It takes two to tango: the interplay between decision logics, communication strategies and social media engagement in start-ups

Abstract

This manuscript analyzes start-ups’ usage of different communication strategies (information, response, involvement), their underlying decision logics (effectuation, causation, strategy absence) and respective social media success. A multitude of studies have been published on the decision logics of entrepreneurs as well as on different communication strategies. Decision logics and according strategies and actions are closely connected. Still, research on the interplay between the two areas is largely missing. This applies in particular to the effect of different decision logics and communication models on social media success. Through a combination of case studies with fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis this exploratory study demonstrates that different combinations of causal and absence of strategy decision logics can be equally successful when it comes to social media engagement, whereas effectuation is detrimental for success. Furthermore, we find that two-way-communication is essential to create engagement, while information strategy alone cannot lead to social media success. This study provides new insights into the role of decision logics and connects effectuation theory with the communication literature, a field that has been dominated by causal approaches.

Entrepreneurs as influencers: the impact of parasocial interactions on communication outcomes

“…In the past, research on the social media communication of start-ups has been focused on the organizational level of the communication (Olanrewaju et al , 2020; Pakura and Rudeloff, 2020; Pakura et al , 2020; Rudeloff et al , 2021; Rudeloff et al , 2022), while the examination of the personal communication activities of entrepreneurs has been limited to internal relationships (Men et al , 2021a, 2021b). We close this research gap by providing the first quantitative evidence for the positive impact of an influential entrepreneur’s external communication on OPR and further communication outcomes with external stakeholders.…”

“…In the past, research on the social media communication of start-ups has been focused on the organizational level of the communication (Olanrewaju et al, 2020;Rudeloff et al, 2021, Rudeloff et al, 2022, while the examination of the personal communication activities of entrepreneurs has been limited to internal relationships (e.g. .…”

Pathways to Service System Smartness for Firms

“…A second sampling criterion is the size of the firm, as established firms were found to often have more resources to invest than did small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This may have implications for the nature of their smartness configurations, customer value propositions, and value creation logics (Ebel, Jaspert and Poeppelbuss 2022;Ranta, Keränen, and Aarikka-Stenroos 2020;Rudeloff et al 2021). A third sampling criterion relates to the type of targeted customers.…”

Kampf um Legitimität: Positionierungsstrategien von Social-Media-Manager*innen im Feld der Unternehmenskommunikation

“…Während zahlreiche Studien den Einsatz von Social Media zur Ansprache diverser interner und externer Stakeholder innerhalb der Unternehmenskommunikation intensiv beleuchtet haben Rudeloff, Pakura et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2021) 2013) analysieren im Feld der Mode die Frage, über welche Prakti-ken sich neue Akteur*innen in einem etablierten Feld positionieren können. Darüber hinaus finden sich bei Ancelovici (2021) sowie Marginson (2008), Gunter (2002) und Li (2016) Analysen verschiedener Positionierungen und Positionierungsstrategien, die sich allerdings auf Akteur*innen im politischen Feld (Ancelovici, 2021) oder im Feld der Bildung (Gunter, 2002;Li, 2016;Marginson, 2008) beziehen.…”