Framework for a Generic Retail Charter: A Guide towards Sustainability and Stakeholder Support

Determinants of Social Media Marketing Adoption in Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises during the Covid-19 pandemic

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